Frank constantly irritated his friends with his eternal optimism. No matter how horrible the circumstance, he would remark, "It could have been worse." To cure him of this annoying habit, his friends decided to invent a situation so bad, so terrible, that even Frank could find no hope in it.

On the golf course one day, a friend said, "Frank, did you hear about Tom? He came home last night, found his wife in bed with another man, shot them both, then turned the gun on himself."
"That's horrible," Frank said. "But it could have been worse."
"How could it possibly be any worse?" the friend asked.
"Well," Frank answered, "if it had happened the night before, I'd be dead."