[Hobbsicle] Driver: Mirage

[Hobbsicle]

Final puzzle in the “Driver” series on the subject of car travel. Other than theme, the puzzles are unrelated.

A man suddenly stops using his car, even though it is in good working condition and nothing prevents him from driving it, and chooses instead to take the bus, train, Uber, etc. for three weeks. At the end of this time, he gets in his car and drives it hundreds of miles to the middle of a desert. Why?

[klondike mary]

Is where he left his car relevant? e.g. at home, in a parking lot, by the side of the road.
Is where he lives relevant? WAG" is coronavirus, or any disease, relevant?

[Hobbsicle]

Is where he left his car relevant? e.g. at home, in a parking lot, by the side of the road. Not really, you can assume at home
Is where he lives relevant? No-ish WAG" is coronavirus, or any disease, relevant? Not this time

[WiZ]

Does he intend to abandon his car? Destroy it? Bury it? Give it to, or leave it for, someone else? Does he intend to return in his car? Are there other cars and/or people in the desert?

For this three-week period, is he trying to save money? Take advantage of a loophole? Does anyone else use the car during this time? Is he trying to establish an alibi?

Does he legally own the car? Is he a criminal? Is some aspect or detail of the car relevant?

Is his occupation relevant?

[Earnest]

Did he suspect something? Had it been for more than three weeks would the puzzle have worked?

He gets in his car and drives it hundreds of miles to the middle of a desert --> did he want to get noticed by someone? Has he got a specific destination? Did he just want to run out of gas? Can we assume that the car is not an hybrid car?
Did he have another car relevantly? Is racing relevant?

Did he have a relevant financial gain in stop using the car? Did he declare something relevant? E.g. that he had no driving license? That he is not able to drive? Did he receive a fine? Can we assume that it took place in the States? Was the man thee only one that stopped using the car (except from Uber drivers, taxi drivers and so on)?

Did he expect something to happen at the end of the three weeks? E.g. someone come and take the car? Someone contacting him? An event to take place? In the middle of the desert? Fingerprints in the car relevant? Is he controlled/spied by someone? Can we assume that the car did not move from the place where it has been left the entire three weeks? That no one used it?

[Hobbsicle]

WiZ

Does he intend to abandon his car? Destroy it? Bury it? Give it to, or leave it for, someone else? No to all Does he intend to return in his car? Yes Are there other cars and/or people in the desert? Yes

For this three-week period, is he trying to save money? No Take advantage of a loophole? No Does anyone else use the car during this time? No Is he trying to establish an alibi? No

Does he legally own the car? Yes Is he a criminal? No Is some aspect or detail of the car relevant? Yes-ish

Is his occupation relevant? No

Earnest

Did he suspect something? No Had it been for more than three weeks would the puzzle have worked? Given certain circumstances, yes

He gets in his car and drives it hundreds of miles to the middle of a desert --> did he want to get noticed by someone? No Has he got a specific destination? Yes Did he just want to run out of gas? No Can we assume that the car is not an hybrid car? You can assume, though a hybrid would also work
Did he have another car relevantly? No Is racing relevant? No

Did he have a relevant financial gain in stop using the car? Yope to yes-ish Did he declare something relevant? No E.g. that he had no driving license? That he is not able to drive? Did he receive a fine? No to these Can we assume that it took place in the States? Yes, and that is relevant Was the man thee only one that stopped using the car (except from Uber drivers, taxi drivers and so on)? Yes

Did he expect something to happen at the end of the three weeks? Yes-ish E.g. someone come and take the car? Someone contacting him? No to these An event to take place? Not event, per se In the middle of the desert? But he goes there for a particular reason Fingerprints in the car relevant? No Is he controlled/spied by someone? No Can we assume that the car did not move from the place where it has been left the entire three weeks? Yes That no one used it? Yes, it was relevantly unused

[Earnest]

That no one used it? Yes, it was relevantly unused --> mileage relevant? kilometers driven relevant? Any parameter revealed by the electronic of the car (e.g. odometer? fuel gauge? something that would not have been the same as it was had he taken the car in the past three weeks? something that remained unchanged because he did not take the car? Something that instead changed? Is snow relevant?

Can we assume that it took place in the States? Yes, and that is relevant --> maybe rules related to streets? Streets/roads in the desert? Route 66 relevant? Is a road in the middle of the desert relevant?

Did he expect something to happen at the end of the three weeks? Yes-ish --> full moon relevant? natural events relevant? did he expect the end of the world? Is religion relevant? an hobby? flash-mob?

drives it hundreds of miles to the middle of a desert --> did he live in the middle of the desert? horn relevant?

Did he fear to make accidents in the three week period? To be stopped by police? that someone ask him to pick him/her up? to give a lift? Legal age relevant? E.g. m maybe he said to someone that he did not have the legal age to drive? Did he lie to someone (so that nothing theoretically prevent him from driving the car but just his lie to the someone)?

Are there other cars and/or people in the desert? Yes --> did they meet voluntarily? Or maybe they all go to a famous destination? Maybe everyone is relevantly taking pictures?

