The Neighboring Piece

Dec 17, 2022

Time for the new puzzler, so here we go. 

A while back years ago, I was driving by my brother's house and his car was parked out front. This poor car was covered in leaves and dust. Pollen and debris. He had not driven the thing in forever. 

I remembered that it was me the last time anyone drove that car. And while I was driving it, stuff was falling off of it. Pieces of the car were just dropping off. And I thought, well, these must not be that important!

Now, this doesn't happen to most cars. Most cars have all their pieces attached to some other piece right next to them. 

And this thought was the beginning of this new puzzler. Almost every car now has its pieces attached to some neighboring piece on the car. Every piece is attached to some other piece, otherwise, stuff would just fall off on the highway and be left on the road. 

So the puzzler question is very simple.

Of all the pieces that are attached to some other piece in your car, which piece of the car is attached to its neighbor with the greatest number of fasteners? And by fasteners, I mean nuts, bolts, screws, etc... Chicken wire and coat hangers don't count. It has to be what would be considered factory installed fasteners. Nuts, bolts, screws...

So, which piece in your car is attached to its neighboring piece with the most number of fasteners, and why?
 

Answer: 

Answer time! 

Okay, so I was driving my brother's old car, and pieces were falling off on the road. And seeing this brought up this puzzler. 

Because that isn't supposed to happen. Pieces are not supposed to fall off of cars, while your driving them, or while you are parked. Each piece is attached to some other piece, and it is supposed to stay that way.

And the question was this. Of all the pieces that are attached to some other piece in your car, which piece of the car is attached to its neighbor with the greatest number of fasteners? And by fasteners, I mean nuts, bolts, screws, etc...

So, the correct answer is... The dashboard. 

I know, the engine is the obvious choice. But the right answer is the dashboard. 

And the reason is this. The dashboard is a really large piece. Very, very large. And it has so many fasteners, because they are really close together. And they have to be close together, or the dashboard will rattle. And when the dashboard rattles, it will drive you crazy. 

There you have it. The dashboard. 


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