For one point, please identify the gentleman in this picture, and which of his multiple automotive feats he is preparing to achieve at the time this picture was taken.
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Texting at the wheel is very dangerous and should not be condoned!
:D
Not that. His car was not in motion at the time this picture was taken.
Spanish?
No sir. His name is likely Italian, but he was born elsewhere.
From Argentina ?
If not Spain or Italy, born somewhere in Europe?
Not from Europe
From USA ?
Stuntman ?
Was this man connected to the automobile industry as a racing driver?
Quote from: 4popoid on October 26, 2014, 09:20:30 AM
Was this man connected to the automobile industry as a racing driver?
Not that
Is he about to beat a record ?
Does he need to drive a car to achieve his feat, or is it something else ?
Yes!
Yes to what ? Something else ?
Quote from: oko94 on October 27, 2014, 09:49:28 AM
Does he need to drive a car to achieve his feat
Yes!
Alright :)
So is he driving in an unconventional way ?
His manner of driving is quite ordinary. It is the circumstances of the drive make it noteworthy.
Any relation with prohibition ?
FWIW, he's pouring a cup of coffee - not booze :)
Some sort of endurance drive, such as driving "X" miles, and/or "X" hours, without stopping?
The distance travelled was not great; I don't think it was timed.
Is the cup of coffee thing related to the solution ?
It was peripherally involved.
Did he need coffee to stay awake in order to fulfill his challenge ?
Indeed!
So his feat was to drive as long as possible without sleeping ?
Quote from: oko94 on October 28, 2014, 05:21:12 AM
So his feat was to drive as long as possible without sleeping ?
Far from that. The drive was less than 2.5 km.
Why would someone need coffee to drive for less than 2.5 km ? I'm scratching my head...
Was he suffering from narcolepsy ?
Quote from: oko94 on October 28, 2014, 06:05:28 AM
Was he suffering from narcolepsy ?
To my knowledge, he was not so afflicted
More deductive reasoning is needed. :)
Is this Martin Bacon, the creator of multiple coffee powered vehicles?
Quote from: 4popoid on October 28, 2014, 05:15:35 PM
Is this Martin Bacon, the creator of multiple coffee powered vehicles?
Not Mr Bacon (nor Mr. Coffee). The automobile the puzzle subject used in this feat was absolutely ordinary and conventional.
Is he driving on a regular road ?
Not exactly...
Is he driving indoor ?
For part of his drive, his vehicle will be within a structure.
Was he driving on a railroad / underground track?
Quote from: Wendax on October 29, 2014, 04:31:25 AM
Was he driving on a railroad / underground track?
Not a railroad, or a track
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on October 29, 2014, 04:27:10 AM
For part of his drive, his vehicle will be within a structure.
Was the structure designed to be driven through with a car ?
Yes! :)
Was he driving blindfolded ?
No - I think that would have been frowned upon.
Was he driving in a tunnel ?
Yes!
Was he driving in a dark tunnel with the car's headlights turned off ?
Was he the first one to drive through a certain tunnel?
Quote from: oko94 on October 29, 2014, 11:16:20 AM
Was he driving in a dark tunnel with the car's headlights turned off ?
No
Quote from: Wendax on October 29, 2014, 11:22:22 AM
Was he the first one to drive through a certain tunnel?
Yes!
Lincoln Tunnel?
Quote from: Wendax on October 29, 2014, 02:41:17 PM
Lincoln Tunnel?
Yes!
Locked for you to finish the puzzle. :grad:
It is Omero C. Catan, known as Mr. First, waiting to be first through Lincoln Tunnel on December 22, 1937.
Quote
Catan paid the first toll on the George Washington Bridge linking New York and New Jersey (October 25, 1931). He was the first to buy a token on the Eighth Avenue subway (September 10, 1932). He was the first paying customer to skate on the Rockefeller Plaza ice rink (December 25, 1936). After he proposed marriage to stenographer Jeanne Tobolka, he was to receive the first wedding license of 1939. He was the first to put a coin in a New York City parking meter (Sept. 19, 1951). He was the first to drive over the Tappan Zee Bridge (December 15, 1955).
In all Catan was "first" 537 times, acquiring the sobriquet "Mr. First".
At 4 a.m. on December 22, 1937 the lights turned green and Omero Catan and George Horn started driving through the new Lincoln Tunnel from opposite sides.
Spot on!
QuoteWhen he was 13-years-old in 1928, Omero C. Catan heard a story from a family friend who was one of the first people to cross the Brooklyn Bridge when it opened in 1883. It was then that Omero decided that being first would be something fun to do as a hobby.
Soon after Catan went down to Lakehurst, NJ from his home in Greenwich, CT to become the first American to tour the famous airship, Graf Zeppelin.
The Miami New Times 1995 profile of Omero and his brother Michael reported, "after that initial success, there was no stopping him."
Catan paid the first toll on the George Washington Bridge linking New York and New Jersey (October 25, 1931). He was the first to buy a token on the Eighth Avenue subway (September 10, 1932). He was the first paying customer to skate on the Rockefeller Plaza ice rink (December 25, 1936). After he proposed marriage to stenographer Jeanne Tobolka, he was to receive the first wedding license of 1939. He was the first to put a coin in a New York City parking meter (Sept. 19, 1951). He was the first to drive over the Tappan Zee Bridge (December 15, 1955).
In all Catan was "first" 537 times, acquiring the sobriquet "Mr. First".
At 4 a.m. on December 22, 1937 the lights turned green and Omero Catan and George Horn started driving through the new Lincoln Tunnel from opposite sides.
According to the New York Times, Catan whose car had been parked in the Weehawken Plaza since 10 p.m. on Monday, December 20, arrived at the Manhattan end at about the same time as George Horn, whose coupe had been parked in the Manhattan Plaza since 9 p.m. on Monday, reached the New Jersey portal. Since the tolls are collected at the Weehawken end, Catan a veteran of several other "first" trips, through tunnels, over bridges, and on subways received a technical decision from reporters and others present when the tunnel went into service. Actually neither car was first to go through as Port Authority cars with engineers and dignitaries preceded the public, but they paid no tolls.
The Lincoln Tunnel was dedicated December 21, 1937, the day before it was officially opened to traffic. New York Governor Herbert H. Lehman and New Jersey Governor Harold G. Hoffman presided over the ceremonies with speeches extolling the virtues of the new tunnel.
Lehman declared that the undertaking "was proof of the ability of a public agency (The Port Authority) to plan and execute a great improvement with the same efficiency as a private industry and with a selfless devotion to the public good which reflects our highest ideal of government."
The 50¢ toll rate for passenger cars was the same at the tunnel as it was for the George Washington Bridge and the Holland Tunnel.
The tunnel put nearly $7 million into the pockets of the workers who built the tunnel. The average hourly wage was $1.09 per hour.
The second (north) tube was to be completed by 1941, but was delayed due to World War II, and was formally opened on February 1, 1945. At the time Omero Catan was serving overseas in the military. In Omero's place, his brother Michael waited four days in harsh conditions to be the first to drive through the new tube.
The estimated cost of the completed tunnel in 1937 was $74,800,00. By 1945 the cost had risen to $80 million.
"Mr. First" Omer0 C. Catan, died In Fort Lauderdale, FL at the age of 82 on October 19, 1996.