The Smoking Truck

Time for the new puzzler everyone. Here it is.

I'm driving down the highway, and I see way up ahead one of those diesel tractor trailers spewing from its smoke stacks, the vilest, blackest, thickest, most acrid smoke imaginable.

And as luck would have it, I'm closing in on the guy. And I realized after a minute or so, that he's pulled over to the side of the road, and the rig is running and the smoke is just pouring out.

So I pull up next to him, and I put down my passenger side window, and I say, "Hey, knucklehead, you're killing everyone behind you. Why don't you shut this thing off?"

And he says, "I did. I turned it off, but it won't shut off."

So I say to him, "Well, obviously, something's wrong. Why don't you stall it out?"

He says, "I can't. It has an automatic transmission. But don't worry, in a couple of minutes, the engine will be seized."

And I say, "Really?"

And then I happen to see the emblem on the side of his truck, and in an instant, I know why.

The puzzler is, what was the emblem on the side of the truck? And also, what was going on here?

Good luck.

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

Late Night Tow

I used this one years ago, but it has been quite a while. So here we are again. It is so old, it is now considered new.

Many years ago, I received a late night phone call from my brother who tells me that his car has broken down.

He says, "I need help. Do you have a rope to tow with?"

And I say, "Yeah, sure, I'll be right there."

So after finishing my dinner and the movie I was watching, I decide to head out to give him a hand.

I arrived with my car, tow rope in hand, and he was asleep in the car, snuggled up with one of his pet raccoons.

I wake him and ask him what the story is.

He tells me what's wrong with the car. I say, "I can't tow you, you knucklehead."

And he says, "No, we only have a few blocks to go. I can tow you."

And after a moment I said, "Holy cow!" Because I realized he's right. Even though he is broken down, and he's the one that called me in the middle of the night.

And the puzzler is, what is going on here? What is wrong with his car?