Can we assume that his car is a normal car? No pictures/other particular signs? Plate relevant? Is the car new? Old? A jeep? A Mustang? An American car?


WAG --> is he the brother of J.F.Kennedy the three weeks after the attack and was not allowed to take his Cadillac Seville? ...maybe not since he took the Uber...

[klondike mary]

Per the puzzle statement, he lives within 200 miles of a desert - probably closer than that, since he drives to the middle of a desert. Or is ''middle' meant figuratively, as in eg. someplace lonely and deserted? Is this on the North American continent? Asian? African? South American? Relevant? Oaises relevant? Mirages relevant?
Is his motive /reason for going to the desert relevant? e.g. he wanted to see lots of stars, he wanted to be alone, he wanted to meet someone there, he wanted to look for buried treasure? (Just WAGing around here.)

[trebor]

Is Burning Man relevant? Another festival? Cultural event? A car show? A race? Is it relevant what state the desert is in? What state he starts from? Does this whole journey take place in the same state?

Does he end up leaving the car in the desert? In the same car?

Is it relevant what business he has to conduct in the three weeks? Is he doing things to prep the car for whatever happens in the desert?

[Hobbsicle]

Earnest

That no one used it? Yes, it was relevantly unused --> mileage relevant? This kilometers driven relevant? Any parameter revealed by the electronic of the car (e.g. odometer? fuel gauge? something that would not have been the same as it was had he taken the car in the past three weeks? something that remained unchanged because he did not take the car? Yes Something that instead changed? Is snow relevant? No to rest

Can we assume that it took place in the States? Yes, and that is relevant --> maybe rules related to streets? No Streets/roads in the desert? Route 66 relevant? Is a road in the middle of the desert relevant? No particular road is relevant, but yes, he took a road into the desert

Did he expect something to happen at the end of the three weeks? Yes-ish --> full moon relevant? natural events relevant? did he expect the end of the world? Is religion relevant? an hobby? This is closest flash-mob?

drives it hundreds of miles to the middle of a desert --> did he live in the middle of the desert? No horn relevant? No

Did he fear to make accidents in the three week period? To be stopped by police? that someone ask him to pick him/her up? to give a lift? Legal age relevant? E.g. m maybe he said to someone that he did not have the legal age to drive? Did he lie to someone (so that nothing theoretically prevent him from driving the car but just his lie to the someone)? No to these

Are there other cars and/or people in the desert? Yes --> did they meet voluntarily? They are there voluntarily, but not meeting per se Or maybe they all go to a famous destination? Essentially, yes Maybe everyone is relevantly taking pictures? No

Can we assume that his car is a normal car? Yes No pictures/other particular signs? Plate relevant? Is the car new? Old? A jeep? A Mustang? An American car? The rest irrel


WAG --> is he the brother of J.F.Kennedy the three weeks after the attack and was not allowed to take his Cadillac Seville? ...maybe not since he took the Uber... Haha, no

klondike mary

Per the puzzle statement, he lives within 200 miles of a desert - probably closer than that, since he drives to the middle of a desert. Or is ''middle' meant figuratively, as in eg. someplace lonely and deserted? Middle is somewhat figurative, generally within a desert, not just to the edge of it Is this on the North American continent? Asian? African? South American? Relevant? Relevantly USA Oaises relevant? No Mirages relevant? Only perhaps in a very tangential sort of way
Is his motive /reason for going to the desert relevant? Yes e.g. he wanted to see lots of stars, he wanted to be alone, he wanted to meet someone there, he wanted to look for buried treasure? (Just WAGing around here.) Good WAGing, but no

trebor

Is Burning Man relevant? No Another festival? No Cultural event? Not event, exactly, but OTRT A car show? No A race? No Is it relevant what state the desert is in? Yes What state he starts from? No Does this whole journey take place in the same state? I suppose it could, but not relevantly

Does he end up leaving the car in the desert? In the same car? He leaves the desert with the same car

Is it relevant what business he has to conduct in the three weeks? Yes Is he doing things to prep the car for whatever happens in the desert? Sort of, yes

[Earnest]

is the desert in the same State where he lives? Texas? California? Other states? Is it relevantly at the border with Mexico? in Nevada?

Did he turn on the car in the three weeks? numbers of States in USA relevant? Did he stop driving also in other periods before? Always three weeks periods?
Mileage relevant...did he want to let someone think that he lives nearby/far/at a certain distance? Did he relevantly pick someone up with him to the middle of the desert? Is there a building in the middle of the desert? Did he drive at a certain altitude/latitude/geographic coordinate? Is Area 51 relevant? UFO relevant?

Did he want to preserve the fuel of three weeks earlier? Did he want some parameters to be unchanged so that he is able to distinguish a change due to a certain phenomenon from a change due to something else? Is fuel relevant at all? Did he want to see if radiations disturb the odometer?

[irishelk]

All the driving puzzles are great, glad I got in on one before it was finished!

To continue Earnest's line of questioning, is the odometer relevant? Getting to a particular mile driven?

