doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (04/29/85)
I can guarantee that the "measure the height of a building with a
barometer" question with its unexpected answers was around at least in
1966, when my high-school Physics teacher distributed a mimeographed
copy to the class. I didn't keep it (or if I did, I don't know where
to find it). My favorite answer was the one about trading the barometer
for the required info. Other answers: time how long it takes to fall
from the top of the building; tie it to a string, lower it from the roof
and measure the length of the string; swing it from a string and time
the period of the pendulum; measure it with a ruler and measure the
building with it; and measure it, its shadow, and the building's shadow
with a ruler and triangulate.
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Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug