TOM: Give me a hint.

RAY: I prefaced this by saying this was a quasi-automotive puzzler.

TOM: And it wasn't automotive at all.

RAY: Yes it was.

TOM: As I remember. Oh, I remember.

RAY: It was?

TOM: The people at the pool.

RAY: There you go.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: Some years ago my family and I went on a little ski vacation in the mountains. And we spent the first day hitting the slopes mostly with our faces. And after that first day we decided to spend the next day in the more comfortable surroundings of the indoor, did I say indoor, it wasn't an indoor. It was a heated pool, but it was outside.

TOM: Oh, it was outside.

RAY: Yeah. A little nippy, but it was interesting. And our vacation improved considerably from that point on. Well, while we were there, the four of us sitting in our chairs crying out Towel boy! -- another family of four started walking toward us. Now my younger son noticed that they were two very cute teenage girls walking in front of their parents, and he studied them. And after they drew closer, he said to me they're Australians you know. And I said oh, you've met them? He said no. They are as strange to me as are my textbooks. I said well then obviously you've overheard them speaking. He said no, I've never seen or heard them before in my life. And as luck would have it, they come. They continue to walk closer to us. And they come and sit down right next to us. And before they have a chance to say a word, my son leans over to them and says pretty long way to come from Australia to do a little skiing isn't it? And the father says "Yahr right mate it sure is."

TOM: Wow. Wow.

RAY: And the question --

TOM: Now this kid that he's talking about in addition to being my brother's son happens to be my nephew. And that is why he's so damn smart.

RAY: That's the only reason. He's my wife's son too. And the clue which I mentioned at the very beginning.

TOM: You said it was a quasi-automotive --

RAY: And yet there was no mentioned of a car anywhere.

TOM: Neither on the slopes nor at the pool.

RAY: So if that is in fact the clue --

TOM: This is great!

RAY: There must be something peculiar about Australians.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: Well, the only peculiar about Australians is that drive --

TOM: They eat vegimite? That's what's peculiar.

RAY: They drink warm beer and they drive on the other side of the road.

TOM: Yes, they do.

RAY: And when he saw the four of them walking toward us after admiring the two cute blonde girls that were in front of their parents, he noticed that the father's right arm was tan.

TOM: Wait a minute. How come he knew, how'd he know they weren't Japanese?

RAY: There you go.

TOM: Yeah, and how did he know that the wife doesn't do all the driving?

RAY: It was an educated guess.

TOM: What's brilliant about it is the clue.

RAY: The clue.

TOM: The clue makes the puzzler worth it. Martin Gardner would be proud of you. Of course, he would turn over his grave if he heard you.

RAY: He wouldn't.

TOM: What? No.

RAY: All right. I guess nobody liked it.

TOM: Excellent. I loved it.

RAY: OK. Who's our winner.

TOM: The winner is Delores. Wow. Delores Mikorelli. Hey. Delores Mikorelli from Gotian, Ohio. And for having your correct answer chosen at random, Delores, from among all the right answers that we did receive this past week you will win one of our CDs Men are from GM, Women are from Ford: Calls about Couples and Cars which is a must for anyone looking to stay in or get out of a relationship. Congratulations to you, Delores Mikorelli from Gotian, Ohio.

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]