Not only are the answers, my friend, blowing in the wind, according to Bob Dylan, but you can find answers to questions you’d never hoped to ask from people off the street. Strangers. You know, the ones your mother told you not to talk to. On our recent trip, I discovered why.

The set of wind chimes pictured here hangs from a shop in the old town section of Harpers Ferry, W.V., where we ran across a woman who gave us the answer to that never-asked-question, “On the final day of my vacation, what shall I do with my underwear?” Seriously.

There was no need to call in an FBI profiler to peg us as tourists — cameras slung around the neck, NPS maps in hand, browsing the gift shop for souvenirs — all dead giveaways. The woman spotted us and within minutes, struck up a lively conversation. Then she asked, “Did you throw away your underwear?” HUH???

I considered myself fairly well traveled. I’ve been to 47 states, have flown across multiple time zones, and live by the age-old traveler rule, “If you can’t carry it across an airport without help, you’ve overpacked.” However, I confess to never having known the old “throw your underwear away on the last day” trick.

Forget the Mom-motto you’ve had pounded in your head since birth about always wearing the good stuff in case you get in a wreck. The new-and-improved rule reads, “When traveling, pack your old ratty scivvies and toss them all in the trash the last day, allotting space & weight allowance for trinkets.” This brings a whole new argument to the drive vs. fly debate.

Oh, one caveat about the trading underwear for souvenirs tip: Don’t try this in China. Apparently, this woman’s friend did so, and a few weeks after she returned home, a nice package arrived from her hotel. She untied the twine and opened the brown wrapper to reveal her once-trashed undies — laundered, starched, folded, and stacked — all ready for the next trip.