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Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
- Thread starter Doctor Q
- Start date
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We should all keep in mind that cave men didn't have elevators. If Grog worked on the 100th floor a skyscraper (as a stock broker specializing in saber-tooth tiger futures), he had to climb the crudely carved stone staircase every single day! And it took an extra trip down and back up at lunchtime when he went out for a bite of mastodon.
So we're lucky to have a choice of vertical transportation methods.
I picked a good day to start this thread, because it's turned out to be a record-setting day for me. I had to meet somebody on the ground floor to sign some papers (a restraining order or an Apple NDA or something like that), so I made another round trip just now. I'm past 600 steps for the day, so I think I'm gonna quit stairing for today before I overdo it. If I didn't already.
So we're lucky to have a choice of vertical transportation methods.
I picked a good day to start this thread, because it's turned out to be a record-setting day for me. I had to meet somebody on the ground floor to sign some papers (a restraining order or an Apple NDA or something like that), so I made another round trip just now. I'm past 600 steps for the day, so I think I'm gonna quit stairing for today before I overdo it. If I didn't already.
Doctor Q said:A few weeks ago I decided it would be a good fitness project to try taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work...
Exercise can either be fun or be a chore, and this type has turned out to be fun, so I figured I'd share my story.
Wow! That's such a great perspective, I never evn considered that what I've been doing is exercise. It's not that I'm a fan of stairs or anything, just that under 7 floors usually takes much longer to wait for an elevator so unless I'm w/ other people I take the stairs b/c I'm an impatient s.o.b. But this concept offers me a much healthier (yuk, yuk) attitude toward my behavior. Thanks Dr. Q!
emw said:
Phew, I thought I was the only one who has done that before...
Do you ever do it blindfolded as well, just for that extra challenge?
Who knows the correct answer to this puzzle?
A 37-year-old man from Michigan carried a 17" PowerBook and worked every day on the 7th floor of a 27-story office building.
On Monday thru Friday, he took the elevator from the ground floor to the 7th floor in the morning and from the 7th floor to the ground floor after work.
When he came in on Saturday and Sunday, however, he took the elevator from the ground floor to the 6th floor and then took the stairs from the 6th floor to the 7th floor. After work, he'd take the elevator all the way down.
He didn't like climbing stairs and didn't want the exercise, but it was the only way he could get to his office on the weekend.
Why?
On Monday thru Friday, he took the elevator from the ground floor to the 7th floor in the morning and from the 7th floor to the ground floor after work.
When he came in on Saturday and Sunday, however, he took the elevator from the ground floor to the 6th floor and then took the stairs from the 6th floor to the 7th floor. After work, he'd take the elevator all the way down.
He didn't like climbing stairs and didn't want the exercise, but it was the only way he could get to his office on the weekend.
Why?
That's a good first guess. If you use more of the clues, you might actually be able to tell me the man's name! The part about the office building and stairclimbing is made up, but I based the puzzle on a real person.floriflee said:Um... he's too short to reach the buttons at his building and he wasn't bringing his PB to stand on during the weekend??
(And I apologize to Doctor Q for putting a puzzle in his thread about exercise. Consider it exercise for the mind.)
No, but the guy I'm thinking of might indeed be a bald guy. But he might be bald only some of the time; I'm not sure about that.floriflee said:
You wisely used the age and state clues, and you were pretty close about his elevator problem, but the 17" PowerBook clue needs to be used in a completely different way.
Um ...
What if we've got two different elevators running in the same building. Only one of which runs on the weekend.
If the buttons were not at the same height in the two elevators, and dude is "mad short," it would impact his abilty to get to where he wanted to be.
Of course if this were the case he could just not be a dope and bring something to stand on.
Can't put this together with his age and place, though ...
What if we've got two different elevators running in the same building. Only one of which runs on the weekend.
If the buttons were not at the same height in the two elevators, and dude is "mad short," it would impact his abilty to get to where he wanted to be.
Of course if this were the case he could just not be a dope and bring something to stand on.
Can't put this together with his age and place, though ...
Does the fact that it's a 17" PB have any significance? Could it be any size PB or iBook?
