Crazy Cold Day

This is an old one. A winter automotive puzzler. Here we go.

This was years ago, before there were EVs and plug in cars.

It was a cold, cold winter up here in New England. So cold, you felt like you could freeze in place if you were standing outside.

So my neighbor tells me that his heat isn't working in his car. So we talk about it and the possible things that could be wrong. So I said maybe he was out of coolant. And he said no, that, wasn't it. And then I said, what about the heater core, could it be plugged up? And again, he said no.

Anyway, we figure out together that he needs a thermostat. So, he goes and tries to put in a new thermostat, to see if he can fix the problem himself.

So there he is in his driveway, and it is a crazy cold day. So he puts in his thermostat. And when you install a thermostat, you also have to refill the cooling system, because you lose a lot of it during the installation process. And then you have to run the engine, to get the coolant to circulate, so you can get all the air out of the system. So he is doing this. And he keeps doing it, for a long time. So finally, I come over and ask him what is going on.

And he says, he doesn't know and asks me what could possibly be wrong with it. So, I look over at this car, and it is running, and I guess he was afraid to lock his keys in his car because he has the window wide open.

So I told him to roll up the window and he'll be all set. He did. And that solved his problem.

So the question is very simple, why did I tell him to close the window?

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

Old Fashioned Coffee

We have a non-automotive puzzler for you all today.

This one is about coffee, not about cars.

Here we go.

I like to make my coffee in the morning the old-fashioned way.

I still use a percolator. None of these K-cups, espresso machines or drip stuff with timers and internet connections. None of that. I just like the pure bubbling coffee that comes from a percolator.

Anyway, imagine you use a percolator too. You're getting up in the morning, getting ready to go to work. You've made yourself a boiling pot of coffee. And as soon as it finishes its last perk, you remove it from the stove. And while it's still boiling, you pour yourself a cup. It's probably on the verge of boiling and still 210 degrees. Very hot. You realize it's too hot to drink. And as luck would have it, you have to go and shave.

So, you got 5 minutes in which to shave, while you're coffee is still boiling hot. And you like to put cream in your coffee. So here is the question.

Do you take the cream and put it in the coffee now, while you go shave, as the coffee is boiling hot? Knowing that the cream will start to cool off the coffee now, while you're shaving.

Or do you go and have your shave, and then when you returned, you put in the cream and stir it and drink it down?

Which scenario will make the coffee the coolest, so you can drink it after that 5 minutes?

Add cream and then shave for 5 minutes?

Or let it alone, shave for 5 minutes, and then add the cream?

Good luck.