How Do I Know ...

I have an Indian friend in Beijing who's married to a Chinese girl. Before they got married, they had to jump through some hoops dealing with Chinese red tape. The Chinese government required him to provide documentation proving that he wasn't already married. In other words, he needed the opposite of a marriage certificate: a not married certificate. So, he went back to India and went to a notary and had an official letter notarized. The first thing the notary asked my friend (insert heavy Indian accent here) was 'how do I know you're not married?' My friend responded by asking 'how do you not know I'm not married?' My friend's logic won, or perhaps the notary, being a Hindu, realized how many lifetimes the argument could last and relented. In the end, the Chinese government was convinced that he was not married. On the other hand, convincing his wife ...