Brain Teasers
Ping Pong in a Tube
You are in a room that is an 8x8x8 perfect cube. There are no windows, or doors (don't ask me how you got in there!) In the center of the floor there is a 12 inch pipe that is sticking 6 inches out of the floor. In the bottom of the pipe is a ping pong ball with a diameter that is one millimeter smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe. You have a 12 inch piece of string, a match, a magnifying glass, a 6" ruler and a paper clip. How do you get the ping pong ball out of the hole?
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I will apologize for the rather crude nature of the solution. But I love this puzzle, hopefully some of you will too. I am also open to any suggestions of an alternate solution. Although the alternate would have to present the same ingenuity as the first answer.
Come on, tell me what you think. I am of the opinion that the Comment box is way under used. If you like it great, If you hate it, tell me. So I can fix the problem in future puzzles. Personally I think more feedback both good and bad can only help the website produce more fun for all. Even a little trash talkin' can be fun.
Loved it! Crude, maybe, but ingenious.
Yes, I thought too that I did not need anything offered.
JR
Yes, I thought too that I did not need anything offered.
JR
My favorite teaser yet at this site! I was so busy thinking of how to move some fire down the hole to heat the air and generate motion... Ha!
I really only have one comment. Why Science? Sure, bouyancy and all that jazz, I got it, but is science relly the right place for a riddle whose solution is "pee in the hole"?
As for the question, Well, I didn't choose science, the powers that be at braingle put it in that catagory. They often change little things at first it annoyed me, but as with most things ya just come to accept it. I think the first catagory I put it in was logic and then I think they put it in TRICK and it eventually ended up in the SCIENCE catagory. I started flooding the LANGUAGE catagorie with my favorite type of puzzles so the created the REBUS catagory to handle the onslaught. --RAYN
Fooled me! Great puzzle.
Raynee.. u r easily my fav. person here 
thanks for those rebus's and ya this teaser is great LMAO
thanks for those rebus's and ya this teaser is great LMAO 
Wait, if there were no source of water how could you pee so much?
how could you aim with no light?
Break the Mgnifying glass to expose the broken glass. Use that to cut the tube. Take the paperclip, Strech it out straight and poke a cole in the top of the ping-pong ball. Put the clip through this and press it agianst the side of the tube and pull it up.
Ok, Mogmatt, I like your theory, it shows creativity. And it utilizes one of my basic tennants...Adapt, Improvise, and overcome. But there are a few problems. First of all an unfolded paperclip is less than 4 inches in length (I just measured one) so it is still a little short to reach the pingpong ball even if you cut the tube off even witht he floor. Second of all, being that tha point on the end of the paperclip is not needle sharp you would most likely crush the ping pong ball before you penetrated it. I don't think it would work. But you did solve the tube length problem so I think I have another solution.....
What if you broke the magnifying glass...cut the tube down to six inches, Lit the match.... set the string on fire.... lowered the burning string down to the ping pong ball and let it rest on int. When the plastic begins to melt, blow the fire out leaving the string to get stuck in the rehardening plastic. Once it cools completely you should be able to pull the ping pong ball out. What do ya think?
Ok, here's another monkey wrench, What if the pipe is lead and not PVC. You can't cut it with glass.
with the paperclip you never mentioned the size of it or the size of the ping pong ball. the ping pong ball was probaly still at least one inch across. and hollow, so i would like my odds of being able to put a hole in it.
Also I could stick my fingers about an inch down.
how about getting this box to flip over.
Well JIM, not all of us can use the force with Yoda like powers to flip the room upside down. But let's just say argument's sake that the force was with us. Even the most basic Paduwan Learner could just levitate the ball out of the hole don't you think. So your solution would still be wrong. In this galaxy or one far, far away. --RAYN
I loved this riddle, it was challenging, but it made me laugh.
You could have also tied the paper clip to the string, used the match to melt the ball, then stick the paper clip in the melted plastic, when it hardens, you can pull it out. :S
You could have also tied the paper clip to the string, used the match to melt the ball, then stick the paper clip in the melted plastic, when it hardens, you can pull it out. :S
Ewww...
That is Funny!
Very clever and i laugh my butt off
Launch the box into space, and the ball will float out of the tube
I thought this was a room that was a cube that wasn't stuck to the floor so I thought u could roll the cube around until it was inverted and the ping pong fell out of the pipe.
If there's one bad pee brain teaser, I haven't heard it!
The easiest way to try and get the ping pong ball would be to blow across the top of the tube forcefully, thereby lowering the pressure at the top of the tube. The higher pressure in the tube should lift the ping pong ball to the top of the tube where you could grab it if you were quick enough.
i thought this one was pretty funny if nothing else, but if i'm not mistaken, it was in the game "mind trap". dude, don't steal questions from a game.
wondered where the liquid would come from
Apr 30, 2003
Great teaser! To continue with possible alternatives: if you can cut with a piece of the glass, assuming it will cut the flooring material, couldn't you cut around the base of the pipe, pull the pipe out, and turn it upside-down? Not as creative as the original answer, but I thought possible.
