Could Be Right

Puzzler time.

This one is automotive in nature. About time.

Anyway! It happened at the shop one day, years ago. We were all sitting around the shop during one of our monthly meetings.

We have these meetings once a month to check in with the state of things.

One of the guys says, "I have an observation. Newer cars are moving towards lower maintenance. And it strikes me that newer cars should require spark plug replacements more often than older cars."

And I said, "Huh? Why?"

And then, he explained his thinking to me. And when he was done, I said, "Wow, you could be right about that, maybe..."

And the puzzler is, what did he explain to me, that made me think, maybe he could be right?

Good luck.

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

The Black Pearls

This one is about pearls.

For years, my wife had wanted a string of black pearls. These are very rare pearls that are found in the water in places like Tahiti and the Seychelles.

Far off islands across the seas.

These pearls are sometimes brought up by divers that go down to 200 feet to get them. They are rare and very beautiful. And my wife wanted some.

So I proposed a little game.

I get 50 of these pearls and put them in a cigar box, and I get 50 fake pearls and put them in another box. The fake pearls are white.

So there are two boxes. One filled with 50 black pearls from the Seychelles and one filled with 50 fake white pearls.

So, the little game is, she had to close her eyes and put her hand out and pick just one pearl. And if she picked the black pearl, she gets the real ones, and if she picks the fake pearl, she gets the fake ones.

So, I told her she can mix up the pearls however she likes. She can put them all in one box, or mix them however she likes, but she has to use all the pearls, and keep them in the boxes.

The puzzler question is, is there a way she can mix up the pearls to make her odds better at picking the black pearl?