An interesting mathematical question












-3












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If a gas station is 1 mile away from my house and the average person walks 5mph. Its a sunny day and no wind. Why does it take my dad 15 years to come back from the gas station?










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$endgroup$

















    -3












    $begingroup$


    If a gas station is 1 mile away from my house and the average person walks 5mph. Its a sunny day and no wind. Why does it take my dad 15 years to come back from the gas station?










    share|improve this question











    $endgroup$















      -3












      -3








      -3


      1



      $begingroup$


      If a gas station is 1 mile away from my house and the average person walks 5mph. Its a sunny day and no wind. Why does it take my dad 15 years to come back from the gas station?










      share|improve this question











      $endgroup$




      If a gas station is 1 mile away from my house and the average person walks 5mph. Its a sunny day and no wind. Why does it take my dad 15 years to come back from the gas station?







      lateral-thinking






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Dec 24 '18 at 7:48









      Glorfindel

      13.8k35084




      13.8k35084










      asked Dec 24 '18 at 0:25









      Mohammad Zuhair KhanMohammad Zuhair Khan

      798




      798






















          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          6












          $begingroup$

          Apple maps accidentally sent him in the wrong direction. He is walking to the gas station across the globe the "long way". The circumference of the Earth is 24901 miles, so he had to walk $24901 - 1 = 24900$ miles.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            I'm assuming 24900 miles would take him 15 years?
            $endgroup$
            – iiRosie1
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:49










          • $begingroup$
            @iiRosie1 Probably 1 year if we're being reasonable. I'm just trying to come up with a funny solution.
            $endgroup$
            – Display name
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:50








          • 1




            $begingroup$
            Ninja'd... 24900 mi / 5(mi/hr)= 5880 hrs, or 245 days...about 8 months.
            $endgroup$
            – Zomulgustar
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:51








          • 2




            $begingroup$
            He may walk at 5mi/hr, but how fast does he swim? No great circle is on land entirely
            $endgroup$
            – deep thought
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:56








          • 2




            $begingroup$
            Or we can just say that my dad left. Its okay. I am a big boy now. I won't cry. Not at all. Definitely not. Okay maybe a little. Please stop. sob Dad, why did you leave? sob Why? Full on bawling ensures
            $endgroup$
            – Mohammad Zuhair Khan
            Dec 24 '18 at 3:24





















          6












          $begingroup$

          Assuming that the metrics provided are correct and your dad's intellect is not weak enough to take the long way as pointed in another answer(or any longer way for that matter), one possible solution is that you are living on a planet where 12 minutes is 15 years.






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$





















            1












            $begingroup$

            Well, there're a couple easy answers.




            First of all, let's concentrate on the word "average". Average person walks 5mph, but your dad isn't average is he? Oh no, far from it. So any length of time will be possible.




            Another solution is "house".




            The gas station is a mile from your house, but where are you and your dad at? Another country probably. It's gonna take him some time to go all the way to that gas station and then back to where you are...




            By the way, I saw some comments about people calculating how long it will take to walk around the Earth.




            Surely you don't expect a human to walk non-stop 24 hours a day? A hard hiking pace is about 20 miles per day, less if you're going uphill. Then you'll have to consider all the food you'll need to eat. Does the dad have money to just buy everything, or will he need to hunt? There are places that don't have any stores around, so he'll have to hunt / gather. Weather conditions may vary. The pace is dramatically reduced for all these considerations.







            share|improve this answer










            New contributor




            Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              Welcome to Puzzling SE! This is a creative answer, however, an answer has been already accepted, indicating that there is not a need for newer ones. Always great to have multiple perspectives though
              $endgroup$
              – North
              17 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              Remember you can add spoiler tags by puttting >! infront of your text!
              $endgroup$
              – North
              17 hours ago











            Your Answer





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            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

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            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            6












            $begingroup$

            Apple maps accidentally sent him in the wrong direction. He is walking to the gas station across the globe the "long way". The circumference of the Earth is 24901 miles, so he had to walk $24901 - 1 = 24900$ miles.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              I'm assuming 24900 miles would take him 15 years?
              $endgroup$
              – iiRosie1
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:49










            • $begingroup$
              @iiRosie1 Probably 1 year if we're being reasonable. I'm just trying to come up with a funny solution.
              $endgroup$
              – Display name
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:50








            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Ninja'd... 24900 mi / 5(mi/hr)= 5880 hrs, or 245 days...about 8 months.
              $endgroup$
              – Zomulgustar
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:51








