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In our favored version, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Stephen Hawking are seated next to each other at the Stockholm banquet after receiving their Nobel Prizes for Peace and Physics, respectively. Between courses one and two, the discussion naturally turns to cosmology. Before Hawking is even three sentences into his creation theory, the Dalai Lama interrupts him. "Mr. Hawking, I already read your book. Many mistakes." Shocked, Hawking presses for an example. The Lama asserts that the universe is not "just floating there," but is instead supported on the back of a great tiger. Smiling, Hawking asks what supports the tiger. The Lama asserts that it stands upon an elephant. Hawking then asks what supports the elephant. "A giant turtle," the Lama replies. When asked, finally, what supports the turtle, His Holiness is briefly taken aback, but quickly replies, "Ah, after that it is turtles all the way down."
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--Justice Antonin Scalia, Rapanos v. United States
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