******* 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 Car Talk Puzzler: Tommy Makes an Ingenious Repair RAY: This is a little story involving my brother. The inspiration for this puzzler was sent in by a fellow named Howard Apps -- though I changed everything he wrote. This story demonstrates my brother's mechanical acumen. I think you'll be amazed when you hear this. Or, at least, not disgusted. It was a bright and sunny day and Tommy was driving his dad's '51 Dodge, when he notices steam coming out from under the hood. He pulls over and notices a slit in one of the two heater hoses. It's about two inches long. He carefully removes the radiator cap to relieve the pressure, and he's relieved to find out that he's lost very little coolant. He opens the trunk, confident that he's going to find tools, and maybe even a spare piece of hose there. To his utter surprise, the trunk is completely empty. Nada. Zilch. Uncle Nunzio had borrowed the car and he needed an empty trunk, if you know what I mean. "Oh drat," he says. But ever the optimist, he begins walking and finds a convenience store. He thrusts his hand into his pocket, and pulls out the only money he has -- a one-dollar bill. He knows exactly what he needs to fix the leak, and asks the woman behind the counter for a roll of duct tape. Tragically, duct tape had yet to be invented. Undaunted, he buys a five-cent candy bar-- that's what candy bars cost when we were kids. He begins the long walk back to the car, confident that he has now in his possession something that's going to allow him to fix the car well enough so he can drive it home. He whistled while he walked back to the car, clicking his heels, saying, "I'm not going get a beating when I get home!" How did he fix the car? Think you know? Drop Ray a note via http://cartalk.cars.com/Mail/puzzler-answer.html If you're right and we select your answer, we'll ship you a $26 Shameless Commerce gift certificate. Want to listen to Ray obfuscate the puzzler in person? Listen anytime, at http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ ************ Remember last week's puzzler? A Fraud in an Ascot RAY: A well-dressed gentleman enters a bank, approaches a teller and begins to tell his tale of woe. He says, "Pardon me, Madam, I hope you can help me. You see, I'm an English professor at Northwestern University and I am a visitor to your fair city, and I find myself in need of someone's help. I'm here visiting with my wife and my two daughters and I have no money with me because my wife and my oldest daughter have gone out shopping this morning and taken my wallet, which contained my cash and credit cards --" TOM: And ID. RAY: "And identification, of course. They left me alone with the other daughter who has taken ill and I must buy her some medication, but I have no money. If you would be kind enough to cash a check for me for $50, that would be a great help to me and my daughter." TOM: Yes. RAY: The teller looks up and down. He's well dressed, distinguished looking, obviously quite articulate. TOM: Little bit of a British accent. RAY: Definitely. An English professor from Northwestern University. Pedantic, pretentious. TOM: Snob! RAY: Everything that you would expect a college professor to be, and he's wearing an ascot, of course. The teller looks at him and says, "I won't be able to help you, sir, because you are a fraud and a liar." TOM: Ooh! RAY: And he says, "Pardon me?" But she was absolutely correct. What was it that tipped the teller off? Here's what it was: 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 *************** Write Tom and Ray--Please! Been meaning to write us a witty, brilliant, evocative, insightful letter? Excellent! We're not getting any of those things from the chumps hanging around Car Talk Plaza. For that matter, we'd settle for anything better than the usual schlock Tommy reads on the air. So, what are you waiting for? Write Tom and Ray right now at http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html ******************* Useful information alert: How to Get a Free Car Talk CD or Booklet Tired of paying auto club dues to an outfit that lobbies against environmental causes? Check out Better World Club -- and in the process get a Car Talk booklet or CD for free! Better World is an auto club with genuinely decent values -- unlike some others we could name... Whose initials happen to be AAA. Better World Club cares about... *Your environmental interests -- it gives 1% of its revenue to environmental clean up and advocacy. *Your consumer interests -- it even offers discounts on hybrid rental cars. *And it has the nation's only bicycle roadside assistance program. Dump your AAA membership and join Better World! If you join via the Car Talk web site now, you'll get a free Car Talk CD, or a copy of our booklet, 10 Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car without Even Knowing It. Check out Better World Club now 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.
