To: Dave Bissett who wrote (1583 ) 6/28/1998 1:50:00 AM From: Dave Bissett Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 7039
..and another one just because it's Saturday... : A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division : of General Motors: : : "This is the second time I have written you, and I : don't blame you for not answering me, because I : kind of sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have : a tradition in our family of ice cream for dessert : after dinner each night.ÿ But the kind of ice cream : varies so, every night, after we've eaten, the whole : family votes on which kind of ice cream we should : have and I drive down to the store to get it. : :ÿ It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac : and since then my trips to the store have created a : problem. You see, every time I buy vanilla ice cream, : when I start back from the store my car won't start. : If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. : I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no : matter how silly it sounds:ÿ 'What is there about a Pontiac : that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and : easy to start whenever I get any other kind?'" : : The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about : the letter, but sent an engineer to check it out anyway.ÿ The : latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously : well educated man in a fine neighborhood.ÿ He had arranged : to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped : into the car and drove to the ice cream store.ÿ It was vanilla : ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back : to the car, it wouldn't start. : : The engineer returned for three more nights.ÿ The first night, : the man got chocolate.ÿ The car started.ÿ The second night, : he got strawberry. : : The car started.ÿ The third night he ordered vanilla.ÿ The car : failed to start. : : Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that : this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream.ÿ He arranged, : therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve : the problem.ÿ And toward this end he began to take notes: : he jotted down all sorts of data, time of day, type of gas : used, time to drive back and forth, etc. : :ÿ In a short time, he had a clue:ÿ the man took less time to buy : vanilla than any other flavor.ÿ Why?ÿ The answer was in the : layout of the store. : : Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case : at the front of the store for quick pickup.ÿ All the other flavors : were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where : it took considerably longer to find the flavor and get checked : out. : : Now the question for the engineer was why the car wouldn't start : when it took less time.ÿ Once time became the problem, not the : vanilla ice cream, the engineer quickly came up with the answer: : vapor lock. It was happening every night, but the extra time taken : to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently : to start.ÿ When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for : the vapor lock to dissipate. : : Moral of the story: even insane looking problems are sometimes real.