QUEER QUESTIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 224, 22 September 1938, Page 9

QUEER QUESTIONS.

CAN YOU TELL ME — ? SEARCHERS AFTER TRUTH. INQUISITIVE MOTORISTS. (Special.—By Air Mail.) ! LONDON, September 3. I "Can you trace my wife, who is motorling in the Lake District, and break it to her that our house has been burnt down?" A road patrol faced with this request might not unreasonably think that there are times when motorists can be a nuisance. So, also, might think one of his colleagues, who was stopped by a! man who had just left home on the] start of a motor tour and asked to go! to the motorist's home to ascertain whether his wife's suspicion that she had left the gas-stove alight was wellfounded.

These are but illustrations of the queer requests that drivers make—only equalled in their strangeness by some of the accompanying conundrums which, put together, would make a passable general knowledge test.

Here is a selection, taken at random, from some of the inquiries received by the Automobile Association from members in all parts of the world:—"What is the correct mode of address for a Tjbetan priest?" "What is the distance from John o' Groat's to Land's End as the crow flies?" "What was the cost of building the Tower Bridge; was it presented by one of the city guilds or paid for by "the city?" "What is the! total square mileage of the British Isles,] also the average imputation per square mile?" "How does one get married at! Gretna..what does it cost and what are the formalities?" "Where can the best mud baths be obtained in Germany?" Hard or Soft? Equally varied arc the inquiries of a more personal nature. "Where," osked one member, "can I obtain a pair of rubber boot* of the type worn by the mobile police in SuMext" "What," "»-

quired another, "is the voltage of the electric supply in Taiping (Malaya), and is it alternating or direct current?" "What," queried a third, "is the nicest part of Glasgow to live in, and is Glasgow water hard or soft?"

A somewhat "tall order" was the request for a list of the laundries in France and Germany, with their charges. This was equalled by the demand of the person who wanted the history and addresses of all the haunted houses in England, with itineraries by road to each. From a member in Germany came the inquiry:—"It is safe to motor in England unarmed?" Someone in Ceylon wanted an anti-rheumatism ring, and someone else in Central Africa a dart board, so that he could "teach the local residents the good old English game of'darts."

Not all the best jokes come out of Scotland, although one suspects that the man who wrote from Glasgow to ask if it was cheaper to walk or travel by pedal cycle from there to Florence was not too serious in his inquiry. But what of the serious request:—"Are passports necessary for a visit to Scotland ?" or the equally grave question from an American motorist: "Is it possible to buy petrol in Scotland*" Preparing for War. Another dip into the correspondence bag produces the following:—"What is the strength of the current of the Rhine at Godesbnrg?" "Is Rugby played at Heidelberg*"' "Should I wear a sun helmet in the Canary Islands?" "What is the Republic of Andorra noted for?" "My dog has biscuits; are these obtainable in France?" "Can you tell us the name of the place in Sussex where the famous pork sausages are made ?" "What is the name of the best lady's hairdresser in Liverpool?" "What is the best route from Finchley to Dent, Yorkshire, in the event of war bein<* declared ?" °

One enterprising promoter of a Youths' boxing clnb asked for a copy of the Automobile Association road safety poster bearing the words, "Give more —take less," to display in the gvmliasism. A (presumably) disillusioned wife wrote: "Can you assist in tracing my husband . a chauffeur, living somewhere in , London ?"

The association sav that they are able to answer 98 per cent of the posers put to them. It is not stated whether this question is among the remaining 2 per cent.