World War I Puzzler, Number A
RAY: Well, it's just an example of how statistics can lie to people.
TOM: Yeah.
RAY: And have people crying out, "I knew we shouldn't have been using those damn helmets."
TOM: Right. Get rid of those helmets!
RAY: And the reason is rather simple. Before the helmets, anyone that got hit with a piece of shrapnel and wearing a cloth helmet...
TOM: Did not have any injuries.
RAY: No. He was...
TOM: He was dead.
RAY: He was a goner. At least with the helmets, people got a chance to survive and become part of the statistic...
TOM: Of injury.
RAY: Of injuries, exactly.
TOM: Better to be a statistic injury...an injury statistic than not at all.
RAY: A death statistic.
TOM: Yeah.
RAY: And that's exactly it.
TOM: Wow, man!
RAY: In fact, without the helmets, they had many more fatalities, and with the helmets, they had fewer fatalities, but more injuries.
TOM: And you don't think you're going to catch flak on this one?
RAY: Not me. Benjamin Schultz is going to take it, and I hope he shows up. That little note could...I thought we were going to hear from him, but now I know we're not going to hear from him. He's going to be out in Laramie, Wyoming.
TOM: Oh, he probably mailed a letter yesterday, because he heard the Puzzler...he heard his name mentioned last week, and sent a...and now he's at the post office trying to get the letter back.
RAY: Well, I thought it was pretty good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have used it.
TOM: I love it.
RAY: I'm with you, Ben. We'll take the heat together.
TOM: I love it because it's so obfuscated.
RAY: And twisted.
TOM: Yeah.
RAY: Yeah.
TOM: And we have a winner.
RAY: I'm sure.
TOM: The winner is Marilyn Murphy from Chattanooga, Tennessee.[ Car Talk Puzzler ]
