******* 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: Charlie and the Perplexing Temperature Billboard RAY: This puzzler is from my Fahrenheit-Celsius series. It's from Mike Mercer, and I didn't really even have to obfuscate this at all! Here it is: Charlie is heading off to work one fall morning, and as he does every morning, he passes a billboard that displays the current temperature in Fahrenheit in one corner, and the temperature in Celsius in the other corner. He notices both temperatures, and thinks, "It's a pretty nice day for late fall." But, as the day progresses, a monstrous cold front hits town. On his way home, Charlie passes the temperature billboard again, and finds that the Fahrenheit temperature is now 36 degrees colder than it was that morning. So, when he drove in it was one temperature, and now it's that temperature minus 36. But, when he looks at the Celsius temperature he's confused, because it reads exactly the same as it did that morning. Charlie figures that the display must be stuck, because it's certainly much colder on his ride home. In fact, it was not stuck. But, there was indeed something wrong with the Celsius sign. What was the problem and how cold was it? 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? 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? Here's how: 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.
