A little town had a high birth rate that had attracted the attention of the sociologists at the state university.

A little town had a high birth rate that had attracted the attention of the
sociologists at the state university. They wrote a grant proposal; got a huge
chunk of money; hired a few additional sociologists, an anthropologist, and a
family planning and birth control specialist; moved to town; rented offices; set
up their computers; got squared away; and began designing their questionnaires
and such. While the staff was busy getting ready for their big research effort,
the project director decided to go to the local drugstore for a cup of coffee.
He sat down at the counter, ordered his coffee, and while he was drinking it, he
told the druggist what his purpose was in town, then asked him if he had any
idea why the birth rate was so high. "Sure," said the druggist. "Every morning
the six o'clock train comes through here and blows for the crossing. It wakes
everybody up, and, well, it's too late to go back to sleep, and it's too early
to get up."