Does he drive into the desert: because it's a good place to meet the other people that are there? Because it's the place those people live? or are already going to be? Because it's hot? Because it's dry? Because of how it looks/something visual about the area? Because the exact distance he wants to travel puts him there?

Is he at the Grand Canyon? another natural landmark? A man-made landmark? a national park?

[Hobbsicle]

Earnest

is the desert in the same State where he lives? irrel Texas? California? Other states? Is it relevantly at the border with Mexico? in Nevada? This

Did he turn on the car in the three weeks? He might have numbers of States in USA relevant? No Did he stop driving also in other periods before? No or irrel Always three weeks periods?
Mileage relevant...did he want to let someone think that he lives nearby/far/at a certain distance? No Did he relevantly pick someone up with him to the middle of the desert? No Is there a building in the middle of the desert? Yes Did he drive at a certain altitude/latitude/geographic coordinate? Not relevantly Is Area 51 relevant? UFO relevant? No to both

Did he want to preserve the fuel of three weeks earlier? No Did he want some parameters to be unchanged so that he is able to distinguish a change due to a certain phenomenon from a change due to something else? That's a complex-sounding question! No, though Is fuel relevant at all? No Did he want to see if radiations disturb the odometer? No

irishelk

To continue Earnest's line of questioning, is the odometer relevant? Yes Getting to a particular mile driven? YES

Does he drive into the desert: because it's a good place to meet the other people that are there? No Because it's the place those people live? The other people aren't all that relevant or are already going to be? Because it's hot? Because it's dry? Because of how it looks/something visual about the area? No to all Because the exact distance he wants to travel puts him there? It does, but the location came before the distance

Is he at the Grand Canyon? another natural landmark? A man-made landmark? I guess this, DOYD of "landmark" a national park?

[klondike mary]

One of our cars hit the 200,000 mile mark at the apex of a bridge, therefore over water & not on land at all. Is a structure such as a bridge involved? or maybe a ferry?

[trebor]

Is the particular "mile"stone the 100,000 mark? 200,000? 300,000? Does it matter specifically which one it is? Does he hit that mileage at a spot that corresponds to it? (66,666 miles at Route 66, for instance?) Does Nevada have mile numbers on a major roadway that correspond with his odometer?

Las Vegas/gambling relevant? Is his profession relevant? The business that he conducts in the three week period: stocking up for the trip? Making modifications to the car? Normal day-to-day stuff? Getting his will/estate in order? Planning this excursion?

[Hobbsicle]

klondike mary

One of our cars hit the 200,000 mile mark at the apex of a bridge, therefore over water & not on land at all. Is a structure such as a bridge involved? or maybe a ferry? Neither, although "structure" is somewhat involved

trebor

Is the particular "mile"stone the 100,000 mark? 200,000? 300,000? None of these Does it matter specifically which one it is? I have a particular one in mind Does he hit that mileage at a spot that corresponds to it? (66,666 miles at Route 66, for instance?) Not exactly, but OTRT Does Nevada have mile numbers on a major roadway that correspond with his odometer? No

Las Vegas/gambling relevant? YES Is his profession relevant? No The business that he conducts in the three week period: stocking up for the trip? Making modifications to the car? Normal day-to-day stuff? Assume this Getting his will/estate in order? Planning this excursion? Probably some of this, though irrel

[trebor]

Is a particular casino relevant? Another building in Vegas? Has he placed a bet that he will hit this milestone at a certain place? At a certain time? On a certain day? In correlation with a weather event?

[Hobbsicle]

Is a particular casino relevant? No, any will do, maybe...the Mirage Another building in Vegas? No Has he placed a bet that he will hit this milestone at a certain place? No bets, but he is trying to reach it when he arrives at the casino At a certain time? On a certain day? In correlation with a weather event?

[GalFisk]

Does he want it to hit a round number? A lucky number? A number of significance to him only? A number which others going to Vegas also want to hit? Does he want to hit a particular number? Not exceed a particular number? Does he intend for this number to be seen by others? For the car to change ownership? To be viewed? Does he want to save up the miles required to drive to Vegas and back, so that his drive won't be evident on the odometer after the fact? Is it his own car? A company car? Someone else's car? A rental? A car shared with someone else?

[Hobbsicle]

Does he want it to hit a round number? A lucky number? This A number of significance to him only? A number which others going to Vegas also want to hit? Does he want to hit a particular number? Not exceed a particular number? Does he intend for this number to be seen by others? For the car to change ownership? To be viewed? Does he want to save up the miles required to drive to Vegas and back, so that his drive won't be evident on the odometer after the fact? Is it his own car? A company car? Someone else's car? A rental? A car shared with someone else?

**************SPOILER*****************

A somewhat superstitious man planning to take a trip to a Las Vegas casino (which sits in the middle of the Mojave desert in Nevada) realizes he has a unique opportunity, so he monitors his own driving carefully until he stops using his car altogether, three weeks from his planned vacation. When his departure time arrives, he takes the road trip to the casino, pulling into the parking lot as the odometer reads 77,777.

Thanks for playing!