It was the strangest thing, engines caught on fire out of the blue. Admittedly, he was pretty poor (we all were at that time) and his cars were old beaters, but that didn't explain how three different cars could have their engines set on fire out of the blue in such a short time period.
The strangeness of this situation finally revealed itself when I witnessed him checking the oil on his car. It was low, (they all burned oil) and he had some on hand to top it up.
I watched him open a bottle and dump it into the intake, spilling copious amounts before getting it settled in.
He was basting his engines in oil. No one ever taught him to use a funnel or told him he might want to clean up spills like this.
When you make something idiot proof, the universe makes a better idiot.