The Loose Caboose: What is it that causes this train to strain?

RAY: Here’s a puzzler of yesteryear.

Imagine, if you will, a long freight train. As the kind, you see out West with a couple of hundred cars getting ready to leave the train yard. The engineer opens the throttle and the train starts to pull away from the yard. Then they realize that the caboose has a problem. The brake is frozen on one of the wheels of the caboose, and the wheel is being dragged so there are sparks and smoke.

Someone standing there says, "Stop the train." So, they manage to signal to the engineer, to stop the train. Well, they can't fix it, so they just cut the caboose loose. They remove it and they give him the go ahead. They wave him. You know. Go ahead. He gives it the throttle. The train doesn't move.

He gives it more throttle, it doesn't move. He gives it more and what's happening in the train isn't moving, but his wheels are spinning. There's nothing wrong with any of the remaining cars and there's nothing wrong with the engine, but there is something wrong with the engineer.

The question is what's wrong with this picture?

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

How Does Pork Chop Boy Drive To Work?

RAY: The inspiration for this puzzler was sent in by Warner Grenady. Of course, I had to add some obfuscatory details, and I personalized it a little bit.

Some of you might remember our nephew Matt, whom we called "Pork Chop Boy," because his social life was so bad, he had to tie a pork chop around his neck even to get the dog to play with him.

Anyway, some years ago he dislocated his right shoulder playing chess. It was "strip chess" actually, but, we don't have to go into that. His shoulder hurt so much that he couldn't move the shifter on his automatic transmission. He tried to reach over and shift with the other hand, but twisting in the seat hurt even more.

But, Pork Chop Boy needed to drive to work every day, and he didn't have any way to get there. Tommy said, "No problem. You can use my car." He did, and he had no problem driving Tommy's car to work-- yet, he couldn't shift his own automatic transmission car.

The question is, which one of Tommy's jalopies did Matt use to get to work, and why?