Lateral Thinking Questions

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ANSWER: L.T.Q. #53

Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 19:14:33 -0500 (EST)

It doesn't surprise me that almost everyone got this one. This is the Space Age, and I think everyone on the mailing list was already born when Neil uttered those famous footsteps heard 'round the world.

Here is this week's question:

An American, who had never been to any country other than the United States, travelled a long way to see a sight that very few people have seen. He was standing one day on solid ground when he saw the Great Wall of China with his own eyes. How come?

ANSWER:

He was an astronaut standing on the moon— from where the Great Wall of China is visible.

oddlystrange said she needs "to lay off the explanations I would have given in second grade. He was Superman, and just had really good vision and was sitting out one day in Hawaii with his special wrap-around mirror (which was actually a giant space ship which was essentially half the size of the earth (although it didn't cause any gravitational problems because the aliens had mastered that)) and he was just looking at the curve in the space ship and realized he was looking at China... and because the space ship curved it enlarged the view a lot and well that's why he could see the Great Wall from Hawaii."

Liz pointed out that the Great Wall is now "one of two things visible— it used to be the only man-made thing visible from the moon was the Great Wall. But now there is a garbage dump in New York that also is plainly visible. Definitely not something to be proud of."

As for what kind of cheese was in his food pack, of course, the cheese was green! Lew said the cheese was "Daiter's green, lite spreadable cream cheese (9%M.F.) (COR)." I've seen that cheese. It's in his fridge. And it wasn't green when it when in the fridge!

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