The Full Rhino
Our new puzzler today was from a letter that was sent in. I love this one. It was so good, we decided to use it. This happened a while ago. It is long, so pay attention. Here goes.
"My husband and I lived in Lagos, Nigeria, and worked at the American Embassy. We decided to drive to Timbuktu on vacation. We were cruising across the Sahara in summer and felt well qualified for this 3000-mile round trip. We had a 1987 Something, a Nissan Something, which was outfitted with lots of special things for desert travel. Full Rhino package, I think it's called. Oil coolers, sand trap, shovel, compass, air compressor, 12-volt refrigerator, tools, spare parts, water, food, guns, extra fuel, tires... The whole works. You get it.
We made it to Timbuktu without incident. The last few hundred miles were on an open desert with no road and with no other vehicle in sight.
We spent two days in the city and then were heading home via a different route. We were about 100 miles from the nearest town when a louder than usual impact against the underside of the vehicle signaled the arrival of potential disaster. My husband stopped to investigate. He looked under the car and then he swore out loud and yelled for me to bring him a specific item. I got this item from my overnight bag. I gave it to him and in a few seconds, the problem seemed to be solved.
We drove on for about five minutes and then my husband stopped to check the repair. He looked at it again and then swore again. He asks me to get him the same item but from his overnight bag this time. I gave it to him and this time the repair was made just as quickly and lasted the remaining 1800 miles of the trip!"
The puzzle is this.
What went wrong? What happened? What was the item her husband asked for? And finally, why did it work when taken from her husband's overnight bag, but not from her own?
Good luck!
