Mr. Andersonâs automobile suddenly developed a flat tire one night, immediately outside the strong iron fence that walled off the local mental institution.
Annoyed but resigned, Anderson jacked up the car and prepared to replace the wheel. He took off the hubcap, unscrewed the bolts, which he placed in the hubcap, which in turn was resting in the road, and placed the spare tire with its hub onto the axle.
He was about to reach for the hubcap with its bolts when a speeding car raced by and, even as Mr. Anderson jumped back for dear life, it ran over the hubcap, sent it spinning for two blocks, and sent the bolts flying in all directions.
There was no possibility of finding the bolts in the dark, and, helplessly, Anderson realized he was standing there with a wheel on the axle, unbolted and useless. While he wondered what to do, a man from the other side of the fence shouted, âHey, mister.â
Anderson looked up, surprised, and realized that he had attracted the attention of one of the mental inmates, who had been watching the procedures by the light of the street lamps. Anderson said cautiously, âYes? Is there something you want?â
âI just want to give you some advice. Look â just take off the other hubcaps and remove one bolt from each wheel and use them for that spare tire you have. The other wheels will be held by four bolts apiece and your spare by three. That will hold you till you get to the nearest repair shop, where you can get additional bolts and an additional hubcap.â
âGreat,â said Anderson. âYouâre perfectly right. Now why didnât I think of that?â Then, embarrassed, he said, âItâs really amazing that, under the circumstances â uh â you could ââ
âBecause Iâm in here?â said the inmate contemptuously. âThat just means Iâm crazy. It doesnât mean Iâm stupid.â


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