December’s Funniest Thing

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is HARRY PEARSON of Cape Canaveral, Florida:

I was among a busload of naturalists traveling into the Arabian Desert to study wildflowers and ancient ruins. To avoid dehydration, we were consuming lots of water and sodas. There were no facilities on the bus, nor were we near any towns.

After several hours, the “pressure,” to put it politely, had built up on the travelers. One fellow at the back of the bus said to the driver, “There is a strange noise back here. Sounds like you have a flat tire.”

The driver immediately pulled over and was examining the wheels with a perplexed look on his face. Suddenly he was aware that all of the women had disappeared behind the sand dunes on the right side of the bus and all of the men had disappeared behind the sand dunes on the left side of the bus.

The driver did not say a word but resumed his seat and made sure everyone was back on board before continuing on. After another half hour or so, he looked around with a big smile on his face and asked, “Anyone back there need another flat tire?”