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              He may walk at 5mi/hr, but how fast does he swim? No great circle is on land entirely
              $endgroup$
              – deep thought
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:56








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              Or we can just say that my dad left. Its okay. I am a big boy now. I won't cry. Not at all. Definitely not. Okay maybe a little. Please stop. sob Dad, why did you leave? sob Why? Full on bawling ensures
              $endgroup$
              – Mohammad Zuhair Khan
              Dec 24 '18 at 3:24


















            6












            $begingroup$

            Apple maps accidentally sent him in the wrong direction. He is walking to the gas station across the globe the "long way". The circumference of the Earth is 24901 miles, so he had to walk $24901 - 1 = 24900$ miles.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              I'm assuming 24900 miles would take him 15 years?
              $endgroup$
              – iiRosie1
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:49










            • $begingroup$
              @iiRosie1 Probably 1 year if we're being reasonable. I'm just trying to come up with a funny solution.
              $endgroup$
              – Display name
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:50








            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Ninja'd... 24900 mi / 5(mi/hr)= 5880 hrs, or 245 days...about 8 months.
              $endgroup$
              – Zomulgustar
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:51








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              He may walk at 5mi/hr, but how fast does he swim? No great circle is on land entirely
              $endgroup$
              – deep thought
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:56








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              Or we can just say that my dad left. Its okay. I am a big boy now. I won't cry. Not at all. Definitely not. Okay maybe a little. Please stop. sob Dad, why did you leave? sob Why? Full on bawling ensures
              $endgroup$
              – Mohammad Zuhair Khan
              Dec 24 '18 at 3:24
















            6












            6








            6





            $begingroup$

            Apple maps accidentally sent him in the wrong direction. He is walking to the gas station across the globe the "long way". The circumference of the Earth is 24901 miles, so he had to walk $24901 - 1 = 24900$ miles.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$



            Apple maps accidentally sent him in the wrong direction. He is walking to the gas station across the globe the "long way". The circumference of the Earth is 24901 miles, so he had to walk $24901 - 1 = 24900$ miles.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered Dec 24 '18 at 0:47









            Display nameDisplay name

            1,013217




            1,013217












            • $begingroup$
              I'm assuming 24900 miles would take him 15 years?
              $endgroup$
              – iiRosie1
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:49










            • $begingroup$
              @iiRosie1 Probably 1 year if we're being reasonable. I'm just trying to come up with a funny solution.
              $endgroup$
              – Display name
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:50








            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Ninja'd... 24900 mi / 5(mi/hr)= 5880 hrs, or 245 days...about 8 months.
              $endgroup$
              – Zomulgustar
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:51








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              He may walk at 5mi/hr, but how fast does he swim? No great circle is on land entirely
              $endgroup$
              – deep thought
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:56








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              Or we can just say that my dad left. Its okay. I am a big boy now. I won't cry. Not at all. Definitely not. Okay maybe a little. Please stop. sob Dad, why did you leave? sob Why? Full on bawling ensures
              $endgroup$
              – Mohammad Zuhair Khan
              Dec 24 '18 at 3:24




















            • $begingroup$
              I'm assuming 24900 miles would take him 15 years?
              $endgroup$
              – iiRosie1
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:49










            • $begingroup$
              @iiRosie1 Probably 1 year if we're being reasonable. I'm just trying to come up with a funny solution.
              $endgroup$
              – Display name
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:50








            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Ninja'd... 24900 mi / 5(mi/hr)= 5880 hrs, or 245 days...about 8 months.
              $endgroup$
              – Zomulgustar
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:51








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              He may walk at 5mi/hr, but how fast does he swim? No great circle is on land entirely
              $endgroup$
              – deep thought
              Dec 24 '18 at 0:56








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              Or we can just say that my dad left. Its okay. I am a big boy now. I won't cry. Not at all. Definitely not. Okay maybe a little. Please stop. sob Dad, why did you leave? sob Why? Full on bawling ensures
              $endgroup$
              – Mohammad Zuhair Khan
              Dec 24 '18 at 3:24


















            $begingroup$
            I'm assuming 24900 miles would take him 15 years?
            $endgroup$
            – iiRosie1
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:49




            $begingroup$
            I'm assuming 24900 miles would take him 15 years?
            $endgroup$
            – iiRosie1
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:49












            $begingroup$
            @iiRosie1 Probably 1 year if we're being reasonable. I'm just trying to come up with a funny solution.
            $endgroup$
            – Display name
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:50






