Life lessons learned the hard way
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#1044: The Mysterious Man in White
Original Air Date: 10.30.2010
Description:
This week on Car Talk, we've got a roadside repair story to beat the band. It involves a dead Camry, a remote mountain top, and a mysterious stranger, clad in white from head to hubcap, who did nothing
more than say, "Just start the car." Meanwhile, Jenny in California wonders if over-revving an engine can cook a catalytic converter, and if not, should the accusation destroy a relationship? Also, a Grand
Cherokee develops a bad case of flatulence; a '58 Lincoln with a brake pedal problem prompts some thoughts on Tommy's wardrobe; and, how much
do you owe a friend who spent a few hundred bucks trying to fix your car... but succeeded instead in setting it on fire? All this, and lots more, this week on Car Talk.
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This Week's Puzzler
What apparently confounding feature of the atomic watch turned out to be not so confusing, after all? Find out!
Last Week's Puzzler
Two police officers trained their flashlights on a car, looking for evidence that it had been driven the day before. One of the officers said, "This car's clean. It wasn't involved in a robbery." What did the officer see? Find out!
Show Open Topic
Tom and Ray share life lessons that were learned a bit too late.
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Show Review - 1367
by AnonymousShow Review - 1336
by Anonymousits a four wrench show with Tommy on extra happy juice
Show Review - 1337
by genlinShow Review - 1343
by AnonymousShow Review - 1345
by memchipIt's not clear what area of Utah the caller was visiting when the incident occurred but Dugway Proving Ground is within 100 mi of Salt Lake city. Testing of an electromagnetic pulse generating device would cause the described problem if it they were within proximity. If the white knight was a researcher involved with the test he would know their car was disabled and why. The caller didn't go into detail about the type of clothing the white knight wore- could it have been a lab coat?
Show Review - 1348
by jkaveryI wonder if electromagnetic radiation (for instance from a radar) caused the car to stop near the top of the mountain in Utah? One time when I was driving past the Naval Air Station going into Key West, the engine of the Dodge Caravan rental car cut out for about a second. I blamed it on the radar - the car never had any other problems during the week-long trip.
Show Review - 1352
by happyoneMan in White
by GISGoddessLove your shows -- always a good laugh! I think I met the cousin of the man in white. While in Bermuda I rented a motorbike. I flipped it over a median (I think the only median strip on the island). I was mentally checking for broken bones when a man all dressed in white on a white motorcycle stopped. He picked the bike up off of me, leaned it against a nearby wall, put me on the back of his motorcycle and took me back to my hotel. I never saw his face and he said only a few words ("remember where the motorbike is to tell them where to pick it up").
Favorite Moment: Yes, the man in white may be Mormon coming from temple, or looking to pick someone up, but I prefer the Knight in White Armour or Angel theory!
Love you
by SchusyqI listen to you guys every week and It always puts a smile on my face
Favorite Moment: every moment!
white knight
by jrfezziwigTwo theories are interesting but don't fit. (1) the Mormon temple theory - I have traveled routes between Utah and Virginia many times to visit family, and there is no place where a Mormon temple, a remote mountaintop, and cross-country route coincide. I'd discount that one. (2) the Dugway hazmat suit theory - Dugway is many miles from any cross-country route and there are no mountains in the vicinity, let alone remote high ones. Plus, no one would leave Dugway and get in his car still wearing the hazmat suit (I think). Rhe guards would probably shoot him. I don't know what it was, but there are two things I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
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