unreality Posted September 22, 2007 Report Share Posted September 22, 2007 A man runs a mile south, a mile west, and a mile north... and ends up back where he started! How did it happen? The North Pole The Obvious Answer was the north pole, if you looked. Duh. Who knows how many times this problem has been redone. But the real riddle is... There are actually an infinite number of answers for where the man could have started from.Explain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) You dont, but here is an answer. Try being who knows what distance from the south pole, run south 1 mi, and then run west 1 mi, in a circle around the south pole, and run north back to where you started! | | 0 Edited March 16, 2008 by new guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 well, north pole did not come to mind, but i thought of an island 1mile in diameter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 unreality Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 For the south pole solution: Let's say there's a latitude (a circle around the earth running east-west) that's exactly 1 mile in circumference. In other words, a point shortly north of the south pole that is 1 mile around the earth. If you start on any of the infinite points that are 1 mile north of that special latitude, then you can go 1 mile south and then 1 mile west to go all the way around the earth, then 1 mile north to be back where you started ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 For the south pole solution: Let's say there's a latitude (a circle around the earth running east-west) that's exactly 1 mile in circumference. In other words, a point shortly north of the south pole that is 1 mile around the earth. If you start on any of the infinite points that are 1 mile north of that special latitude, then you can go 1 mile south and then 1 mile west to go all the way around the earth, then 1 mile north to be back where you started ;D The latitude is 89º 59.68´ . and of course 1 mile north of that is 89º 58.68´ south Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I should correct my last , the latitude is in fact 89º 59.84´ and corresponding 89º 58.84´ ( I was using full diameter to calculate instead of radius) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 how many times can people argue about the same answer?? rotating treadmill, duh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 Why all the comlecation? whay not just end up in the west? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 its baseball he started from 1 st base Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Simple. He was at the North Pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Wat about south pole? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 (edited) has to be north pole....but it says infinite places of start point. Edited July 17, 2008 by Ray Kovecses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Assumin that he only ran and didnt get anything else it has to be the north poll becase anywhere else he would have to go east in order to get back to where he started. Had he gotten a help from something else there is infact an infinate possibity of where he started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 23, 2008 Report Share Posted August 23, 2008 I THINK HE STARTED AT THE NORTH POLE AND RAN SOUTH 1 MILE AND THEN WEST THEN NORTH BACK TO THE POLE AND THERE IS AN INFINITE NUMBER OF STARTING DIRECTIONS IF HE WAS TO MOVE THE SMALLEST DISTANCE POSSIBLE FACING SLIGHTLY WEST FROM THE PREVIOUSLY FACING POSITION TO THEN START AGAIN HEADING SOUTH THEN WEST THEN NORTH AND OVER AND OVER FOR ETERNITY SINCE IT WOULD BE AN INFINITE NUMBER OF STARTS. IF HE WAS TO START 1 MILE NORTH OF THE SOUTH POLE THEN WHEN HE GO TTO THE SOUTH POLE TO GO WEST HE WOULD BE PIVOTING ON ONE FOOT DIRECTLY OVER THE POLE AND SPINNING WITH THE OTHER FOOT FOR ONE MILE AND HE WOULD QUICKLY BE STANDING IN A BIG PUDDLE ON THE SNOW OR ICE BECAUSE HIS SHOE OR BOOT THAT WAS PIVOTING OVER THE SAME SPOT ON THE POLE WHILE TRAVELING WEST WOULD HEAT UP FROM THE CONSTANT FRICTION IN THE SAME SPOT FOR THE ENTIRE MILE... I DUNNO THE NORTH POLE SOUNDS RIGHT TO ME THO! I DONT HAVE TIME TO MAKE A DIAGRAM TO BETTER EXPLAIN RIGHT NOW, SORRY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 HERES HOW I THINK IT WOULD LOOK, MAYBE MY PICS WILL SHOW BETTER THAN MY WORDS CAN DESCRIBEMILE_S_W_N.bmp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 FOR SOME REASON IT ONLY ADDED ONE OF MY DIAGRAMS, HERES THE OTHER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 (edited) One solution is the N. Pole. All the rest are near the S Pole, one mile north of any of the whole fraction laps, as stated. The treadmill is bogus, your not actually running any distance, you're just running in place. Edited August 24, 2008 by Geneass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 One solution is the N. Pole. All the rest are near the S Pole, one mile north of any of the whole fraction laps, as stated. The treadmill is bogus, your not actually running any distance, you're just running in place. I STILL DONT GET THE 1 MILE N OF THE S POLE THING, CUZ ONCE U GO SOUTH TO THE SOUTH POLE THEN YOU CANT GO WEST AT THE EXACT PINPOINT OF THE SOUTH POLE ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted September 3, 2008 Report Share Posted September 3, 2008 I STILL DONT GET THE 1 MILE N OF THE S POLE THING, CUZ ONCE U GO SOUTH TO THE SOUTH POLE THEN YOU CANT GO WEST AT THE EXACT PINPOINT OF THE SOUTH POLE ??? The starting point is always greater than one mile north of the south pole. Without a formula, the concept is that you walk west one mile and are back at the point where you began walking west. You have followed a circular path one or multiple times to return to the same point. You then turn north and return to the starting point. The starting points are literally infinite in number. The closer to the south pole you start, the more westward circles you will make. The key is that each circular path is a whole fraction of one mile i.e. 1/2 mi., 1/23 mi. etc. You may circle once or one hundred times, the key is that you walk exactly one mile west. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) but couldn't he have also ended up in a place with the same name as the place he started???? or am i just unknowingly ignorant to something??? Edited November 1, 2008 by sherace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 peace*out Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 but couldn't he have also ended up in a place with the same name as the place he started???? or am i just unknowingly ignorant to something??? It wouldn't be the exact place - you could make another site called brainden, but it isn't the same as this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted November 8, 2008 Report Share Posted November 8, 2008 I think there are in fact at least infinite squared solutions.... (and near infinite cubed) :-) Assuming good the journey could be started on any paralell what is one mile north of the circle that is (1/N) miles lenght (1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and so on...) so the western leg takes a whole number of laps around the south pole, there are infinite paralells from the journey could be started, and on each one of them, there are an infinite number of points from which start... So here we have infinite circles multiplied by infinite points on each circle (infinite squared) And as the number of worlds in the universe is near infinite, multiply that for the number of worlds where that can happen, and we're close to infinite cubed starting points... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 He Could of ran on a treadmill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 He could have started a bit above a mile north of the S. Pole and ran south. Once he ran south he runs west around the Earth so he ends up in the same spot. and then goes north ending in the sam spot he started. He could have also started a little to the left or a little more to the left, etc etc, resulting in infinite starting points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 planets / moons have a Nth pole ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I think everyone is trying to get to technical wit the original problem when obviously all it is, is that he started on the north pole. Because the earth id a sphere it wouldn't really matter how far west or east he ran. as long as he ran the exact same distance south and north than he would end up back at his starting point, the north pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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unreality
A man runs a mile south, a mile west, and a mile north... and ends up back where he started!
How did it happen?
But the real riddle is...
There are actually an infinite number of answers for where the man could have started from.Explain.
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I think this answer doesn't work: when you get to the South pole, how do you run West? But this answer: does: for example, any point on the circle (1 + 1/2pi) miles from the South Pole. After go
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