            $begingroup$
            @iiRosie1 Probably 1 year if we're being reasonable. I'm just trying to come up with a funny solution.
            $endgroup$
            – Display name
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:50






            1




            1




            $begingroup$
            Ninja'd... 24900 mi / 5(mi/hr)= 5880 hrs, or 245 days...about 8 months.
            $endgroup$
            – Zomulgustar
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:51






            $begingroup$
            Ninja'd... 24900 mi / 5(mi/hr)= 5880 hrs, or 245 days...about 8 months.
            $endgroup$
            – Zomulgustar
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:51






            2




            2




            $begingroup$
            He may walk at 5mi/hr, but how fast does he swim? No great circle is on land entirely
            $endgroup$
            – deep thought
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:56






            $begingroup$
            He may walk at 5mi/hr, but how fast does he swim? No great circle is on land entirely
            $endgroup$
            – deep thought
            Dec 24 '18 at 0:56






            2




            2




            $begingroup$
            Or we can just say that my dad left. Its okay. I am a big boy now. I won't cry. Not at all. Definitely not. Okay maybe a little. Please stop. sob Dad, why did you leave? sob Why? Full on bawling ensures
            $endgroup$
            – Mohammad Zuhair Khan
            Dec 24 '18 at 3:24






            $begingroup$
            Or we can just say that my dad left. Its okay. I am a big boy now. I won't cry. Not at all. Definitely not. Okay maybe a little. Please stop. sob Dad, why did you leave? sob Why? Full on bawling ensures
            $endgroup$
            – Mohammad Zuhair Khan
            Dec 24 '18 at 3:24













            6












            $begingroup$

            Assuming that the metrics provided are correct and your dad's intellect is not weak enough to take the long way as pointed in another answer(or any longer way for that matter), one possible solution is that you are living on a planet where 12 minutes is 15 years.






            share|improve this answer











            $endgroup$


















              6












              $begingroup$

              Assuming that the metrics provided are correct and your dad's intellect is not weak enough to take the long way as pointed in another answer(or any longer way for that matter), one possible solution is that you are living on a planet where 12 minutes is 15 years.






              share|improve this answer











              $endgroup$
















                6












                6








                6





                $begingroup$

                Assuming that the metrics provided are correct and your dad's intellect is not weak enough to take the long way as pointed in another answer(or any longer way for that matter), one possible solution is that you are living on a planet where 12 minutes is 15 years.






                share|improve this answer











                $endgroup$



                Assuming that the metrics provided are correct and your dad's intellect is not weak enough to take the long way as pointed in another answer(or any longer way for that matter), one possible solution is that you are living on a planet where 12 minutes is 15 years.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited Dec 24 '18 at 5:35

























                answered Dec 24 '18 at 3:57









                Chief AChief A

                838




                838























                    1












                    $begingroup$

                    Well, there're a couple easy answers.




                    First of all, let's concentrate on the word "average". Average person walks 5mph, but your dad isn't average is he? Oh no, far from it. So any length of time will be possible.




                    Another solution is "house".




                    The gas station is a mile from your house, but where are you and your dad at? Another country probably. It's gonna take him some time to go all the way to that gas station and then back to where you are...




                    By the way, I saw some comments about people calculating how long it will take to walk around the Earth.




                    Surely you don't expect a human to walk non-stop 24 hours a day? A hard hiking pace is about 20 miles per day, less if you're going uphill. Then you'll have to consider all the food you'll need to eat. Does the dad have money to just buy everything, or will he need to hunt? There are places that don't have any stores around, so he'll have to hunt / gather. Weather conditions may vary. The pace is dramatically reduced for all these considerations.







                    share|improve this answer










                    New contributor




                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.






                    $endgroup$













                    • $begingroup$
                      Welcome to Puzzling SE! This is a creative answer, however, an answer has been already accepted, indicating that there is not a need for newer ones. Always great to have multiple perspectives though
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago










                    • $begingroup$
                      Remember you can add spoiler tags by puttting >! infront of your text!
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago
















                    1












                    $begingroup$

                    Well, there're a couple easy answers.




                    First of all, let's concentrate on the word "average". Average person walks 5mph, but your dad isn't average is he? Oh no, far from it. So any length of time will be possible.




                    Another solution is "house".




                    The gas station is a mile from your house, but where are you and your dad at? Another country probably. It's gonna take him some time to go all the way to that gas station and then back to where you are...




