A Very Hot Day

New puzzler time.

It was a very hot day. Not a dark and stormy night, but a very hot day. So the opposite of a dark and stormy night.

We got two letters about this a while ago. Two different types of cars had this happen, but the type of car doesn't matter in this case. Anyway, here goes.

This fellow was driving his car on the highway on this very hot day. He was driving a long distance on this hot day. And there had been a thunderstorm earlier in the day. He had driven through the thunderstorm, but it was so hot, the rain did not cool anything down. So he's driving along, and finally exits the highway. He gets off the highway, onto a secondary road, and then pulls into a strip mall parking lot.

He pulls into this parking lot very quickly, and as soon as he does, the engine stops. It just cuts out, right there. So he turns the key and tries to start it again, but it is dead. Nothing. It's like someone has removed his battery from the car, just like that. The lights on the dash all work, but the car won't start. He doesn't know what happened.

He opens the hood and everything looks normal. His headlights work, and his radio works. But he turns the key and nothing happens. So he calls the tow truck. They take the car to the nearest dealership. And they tell him, "You've got troubles. You need an engine." And they tell him what caused this is turning into the strip mall. That is when it happened.

So, here is the puzzler question. What happened, and how. Good luck!

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

Another Winter Puzzler

Okay, this puzzler has to do with winter, again. Here we go.

A winter day. A fellow takes his wife shopping at the convenience store. And she says, "I'll be right out honey, I just have to pick up a few things."

So, what does he do when she gets out of the car and goes into the store? He lights a cigar and turns on the radio to wait for her.

His wife comes out of the store with a bag full of things that she's gotten in this little convenience store and she gets in the car. He tries to pull away and he realizes he's stuck on the ice. He puts the car in drive and his wheels are just spinning like crazy, not going anywhere. His wife says, "Wait a minute. I have something in this bag here that I believe will get you out of this fix."

He says, "You do? What do you have? Let me see."

She says, "I have a bottle of extra virgin olive oil."

He says, "What else do you have?"

She says, "I have Preparation H. Chunky peanut butter, a bottle of chlorine bleach, a head of lettuce, a pound of frozen Kielbasa, and a spray can of Cheez Whiz."

So, which one of these items is most likely to get them off the ice?

Good luck, my friends.