Fused Headlight

New puzzler time.

Okay, here we go.

This happened years ago in the middle of winter.

My neighbor Frank asked me to take his jalopy in for some repairs. His old Lincoln. He made a list of things he wanted done. He wanted a tune up, an oil change and check the brakes and put new belts on and replace the leaking valve cover gaskets. All the things you do.

And being neighbors, he didn't bring the car into the garage. He actually asked me to drive it in myself. So I did. And I did all the things on his car at the garage. Then that night, I am driving the car home to his house.

So while I was driving the car home, I stopped at a traffic light and I noticed something interesting. There was a light shining under the dashboard. In fact, it was lighting up my feet. And I thought it was interesting. It seemed like a courtesy cabin light or something.

So, I keep driving home because I know my wife is making this amazing, well thought out dinner, and I don't want to miss it. But I also want to know where this light is coming from. So, as I am driving, I lean down to try to glance under the dashboard. (Don't try this at home please!)

So what I see under the dashboard is in fact a headlight. A headlight that is somehow wired into the fuse box, under the dashboard of the car. I didn't notice it during the day, of course. But that night, it became clear there was a headlight under there.

So, I get home and I deliver the car to Frank. And when I get there, I hand over the keys and hand him the bill. And then I said, "Oh, by the way, I think there was something you wanted fixed that you forgot to tell me about, right?"

And he said, "Oh yes, you're right!"

So, what was the light doing under the dashboard? What was the purpose of the headlight that was wired into the fuse box under the dashboard?

Good luck.

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

Battles

This one is historic in nature. And there are conflicting versions out there, so don't get all upset if this is just one of them.

Here we go.

The year was 1415. It was in October of 1415. Earlier in that year, Henry V of England had invaded France because he thought he had a claim to the French throne.

So, after spending many months there and being unsuccessful in his mission of taking over the French thrown, they decided to head back to England. The troops were starving and fighting disease and they were just dying to see their families again. They decide to go to Calais, the French port city, to hitch a boat ride back to their homeland, merry old England.

That was their plan, but they were cut off by the French. And at that point, Henry V tries to sue for peace and says, "I don't want to fight!"

And the French basically say, "Well, that's tough. You're fighting..."

I'm paraphrasing here, of course...

So, the French were under the command of a man named Charles d'Albret. He was commanding a force of about 25,000 men, while Henry V had about 6,000 men total. The French go into this convinced that the Brits are done for. They're tired, they're outnumbered... The French then proclaim that after the battle is over, they will take the British soldiers that are still alive and they will remove certain parts of their bodies so they might never be able to fight again.

Well, it turns out that the battle was preceded by heavy rains and the French troops were at a disadvantage because they were in a valley and they were weighted down by their heavy armor, and the tactics of the British soldiers were superior and somehow, the Brits won the battle. It was a decisive battle, and d'Albert and many of the French nobility were killed in the battle.

When the battle was over, the British soldiers then displayed the parts of themselves that would have been cut off by the French as a way to revel in their victory.

What were they displaying?