Dear Tom and Ray:

This is not really a car question, but it has to do with a car. It will help you to know that I'm from Canada, where winters are very cold. My husband kept running away, then I met this great guy, married him, and moved with him to Arizona where it is hot, hot, hot! Now, he has run back to his ex. I realize you can't help me with my "men" problems, but maybe you can answer this question for me. Why is it that in the blistering heat of Arizona and the freezing cold of Canada, one product -- antifreeze -- can protect against both? How is this possible? -- Lea

Tom: Great question, Lea. How can one little liquid keep your car from overheating in the summer AND freezing in the winter? The answer, in a word, is "contamination."

Ray: Not like what the editors have done to this newspaper by running our column here. We're talking about actual, honest-to-goodness chemical contamination.

Tom: We know that water normally freezes at 32 F and boils at 212 F. But a funny thing happens when you "contaminate" the water with another substance. The freezing point goes down and the boiling point goes up!

Ray: And when you mix ethylene glycol (a k a antifreeze) with water in approximately a 50-50 ratio, the mixture has a freezing point down around 35 or 40 below zero and a boiling points upwards of 265 F. Pretty cool, huh?

Tom: So now that we've solved that little mystery for you, I wonder why men keep running away from you. I can empathize, Lea, because I have the same problem with little kids.

Ray: Yeah. But THEY run away screaming!

Spending a little money now on "preventive maintenance" can save you big bucks down the road. Find out how by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1996 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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