******* The Car Talk Puzzler Psychic Friends Network******* >From The Desk Of
Maury Maille Puzzler Tower Car Talk Plaza Hahvahd Squayah Our Fair City This Week's Puzzler: An Ingenious Ride Home RAY: This puzzler is automotive in nature and is filled with woe and intrigue. It was sent to us by Judy Belland. Judy writes, "Here's a true story. It was Sunday, September 30, 1984. My sister's wedding had been the day before in Hagerstown, Maryland. I was getting a ride back to my home in Michigan with two of my sister's friends, Robin and John. "We left early that morning and were only about an hour into the drive when John's alternator light came on. After a few more hours of driving, his car began having trouble. It was bogging down and some of the electrical stuff wasn't working. "We got off the highway, and in the first minor miracle of the day, we found a place that was open that had a battery charger. We charged the battery, during which time we wasted about an hour and a half hanging around, drinking coffee, and trying to extinguish our hangovers. After the battery was charged we headed back to the highway. "Things looked grim. I did the math. It was normally a 12-hour trip. But if we stopped for an hour and a half every two hours--assuming we were lucky enough to find a battery charger every time we needed it--it was going to take us something like 15 days to get home. "Well, within seconds of our merging back onto the highway, who went whizzing by us but my aunt and uncle. They too were heading back to Michigan from the wedding. Simultaneously, the three of us said, 'Get 'em!' "John floored it, and managed to catch up to Uncle Leadfoot. We pulled up alongside, rolled down the window, and said, 'We're having trouble! Pull over!' We found a place to stop, and John explained the situation to my uncle. My uncle, sounding regretful and a little frustrated, said, 'I could help, but I don't have any tools.' "John said, 'I have some tools. I have a pair of pliers, an adjustable wrench, and a vice grip.' "The uncle said, 'We don't even have a new alternator to put in! How could I possibly do anything to help you?' "But, they were able to devise a plan! And, we made it back to Michigan with no difficulty-- and virtually no delay." How did they do it? Think you know what to do? Drop us a note via http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html If you're right and we select your answer, we'll ship you a $26 Shameless Commerce Gift Certificate. Want to listen to Raymond obfuscate the puzzler in person? Listen anytime, at http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ ************ Remember last week's puzzler? A Balancing Act RAY: A fellow by the name of Tom Fite sent us this puzzler. It's from the wonderful world of physics. Tom writes, "My friend Dave has a seesaw. The board of the seesaw is a foot wide and eight-feet long. It weighs 36 pounds. "What's odd is that the fulcrum is two feet from one end. Of course, there's six feet on the other end. On the short side, he's placed a solid concrete cube, which is one foot on each side, right at the end of the board. The cube weighs 48 pounds. He wants to balance the seesaw." So, here's the question: What weight, also a solid cube one foot on a side, does he have to put all the way at the other end, for the seesaw to balance? I'll give you a hint. It won't be concrete. Ready for the answer? Here you go! http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ So, did you figure it out? Yours in weekly puzzler torment, Maury Maille Puzzler Dissemination Specialist Car Talk Plaza ******************* Doing some car research? Via our lousy, little homepage you can... *Check important safety recalls *See what your car is worth right now *Check rebates and incentives on new cars *Search your town for new or used cars for sale *Place an ad to sell your car that'll actually be seen by people in your area *Research and compare new vehicles *Get the latest car news *Kill time until 5:00 pm rolls around and you can pack it in. *It's all at http://www.cartalk.com *********************************** Got more time to kill? This past weekend's new, lousy Car Talk show is now on the web site, at http://www.cartalk.com/Radio/Show/ ******************** Help Ray lose the night sweats he's been getting, trying to come up with a decent puzzler each week. E-mail him your suggestion any time, via http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html ******************** Puzzled out? You can unsubscribe to the Car Talk Puzzler Psychic Friends Network anytime at http://www.cartalk.com/ct/maillist.jsp?puzzler_list=subscribe#psychic We'll forgive you.
