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        riddles >> what happened >> Driver
        
(Message started by: alien on May 16^th, 2005, 1:34pm)

Title: Driver
Post by alien on May 16^th, 2005, 1:34pm

Dean has recently passed the driving test and is driving in his brand-new car on the open road on the barren hill. The weather is fair, there's nothing wrong with the car and there's nobody in the vicinity in the radius of 3 miles. Suddenly, he hears a repeating sound in short intervals he couldn't identify at first. After 10 seconds he realizes what the sound is and laughs to himself.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by BNC on May 16^th, 2005, 3:31pm

[hideb]
The flapping of he new car's plastic seatcovers in the wind?[/hideb]

Title: Re: Driver
Post by towr on May 16^th, 2005, 3:54pm

mobile phone?
Radio?
Military firing range three miles away?
Voices in his head?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 17^th, 2005, 4:49am

The source of the sound is not within the car that isn't convertible nor it came from the distance bigger than 1 mile.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Grimbal on May 17^th, 2005, 5:21am

He transported defective containers of dinitrogen monoxide (also known as "laughing gas").

or

His phone rings. He remembers he gave his number to the attractive driving instructor with whom he did his driving test. She complimented how gently he manages the curves.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 17^th, 2005, 9:53am

I already said that the source of the sound is not within the car so no. ;)

Title: Re: Driver
Post by BNC on May 18^th, 2005, 7:30am

Do you consider light rain to be a fair weather?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 18^th, 2005, 11:52am

No.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by BNC on May 18^th, 2005, 1:32pm

Fireworks?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 18^th, 2005, 2:43pm

Nope.

The source of the sound is [hide]within the perimeter of motorway.[/hide]

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Sjoerd Job Postmus on May 18^th, 2005, 3:03pm

Was the road absolutely flat? If the road has bumps every x meters, you might hear some noises. Often this happens on bridges.

Was the tire perfectly round?

Were the stripes on the road quite high, which he was driving over?

Is the fact that he has recently passed his driving exam important?
If so, is it because he made a minor mistake because of this, or because he was not yet used to that sound?

I don't know...

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Icarus on May 18^th, 2005, 4:59pm

on 05/18/05 at 15:03:51, Sjoerd Job Postmus wrote:

Was the road absolutely flat? If the road has bumps every x meters, you might hear some noises.

Ewww Dont remind me! I took I-29 through South Dakota two years ago, and just inside the southern border were evenly spaced bumps that went on for miles. Even though it only lasted for about 45 minutes, it was every bit as effective as the infamous "chinese water torture". Thump .... Thump .... Thump .... Thump ... ARRRGH! I CONFESS! I CONFESS!

If the interval is really short, then it could be nothing more than a pebble caught in the treads.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by KenYonRuKu on May 18^th, 2005, 5:31pm

Clearly it's the sound of my mother in law as she slowly suffocates in the boot of Dean's car...

By the way everyone, this is my first post in about a year... I had a brief spurt of productivity a while back, but then work and other commitments scuppered my riddling...

Yoroshiku onegaitashimasu! :D

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Grimbal on May 19^th, 2005, 4:41am

He sees a police car at the back signalling him to stop. He has been driving for years without a driving licence, and was always scared to be checked by the police. But he just passed the test this morning, so he is happy, ready to show his licence with a big smile.

Btw, it is never a good idea to smile exessively to a policeman, but that is another story.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 19^th, 2005, 6:59am

Quote:

Was the road absolutely flat?

Yes.

Quote:

Was the tire perfectly round?

Yes.

Quote:

Were the stripes on the road quite high, which he was driving over?

There weren't any stripes.

Quote:

Is the fact that he has recently passed his driving exam important?
If so, is it because he made a minor mistake because of this, or because he was not yet used to that sound?

The sound was new to him.

Quote:

If the interval is really short, then it could be nothing more than a pebble caught in the treads.

The interval is short but there are no pebbles on the road so nothing got caught in the treads.

Quote:

Clearly it's the sound of my mother in law as she slowly suffocates in the boot of Dean's car...

Quote:

He sees a police car at the back signalling him to stop.

Dean was in the car by himself and alone on the road.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by BNC on May 19^th, 2005, 7:43am

Did he activated the windows wipers by mistake?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 19^th, 2005, 8:28am

No. ::)

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Sjoerd Job Postmus on May 19^th, 2005, 9:38am

I'm at a loss!