Does he live and work in Michigan? Born in Michigan? And did he turn 37 this year or last year (i.e., based on today's date would he be 37)?
Does the fact that there are 27 floors have relevance??? (I'm thinking not, but....)
And are you just trying to throw me off with the whole bald thing??
Does he live and work in Michigan? Born in Michigan? And did he turn 37 this year or last year (i.e., based on today's date would he be 37)?
Does the fact that there are 27 floors have relevance??? (I'm thinking not, but....)
And are you just trying to throw me off with the whole bald thing??
i think everyone should give their health a test and jog these stairs daily... (bonus if you can do it drunk)
angkor wat, cambodia. it's not a camera trick. the last attachment is of "the good stairs" the only set (out of 12 i think) with handrails, which obviously is a less frightening way down.
angkor wat, cambodia. it's not a camera trick. the last attachment is of "the good stairs" the only set (out of 12 i think) with handrails, which obviously is a less frightening way down.
Attachments
Red herrings, most of it.floriflee said:Does the fact that it's a 17" PB have any significance? Could it be any size PB or iBook?
Does he live and work in Michigan? Born in Michigan? And did he turn 37 this year or last year (i.e., based on today's date would he be 37)?
Does the fact that there are 27 floors have relevance??? (I'm thinking not, but....)
And are you just trying to throw me off with the whole bald thing??
All that matters is that he cannot use the elevator to take him to his office on the 7th floor on the weekends. To me, this is a trivial problem. The solutions (I can see two):
(1) His company's security is as messed up as ours, and his badge won't allow him access to the 7th floor via the elevator on weekends but will during the week and always allows anyone to go to the 1st floor, but the stairwell security system is either broken or uses a different policy.
(2) There's a short in the '7' button which doesn't allow it to be used but which, when hot enough, is always on and so always stops at the 7th floor. The building's cooler on the weekend (fewer people), so it doesn't work.
Of course, I still don't see why he doesn't go to the 8th floor and walk down....
You guys are very logical!
Yes, the reason he takes the stairs is that he can't reach the "7" button. So how does he manage it on weekdays?
The clues about his age, where's he from, and that he likes 17" PowerBooks are supposed to help you identify who I'm talking about. Clue: He's well known and has been discussed at MacRumors.
Yes, the reason he takes the stairs is that he can't reach the "7" button. So how does he manage it on weekdays?
The clues about his age, where's he from, and that he likes 17" PowerBooks are supposed to help you identify who I'm talking about. Clue: He's well known and has been discussed at MacRumors.
I'm on the second floor (which I believe Americans call the third floor) and I take the stairs every day.
emw said:
Hmm. Interesting. So you've been to the 42nd floor? I hear it...*ahem*...well contains some interesting stuff. Like, some answers.
As for stairs, I take about 15-20 flights of stairs per day, in small doses. Always 2-3 steps at once. Living on the 4th floor of a dorm will get you in shape pretty quickly, especially if you run up the stairs.
I have a lecture at uni on the ninth floor. I always take the stairs. If I've had too much sugar that day, I race the elevator.
I find it hard to believe that a real person who's smart enough to use a MacDoctor Q said:
isn't smart enough to use a pen, pencil, etc. to press the button.But, of course, on weekdays someone would press it for him.
That, or he drinks Red Bull M-F but not on weekends.
I usually always take the stairs at Uni, mainly because the lifts are always really slow.
I think if we went up and down this set of stairs a few times a day we'd all be nice and fit...
I took this a few years back when I was in Deutschland.
Edit: Might help if they're the right way up.
I think if we went up and down this set of stairs a few times a day we'd all be nice and fit...
I took this a few years back when I was in Deutschland.
Edit: Might help if they're the right way up.
Yes, Verne Troyer. Age 37, born in Michigan. Starred in a great PowerBook ad with a 17" PowerBook.homerjward said:
I've been looking for a copy of the ad. Here is the ASCII version, but I haven't found the original.
Yeah, he could have used a stick to poke the buttons, but he has a small mind.
Still unresolved: What's different on weekdays? Edit: Sorry, I see jsw explained it above. Other people would be in the elevator on weekdays.
By the way, my final total for the day was 836 stairs.