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       #Post#: 101--------------------------------------------------
       FOOTBALL FIELD
       By: eba95 Date: July 30, 2010, 6:13 am
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       Football Field
       Take a long rope, tie it to the
       bottom of the goal post at one
       end of a football field. Then run
       it across the length of the field
       (120 yards) to a goal post at the
       other end. Stretch it tight, and then
       tie it to the bottom of that goal post,
       so that it lies flat against the ground.
       Now suppose that I add just 1 foot of
       slack to the rope, so that now I can
       lift it off the ground at the 50-yard
       line. How high can I lift it up?
       A. not high enough to fit my finger
       under it.
       B. just high enough to crawl under
       C. just high enough to walk under
       D. high enough to drive a truck
       under.
       Surprise answer: it's D! It will be
       13.43 feet high at the 50-yard line!
       Presentation Suggestions:
       Take a show of hands each possible
       answer. For maximum effect, ask
       them quickly so that they have to
       rely on their intuition and do not
       have time to do the calculation. If
       anyone answers D, you can playfully
       jest "you really think it is high
       enough to drive a truck under?" to
       see if they are confident of this
       answer, or are just doing it because
       the answer seems outrageous.
       The Math Behind the Fact:
       This is a simple, but surprising
       application of the Pythagorean
       theorem. The answer is the square
       root of (180.52 - 1802). Simple
       geometric formulas can yield other
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