Was it the sound of silence?
Was it the wind?
Is there a logical explenation?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by BNC on May 19^th, 2005, 9:50am

So maybe he activated the winker by mistake?

(note: I'm note sure if "winker" is right word. I mean those little lights on the side of the car that pulse to indicate turning.)

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 19^th, 2005, 11:56am

Quote:

Was it the wind?

The weather is fair without wind but you are on the right track. ;)

Quote:

Is there a logical explenation?

Yes.

Quote:

So maybe he activated the winker by mistake?

He didn't do anything wrong.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by baddab457 on May 19^th, 2005, 12:11pm

since it was a new car
[hide] the baloons that are usually attached to the car were flopping while being draggd by the car[/hide]

or the salesman was tied down in the trunk... trying to break free... or maybe it was his girlfriend and he was pulling a Peterson

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 19^th, 2005, 2:00pm

on 05/19/05 at 12:11:02, baddab457 wrote:

since it was a new car
[hide] the baloons that are usually attached to the car were flopping while being draggd by the car[/hide]

It is a standard car: no balloons, no trailer with a horse in it, no rack on the roof, no nothing.

Quote:

or the salesman was tied down in the trunk... trying to break free... or maybe it was his girlfriend and he was pulling a Peterson

Nope.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by towr on May 19^th, 2005, 2:13pm

Is it anything at all we could conceivably guess?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Sjoerd Job Postmus on May 19^th, 2005, 2:29pm

on 05/19/05 at 14:13:53, towr wrote:

Is it anything at all we could conceivably guess?

If we copied a dictionary in here, would it be in it?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by kumbu on May 19^th, 2005, 3:07pm

Was it cold, and was it a concrete road? In that case, there would be gaps due to thermal expansion and contraction at regular intervals :)

Another possibility could be that Dean was driving on the light reflectorswhich also act as medians

I guess, the fact that the road is "flat" accounts for such anomalies...ah

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Icarus on May 19^th, 2005, 3:20pm

on 05/18/05 at 17:31:52, KenYonRuKu wrote:

By the way everyone, this is my first post in about a year.

Welcome back! It's good to here from you again. Maybe we can even get an answer on that riddle you left us hanging on. :D (Which I don't remember off the top of my head - I just remember that there was one. Something about your father getting angry for an apparently innocent remark.)

on 05/19/05 at 09:50:03, BNC wrote:

I'm note sure if "winker" is right word.

Officially in English, they are called "Turn signals" or "indicators". Colloquially, they are often called "blinkers".

In the U.K., they may have other names, but everyone knows they only speak a kind of degraded pidgin English anyway. ;)

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 20^th, 2005, 5:28am

Was the sound caused by his car?

Was it [hide]his mother in law inside the trank?[/hide]

or [hide]the sound the air makes when the window is half open and seems like it has harmonized, like a drone[/hide]

I guess he laughed because in the beginning he got scared by it... maybe teriffied

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 20^th, 2005, 5:30am

Did he buy the car or did he steal it?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 20^th, 2005, 5:44am

Is it important that he had recently taken his driver's license?
[hide]Maybe he was deaf and had recently a surgery and now he isn't any more... [/hide] ;D

Title: Re: Driver
Post by baddab457 on May 20^th, 2005, 7:16am

it was the engine dieing becus he forgot to fill it with gas...

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Grimbal on May 20^th, 2005, 8:08am

He is on the way to see his mother in law. He had to go for lack of a reasonable excuse. Now his car is beeping because the tank is empty. He is happy. Now he has an excuse. There is a gas station in view but he doesn't have to tell the whole story.

OK, some questions:
He laughs because
a) he is happy about something he discovered
b) because something funny happened
c) because of the irony of the situation he discovered
d) because he got away with something that would have made him fail his driving license
e) just to make the riddle difficult

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 20^th, 2005, 1:52pm

Quote:

Is it anything at all we could conceivably guess?

Well...

Quote:

If we copied a dictionary in here, would it be in it?

Maybe. ;)

Quote:

Was it cold, and was it a concrete road? In that case, there would be gaps due to thermal expansion and contraction at regular intervals

Very good but it was asphalt road.

