The Long Walk Home

Time for today's puzzler.

Here we go.

We will make this one about my brother.

Back in the old days, my brother used to have his wife drive him to the train station, and then he'd take the train and go to work.

So he would work for an hour or two, not very long honestly!

Anyway after work, he would leave and walk to the train station. He'd take the train, and his wife would meet him there, and they would drive home.

Well, one day, he decides to leave work an hour early. Even earlier than usual. So, of course he gets to the train station an hour early. So, rather than call his wife, he decides to start walking. It's a nice day, so he starts walking in the direction he knows she will take to come pick him up.

So, he starts walking for a bit. Then he sees his wife coming up the road. She sees him by the side of the road. She stops. He gets in the car, they drive home, and they arrive home 20 minutes earlier than they usually do.

How long was he walking before they met?

So, I know we didn't give any details like how fast she drives, how fast he walks, which train he takes home, or any of the distances.

But the puzzler question still is, how long was he walking before she picked him up?

Good luck.

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

The Fishing Rod

Time for this week's puzzler!

This one is not automotive. But it is adorable. Here we go.

An 11-year-old boy is standing on a street corner in a very small town waiting for the bus. It is the #12 bus. He is waiting at the bus stop.

He is standing there with his brand new fishing rod that he just bought. The fishing rod is 5 feet long. He is so excited, because he just got this fishing rod with the money he saved from mowing lawns in the neighborhood. And he's waiting for the bus to take it home.

The bus finally arrives, but as the little boy begins to step up onto the bus, the bus driver stops him.

"You can't get on here with that fishing rod," the bus driver says.

"Why not?" the little boy asks.

"There's a new city ordinance that prohibits anything, packages, bags or anything at all being carried on the bus that's longer than 4 feet. And that fishing rod is longer than 4 feet. I'm sorry."

"Well, how am I supposed to get home?" the little boy asks.

"That's your problem, kid. That fishing rod is 5 feet long, so you can't ride the bus. Sorry," says the bus driver.

So, the kid just stands there bewildered, wondering how he's going to get home with his new fishing rod. He figures he will have to return the fishing rod, get his money back, so he can get home on the bus. He goes to the store, and the clerk tells him, "No refunds. Sorry kid. You're stuck with it."

So he's stuck with the fishing rod and no way to get home because he can't take a cab because it's too expensive. He's gotta take the bus, and he can't go on the bus because the fishing rod is 5 feet long.

He walks back into the store again, realizing he can't return it. He thinks for a second.

Five minutes later, he's on the bus. He's on the bus legally, riding home with the fishing rod, without altering it, without breaking it, sawing it in half, or collapsing it.

He does nothing whatsoever to alter the fishing rod.

How does he do it?