Puzzler Answer 5/17/97: One Man's Gadget

RAY: All right, this is the week you promised to divulge your sneaky secret to remembering puzzlers.

TOM: Well...

RAY: Are we going to have to put Columbo on the case? Or Murky even?

TOM: I don't remember that I promised that. Did I? But I will tell you what the puzzler was if you want to know. About the guy standing outside the factory selling stuff -- but if you want to know my secret I will tell it to you because it is no secret as I told you my life is an open book. The truth is, that I always knew.

RAY: You mean all those times when you said "Do you remember last week's puzzler?"

TOM: I knew that it gave you some kind of... pleasure.

TOM: Sense of pleasure or superiority for me to say, "Oh geesh. I don't remember." And it would make you feel good and I was just trying to stroke your ego knowing how fragile it is. And I was just trying to make you feel good as an older brother would do to a younger brother.

RAY: And now what's the reason for your cutting me down?

TOM: And I just started feeling sorry for myself. I guess I was having a little mid-life crisis of my own and I had to prove that I did know the puzzler and that I was not the bumbling idiot that everyone thinks I am. So anyway I always knew. But if you want me to go back to doing that again.

RAY: Please. And another thing -- shut up! All right. Here it is. This was sent in by Jody Fav via cartalk.com. And we'll discuss our new web address later.

TOM: We will?

RAY: But for the time being, here's the puzzler. In the early 30's a young inventor came up with an idea for a little gadget... Gadget. That could be installed in an automobile. When he tried to sell this idea to his favorite gadget-builder, the guy didn't want to have anything to do with it. He was afraid, the guy, the gadget builder was afraid that Congress would legislate against it because it would be distracting to drivers. Hints here -- all kinds of hints. But the inventor was very persuasive and eventually convinced the guy to build 100 of these little gadgets which later sold in front of the factory in like 10 minutes he sold all 100 of them. A multibillion dollar business was ultimately built around this little gadget.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: And you'll hardly ever see a car without one now.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: Except for your car.

TOM: I know what the answer is. Is that the question? What is it?

RAY: What is it called, is the one question. For extra credit, who was the inventor and what else did he invent. Where does he live now? Does he prefer Showtime or HBO?

TOM: Well the little gadget that you have been referring to is none other than the cellular phone. And yes my car does have a cellular phone and I don't know the second part -- his name and all that stuff -- does he prefer HBO...

RAY: Of course it wasn't the cellular phone it was the car radio.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: Hard to believe, huh?

TOM: Yeah. And I was thinking that was the beginning -- and I agree with the distraction theory -- and it's interesting...

RAY: That was the beginning of the...

TOM: That was the very first thing put into a car that was not directly related to driving the car.

RAY: And they should never have allowed it because it opened the floodgates.

TOM: It opened the floodgates and now we have jerks eating bowls of cereal while they drive, talking on the phone, getting faxes, playing with their newtons... Yeah. You got it.

RAY: Exactly.

TOM: And all because of whoever this guy was which would be part B. Who was he?

RAY: Bill Lear, who of course is best known for inventing the Lear Jet and forming a huge corporation, Lear Incorporated. He's now left us. You may channel with him if you like -- He's on HBO tonight.

TOM: I will do that.

RAY: Anyway.

TOM: Yeah. Oh now you are going to ask who's the winner.

RAY: Who's the winner? You don't know that? You don't have that part at the ready, do you?

TOM: I don't. No. Well I got it here. Wow I can't pronounce this. The winner is Dean Soclaeben (SP?) Wow!

RAY: How about Sock-Layben?

TOM: Socklaeben.

RAY: Dean.

TOM: OK. Dean. And for having your correct answer chosen at random from among all those correct answers that we got for Dean, you're going to win a free copy of the Second Best of CarTalk. Dean would have won the brand new Pontiac Grand Prix but my brother took that so all you're going to get is the lousy CD Dean and that's the way it goes. Hey! How do you like the Grand Prix?

TOM: OH! Not bad. I like it very much as a matter of fact.

RAY: And it's free. Take it everywhere. I like the red paint.

TOM: That's good. Red's good.

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]