Quote:

Another possibility could be that Dean was driving on the light reflectorswhich also act as medians

I guess, the fact that the road is "flat" accounts for such anomalies...ah

I'm not sure what you mean but it is not even close to the answer I'm looking for so...

Quote:

Was the sound caused by his car?

Yes. You are on the right track. ;)

Quote:

Was it his mother in law inside the trank?

The trunk was empty.

Quote:

or [hide]the sound the air makes when the window is half open and seems like it has harmonized, like a drone[/hide]

You also are on the right track.

Quote:

Did he buy the car or did he steal it?

It is his car.

Quote:

Is it important that he had recently taken his driver's license?

No.

Quote:

Maybe he was deaf and had had recently a surgery and now he isn't any more...

Nope.

Quote:

it was the engine dieing becus he forgot to fill it with gas...

Quote:

Now his car is beeping because the tank is empty.

Nice try but I've already said that the source of the sound is not within the car.

Quote:

OK, some questions:
He laughs because
a) he is happy about something he discovered
b) because something funny happened
c) because of the irony of the situation he discovered
d) because he got away with something that would have made him fail his driving license
e) just to make the riddle difficult

Laugh is of no importance.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by kumbu on May 20^th, 2005, 2:28pm

[hideb] He inadvertently hit the sunroof/moonroof switch (Can anyone tell me the difference between sun and moooroofs? I'm still a moron when it comes to cars), and it opened a bit causing a rhythmic noise [/hideb]

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 20^th, 2005, 3:05pm

Nope.

I have removed unnecessary parts of the original riddle:

Driver

Dean is driving in his car on the open road on the barren hill. There's nobody else on the road. Suddenly, he hears a repeating sound in short intervals he couldn't identify at first. The source of the sound is within the perimeter of motorway but the source of the sound is not within the car. After 10 seconds he realizes what the sound is.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by SMQ on May 21^st, 2005, 6:28am

on 05/20/05 at 14:28:42, kumbu wrote:

Can anyone tell me the difference between sun and moooroofs? I'm still a moron when it comes to cars

If I understand right (no guarantees there!) A sunroof is fixed in place or can only pop open like a vent on the back edge, whereas a moonroof can completely retract.

--SMQ

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Icarus on May 21^st, 2005, 7:16am

No - some sunroofs can retract.

A moonroof is a sunroof made of glass or clear plastic, along with an inner opaque covering you can close when you don't want the sun coming through.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by kumbu on May 22^nd, 2005, 1:13pm

on 05/21/05 at 07:16:58, Icarus wrote:

No - some sunroofs can retract.

A moonroof is a sunroof made of glass or clear plastic, along with an inner opaque covering you can close when you don't want the sun coming through.

ahh...Thanks!!

Title: Re: Driver
Post by KenYonRuKu on May 22^nd, 2005, 6:23pm

Wow... this is a puzzling little ditty and no mistake.

Let's see, he is alone, the motorway is empty and he is on a barren hill...

Is the hill significant? (would the same sound occur were the ground to be flat?)
Is the fact that he's called Dean significant? (reference to a movie scene, etc)

Title: Re: Driver
Post by KenYonRuKu on May 22^nd, 2005, 6:26pm

Has he absentmindedly left his briefcase on the roof of his car and driven off?.. is the sound the ringing of his mobile phone in the briefcase?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 22^nd, 2005, 11:23pm

Did his car have any flag on it? Had his car caught some kind of cloth and was dragging it, or his coat was left partially out of it? Was he dragging anything in general with his car (branch, box...)? :-/

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 23^rd, 2005, 5:57am

Quote:

Is the hill significant?

No. The only reason why I have mentioned the hill is because I myself heard this pretty loud sound about a month ago driving on the hill in Trieste.

Quote:

would the same sound occur were the ground to be flat?

It could occur.

Quote:

Is the fact that he's called Dean significant? (reference to a movie scene, etc)

No.

Quote:

Has he absentmindedly left his briefcase on the roof of his car and driven off?.. is the sound the ringing of his mobile phone in the briefcase?

