Encore Puzzler Answer, 7/5/97: Top of the Block

RAY: Hey, do you remember last week's puzzler?

TOM: Of course I do.

RAY: OK, what was it?

TOM: I have no idea.

RAY: Some years ago we had a mechanic who worked for us, an old Crusty guy.

TOM: No, not the Crusty story again.

RAY: No, no, this isn't Crusty lives on and Crusty may yet...

TOM: There are more stories to be told about Crusty.

RAY: Yes, there may be yet stories about Crusty. Some Crusty old stories.

TOM: What was his first name? Phil Crusty.

RAY: I think so, yeah, Fred. Actually a few weeks ago. This is the puzzler. One of the guys at our shop was replacing a head gasket on some car. I don't remember what it was. I believe it was a Ford Escort or something like that. Head gaskets are thin gaskets. They are made out of some kind of material usually known as what?

TOM: Gasket material.

RAY: Gasket material. Very good. And the gasket goes between the cylinder head and the block. It's a flat piece of what otherwise would be a compound that is like paper, kitty litter. I don't know what they put in there. Asbestos and other strange compounds. Anyway it is easy to install them incorrectly and for obvious reasons...

TOM: I remember this now.

RAY: They put a little note on the thing that says top, T-O-P.

TOM: It's not a note actually, it's...

RAY: Letters.

TOM: It's printed.

RAY: That's the word.

TOM: It is printed right on the gasket. T-O-P.

RAY: This fella was putting the thing on and I remember walking by and saying something like, "Boy, that's a useless piece of information isn't it?"

TOM: Was it Pete?

RAY: No.

TOM: What did he say, hunh?

RAY: What did I mean by that?

TOM: What did you mean by that?

RAY: Because he asked me the same question. He said, "what do you mean by that?"

TOM: What do you mean by that?

RAY: I said, " what do you mean what do I mean by that?" And what I meant by that was...

TOM: Are you going to give us the answer now. This is -- the next few sentences...

RAY: This qualifies.

TOM: This qualifies as the answer to the problem.

RAY: Well, this is the preamble to the answer.

TOM: Preamble to the pre-answer to the answer to the puzzler.

RAY: Well, no, I will just give the answer. A better piece of information would have been bottom.

TOM: Oh this is so clever. Just like boxes. They say THIS SIDE UP and it's printed on the top. Well, so what?

RAY: See, with this -- with the letters on top, you have a 50/50 chance of putting it on wrong. If you just took it out and didn't look at it or didn't know enough to look, you could easily put the top down.

TOM: And then you wouldn't even know that it's at the top on the other side.

RAY: And then you would have a convertible. And you wouldn't know that it said top. But if it says bottom and you happen to bottom down, then you have put it on by accident correctly.

TOM: Yeah, is this similar to the OPEN OTHER END information?

RAY: You got it. Not THIS END UP but OTHER END UP.

TOM: Other end up or even when you open up the little containers of orange juice...

RAY: So shape up gasket makers. Don't put TOP on the thing or THIS SIDE UP, put OTHER SIDE UP. But remember to put it on the other side.

TOM: That does make sense.

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]