                    By the way, I saw some comments about people calculating how long it will take to walk around the Earth.




                    Surely you don't expect a human to walk non-stop 24 hours a day? A hard hiking pace is about 20 miles per day, less if you're going uphill. Then you'll have to consider all the food you'll need to eat. Does the dad have money to just buy everything, or will he need to hunt? There are places that don't have any stores around, so he'll have to hunt / gather. Weather conditions may vary. The pace is dramatically reduced for all these considerations.







                    share|improve this answer










                    New contributor




                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.






                    $endgroup$













                    • $begingroup$
                      Welcome to Puzzling SE! This is a creative answer, however, an answer has been already accepted, indicating that there is not a need for newer ones. Always great to have multiple perspectives though
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago










                    • $begingroup$
                      Remember you can add spoiler tags by puttting >! infront of your text!
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago














                    1












                    1








                    1





                    $begingroup$

                    Well, there're a couple easy answers.




                    First of all, let's concentrate on the word "average". Average person walks 5mph, but your dad isn't average is he? Oh no, far from it. So any length of time will be possible.




                    Another solution is "house".




                    The gas station is a mile from your house, but where are you and your dad at? Another country probably. It's gonna take him some time to go all the way to that gas station and then back to where you are...




                    By the way, I saw some comments about people calculating how long it will take to walk around the Earth.




                    Surely you don't expect a human to walk non-stop 24 hours a day? A hard hiking pace is about 20 miles per day, less if you're going uphill. Then you'll have to consider all the food you'll need to eat. Does the dad have money to just buy everything, or will he need to hunt? There are places that don't have any stores around, so he'll have to hunt / gather. Weather conditions may vary. The pace is dramatically reduced for all these considerations.







                    share|improve this answer










                    New contributor




                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.






                    $endgroup$



                    Well, there're a couple easy answers.




                    First of all, let's concentrate on the word "average". Average person walks 5mph, but your dad isn't average is he? Oh no, far from it. So any length of time will be possible.




                    Another solution is "house".




                    The gas station is a mile from your house, but where are you and your dad at? Another country probably. It's gonna take him some time to go all the way to that gas station and then back to where you are...




                    By the way, I saw some comments about people calculating how long it will take to walk around the Earth.




                    Surely you don't expect a human to walk non-stop 24 hours a day? A hard hiking pace is about 20 miles per day, less if you're going uphill. Then you'll have to consider all the food you'll need to eat. Does the dad have money to just buy everything, or will he need to hunt? There are places that don't have any stores around, so he'll have to hunt / gather. Weather conditions may vary. The pace is dramatically reduced for all these considerations.








                    share|improve this answer










                    New contributor




                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer








                    edited 17 hours ago









                    North

                    1,9331733




                    1,9331733






                    New contributor




                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    answered 18 hours ago









                    Vadim EvstifeevVadim Evstifeev

                    415




                    415




                    New contributor




                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.





                    New contributor





                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.






                    Vadim Evstifeev is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.












                    • $begingroup$
                      Welcome to Puzzling SE! This is a creative answer, however, an answer has been already accepted, indicating that there is not a need for newer ones. Always great to have multiple perspectives though
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago










                    • $begingroup$
                      Remember you can add spoiler tags by puttting >! infront of your text!
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago


















                    • $begingroup$
                      Welcome to Puzzling SE! This is a creative answer, however, an answer has been already accepted, indicating that there is not a need for newer ones. Always great to have multiple perspectives though
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago










                    • $begingroup$
                      Remember you can add spoiler tags by puttting >! infront of your text!
                      $endgroup$
                      – North
                      17 hours ago
















                    $begingroup$
                    Welcome to Puzzling SE! This is a creative answer, however, an answer has been already accepted, indicating that there is not a need for newer ones. Always great to have multiple perspectives though
                    $endgroup$
                    – North
                    17 hours ago




                    $begingroup$
                    Welcome to Puzzling SE! This is a creative answer, however, an answer has been already accepted, indicating that there is not a need for newer ones. Always great to have multiple perspectives though
                    $endgroup$
                    – North
                    17 hours ago












                    $begingroup$
                    Remember you can add spoiler tags by puttting >! infront of your text!
                    $endgroup$
                    – North
                    17 hours ago




                    $begingroup$
                    Remember you can add spoiler tags by puttting >! infront of your text!
                    $endgroup$
                    – North
                    17 hours ago


















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