Quote:

Nothing like that: nothing on the roof, no flags, no sunroof etc. It was a standard car and there was nothing unusual about it.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Grimbal on May 23^rd, 2005, 8:51am

He (or was it you?) [hide] filled the tank and forgot to close the little door of the gas tank. When speeding up, it started to shake or make noise because of the wind. [/hide]

Title: Re: Driver
Post by SMQ on May 23^rd, 2005, 9:18am

How about [hide]a swarm of largish insects hitting the windscreen[/hide]

--SMQ

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 24^th, 2005, 6:09am

Was it caused by the exhaust of the car or by a small stone that got stuck in on a tyre?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Grimbal on May 24^th, 2005, 8:25am

Ice in a tire?

If there happens to be water in your tire, you won't notice it until the day it freezes. Then, you will get strange vibrations for a while until it melts or breaks.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 24^th, 2005, 5:01pm

No to all of the above.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by baddab457 on May 24^th, 2005, 5:47pm

ahhh i figured it out.. it was a manual car and the clutch was making the noise

or it was the radio that suddenly goes on and off...(sorta like my car)

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 25^th, 2005, 5:24am

Was he alone in the car? Did he at any point of his trip leave something/someone behind?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Grimbal on May 25^th, 2005, 7:26am

Yawn...

He saw that he did not lock the back door, so his mother-in-law in a weel-chair fell out. She had the time to call for help twice (repeating noise) before a big truck transporting ketchup ran over her.

Sad story.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 25^th, 2005, 4:37pm

on 05/24/05 at 17:47:55, baddab457 wrote:

ahhh i figured it out.. it was a manual car and the clutch was making the noise

or it was the radio that suddenly goes on and off...(sorta like my car)

Nope.

on 05/25/05 at 05:24:16, Ajax wrote:

Was he alone in the car?

Yes.

on 05/25/05 at 05:24:16, Ajax wrote:

Did he at any point of his trip leave something/someone behind?

No.

on 05/25/05 at 07:26:31, Grimbal wrote:

Why do I have a feeling that you don't like your mother-in-law? :P

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 25^th, 2005, 4:41pm

It is recommended that you go to red alert and raise shields because a major spoiler can appear at any second from another dimension.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 25^th, 2005, 4:41pm

The sensors just picked up a huge spoiler right in front of this reply. To all members and guests of this forum: brace for impact!

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 25^th, 2005, 4:42pm

Thanks to heavens the sensors were malfunctioning. But the only way to remove the spoiler threat is for the chosen one to solve this riddle. The sooner the better. And who is the chosen one? Is it Grimbal? Is it DeMark? Is it one of the moderators? Is it some other member or a guest? Or the spoiler will get us all? That remains to be seen.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by KenYonRuKu on May 25^th, 2005, 6:39pm

[hideb]Are all of the windows of Dean's car closed? Is the place he is driving through completely barren? If no, then could it be something as simple as the whoosh sound that occurs when you drive quickly past a tree or lamp post with the window opened?..[/hideb]

or possibly:

[hideb]The beeping of speed cameras as he passes them (do they beep?..)[/hideb]

A question.. does the sound he hears originate from a location within, say, a 5 meter radius of his car?... or is it further away?

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Deedlit on May 25^th, 2005, 7:07pm

A repeating sound that I've noticed is when your car goes over those little plastic things that sometimes are stuck in the center lane (I don't know what they are called.) Or, maybe something just got stuck in the tire.

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 25^th, 2005, 10:45pm

on 05/25/05 at 16:41:59, alien wrote:

The sensors just picked up a huge spoiler right in front of this reply. To all members and guests of this forum: brace for impact!

Does this message give any hidden hint? [hide]Was there any object picked up by your car's spoiler (I think it's a part of the bumper) and got dragged?[/hide]

Title: Re: Driver
Post by Ajax on May 26^th, 2005, 12:35am

on 05/25/05 at 16:41:59, alien wrote:

The sensors just picked up a huge spoiler right in front of this reply. To all members and guests of this forum: brace for impact!

[hide]Does your car have parking sensors on your bumper? The device which I think works with ultra-sounds and warns you when you are very close to foreign objects?[/hide]

Title: Re: Driver
Post by alien on May 26^th, 2005, 1:36am

on 05/25/05 at 18:39:48, KenYonRuKu wrote:

[hideb]Is the place he is driving through completely barren? If no, then could it be something as simple as the whoosh sound that occurs when you drive quickly past a tree or lamp post with the window opened?..[/hideb]

Congrats KenYonRuku because you have practically solved the riddle. The place he was driving through was completely barren and there weren't any lampposts but the section of this motorway is important for the solution. ;)