RAY: Back in the early days of aviation, aircraft mechanics were often confused by the fact that the engines seemed to backfire through the carburetors with some kind of regularity. In some cases this would cause damage to the carburetors. At the very least, it would require more maintenance and cleaning of the carburetor.
TOM: Not to mention scaring the pants off the passengers!
RAY: The mechanics began investigating, figuring there was something wrong. After thorough investigations and recalibrating of the engines, they discovered that the cause of the backfiring was...the pilot.
In fact, the pilot was doing it on purpose.
The question is: Why would the pilot of the plane want the engine to backfire through the carburetor?
[ Car Talk Puzzler ]
