I saw some government type colleagues fiddling with a car today, I had business with one of them so I had to go over. (sometimes, it's not a good idea for a mechanic to walk into a situation like that... someone could ask your opinion, or you could get roped into working in the snow for free. I don't mind when my input is needed, I usually tell the guy what's wrong then smile while he ignores my advice and goes in search of some other cause for the problem. And lately, when asked what the cause of the problem is, I'll just answer "Obama" and leave it at that)
Anyway, I saw these guys had a coil wire off and it occurred to me that they could be pulling a prank on some fellow worker. And it reminded me of this, something you used to be able to buy at the 7-11 in the early 60's:
AUTO FOOLER SMOKE WHISTLE PRANK
An oldie but goodie. When the victim turns the car ignition, a whistle blows and smoke comes out of nowhere. Detailed instructions tell you how it's done for maximum effect. Works with any item that has a spark plug and electronic ignition. Classic prank.
It turned out they were doing serious work (q: "What do you think is wrong with the idle?" a: "Obama") But being reminded of the whistle-fooler I asked them if they remembered it from when they were youths. Nobody did. So I figured sales of the things had probably stopped long ago because of safety issues; I mean really, it's pyrotechnics that you stick under the hood of a gasoline powered vehicle - the potential for bad endings is definitely there. So I go to research it on the WWW and, what a surprise, they still sell the things.
They probably aren't quite the same device as was sold in my youth; I seem to remember that the original would whistle shrilly, pause, then there'd be a loud bang and the smoke would start. I suppose I could be wrong. I never actually used one. I was just a kid and the price would have been beyond my kid budget -- probably $1.29, which is something like $ 6,000 in today's money. But I definitely remember imagining using one, not sure on whose car, but I remember standing there in the 7-11, touching the package, as if maybe some of it's magic would rub off on me. I think I worshiped at the shrine of the auto-fooler every time I went into the 7-11. Kids could do that back in those days, hardly anyone shoplifted so kids were allowed to stand and gawk.
How cool is that, getting entertainment and memories that have stayed with me my whole life, and I never even bought the thing? What would have happened if I had gotten one? My life would have been complete before I was even a teenager. There would have been nothing left to strive for. The manufacturer, realizing this, wisely priced it out of the reach of the young and vulnerable.
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