A tale floated my way once of a journalist who was caught up in a coup somewhere in Africa; it may have been Idi Amin's takeover of Uganda. For a few weeks after the coup, scowling troops stopped all vehicles on the main roads, ordered the drivers and passengers out, then made them take off their hats and shoes. They examined them without saying why and handed them back to their owners. Eventually, the hack summoned up the courage to ask them why they were performing this odd procedure. The Corporal in charge said, "We got written orders from HQ. We got to stop all cars and check all bonnets and boots".