Riddle

So if an electric train is traveling east and the wind is blowing north which direction is the smoke traveling?

Informant was a 19 year old male friend who is studying Engineering at Humboldt State University. He came home for the weekend and we exchanged riddles and stories, etc.

Collector: If it’s an electric train there’s no smoke.

Informant: Exactly! Damn, you is smart.

Collector: Thanks…so who told you this riddle? Or where’d you learn it from?

Informant: My dad told it to me. We were on the way to Las Vegas – I think it was a few years ago – and we got bored on the road. It’s kind of my go to riddle for whenever anyone wants to hear one.

Collector: Why?

Informant: I dunno, I guess just because it’s the only one I remember…and it’s about trains.

Collector: Wow. Did your dad tell it to you because he’s an engineer? Or does he just like trains too?

Informant: Maybe… Probably not. I mean – for the engineer part. He might like trains. I’m not sure.

I’m pretty sure that the reason this is the only riddle my friend can remember is attributed somehow to the fact that he loves engineering and anything electrical. It’s a love that runs in the family, apparently, and can be considered as something passed on from father to son.