It would be imposssible to light a peice of string on fire and stick it down because there would be hardly any air down the tube and the fire would go out cos it needs oxygeon
gross, but funny. I agree with kingsquag's second senario. You could have sucked the ball out or you could have just blew iin the pipe using the air to force the ball up as if you were drinking from a straw and blew in it. In some cases that would work but I do know not all. I bieleve it would in this case though
hmm...i think there might be a different way but yours is um...creative. good job
Great teaser! To pee in the tube would work great for a man, but a woman would have a difficult time!
I liked it. However, if your body was really dehydrated so that you could not pee, you could break the magnifying glass, cut yourself and bleed into the tube. Of course if the tube was bigger you could bleed to death. Now that you got the ball out of the tube you can use the string to stitch your cut and use the paper clip as a needle.
Voila!
Voila!
Peeing into the hole would be kinda hard for girls..
Pheonix isn't a toilet just a big hole? well I think a man would have more of a problem peeing in the hole than a women as they often miss the toilet!
lol, that was just a joke no offence!
lol, that was just a joke no offence!
Awesome teaser!!! My common sense wasn't working so I had to think about it for a bit!!! Anyway, AWESOME TEASER!!!!! I enjoyed it!!! :-) Steff
May 01, 2003
I'm not so sure sucking on the tube would work, if the bottom end of the tube is solid. The reason sucking on a straw works is that liquid enters the bottom as air/liquid leaves the top. If the bottom is plugged, the straw collapses, or if the sides are solid, you just create a low pressure space of the same size, but nothing forcing the ball up the tube. Blowing in the tube fails in the same way. By the way, does the ping-pong ball hold the key to getting one out of this box with no doors or windows?
A sentimental favorite. I was the only one in my eighth grade science class to get it right, and that was 1978! By the way all you folks that suggested burning a string and melting the PP ball, ever light a PP ball? It has a very flamable gas inside and makes quite a swoosh of blue flame. Try it its fun. Thanks for the great daily mind exercises.
so funny. great puzzle. thanks for the laugh.
cool, i like the solution
LMAO I LOVED IT!!!!!!!
pS. Raynee
COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!
pS. Raynee
COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, so I never saw the answer coming and was trying to figure out how to use what was in the room. The only other thing I thought of was to break the ruler in half, two halves make a (w)hole & use the hole to leave the room and the silly ping pong ball there. Good one, though.
You'd better hope you drank a case of beer before you ended up in an 8x8x8 box. hey wait a second last time i drank a case of beer I ended up in a 8x8x8 box.
the local jail. LOL kiddin. but for real who pee's that much?
that is a whole lotta pee. think about that little cup the last time you took a drug test for a job.
the local jail. LOL kiddin. but for real who pee's that much?
that is a whole lotta pee. think about that little cup the last time you took a drug test for a job.
You wasted a whole lotta time writing that for no reason. Don't you have a life? 
What if you don't have to pee?
I agree with angie - ewwwwwwuggggghhhhhmankyyyyyyyyukkkkkkkkk!!!! 
Attracted a lotta comments though.... 
Attracted a lotta comments though....
why the heck do u want to get the pingpong ball out of there anyways?!?!?
WHAT THE? What was that all about? 
Well, if I was realy stuck in a room like that, I would much use that water to keep from dehydrating rather than using it to get a ping pong ball out of a hole when I won't live long enough to have any fun with it. What's so important about that ball, anyway?
If I did pee in the tube to get the ping pong ball out, then I wouldn't want to touch it. I'd rather just leave it be.
Well, couldn't you also spit in the tube? Gross, but still.
assuming u can pee that long
lmao.. i too was thinking about sucking it out.
lmao.. i too was thinking about sucking it out.
This was funny I thought it was gunna be something really crazy for answer 
but i must admit it was really really funny
but i must admit it was really really funny
the first teaser on the sight to make me laugh out loud once i gave up and looked at the answer! awesome teaser!!
~2.54 x 15.24 cm (1 x 6 inch)
v = pi(r)^2h
= pi(1.27)^2 * 15.24
= 77.2 cubic centimeters
That's a lot of pee.
v = pi(r)^2h
= pi(1.27)^2 * 15.24
= 77.2 cubic centimeters
That's a lot of pee.
This one made me laugh!! I hope whoever intends to "fill" the tube has PLENTY to drink - that's a large order to fill!!!
Psssssssssssssssssssss
OMG, the answer is even moreoff the wall than the puzzle!! But I LIKED IT! Way to go, Ray!
gross
Kind of gross, and medically speaking I'm not sure it would work.
From a Google search I learned that an average man pees only 40 to 60 ounces a day. I pee 4 or 5 times, so that would only be 10 to 12 ounces a time, and I think 12" tube that is large enough to hold the ping pong ball would hold more than that. I'd need more to drink.
And, who wants a pissed on ping pong ball?
From a Google search I learned that an average man pees only 40 to 60 ounces a day. I pee 4 or 5 times, so that would only be 10 to 12 ounces a time, and I think 12" tube that is large enough to hold the ping pong ball would hold more than that. I'd need more to drink.
And, who wants a pissed on ping pong ball?
I must say this one was easy, but that could just mean that I'm a sick & twisted individual. good creativity, & freakin hilarious.
With detailed and potentially useful materials, this was a classic misdirection - great teaser!
vikingboy - I don't think it would be too much of a problem. (I'm British so I have to work in metric - sorry). A ping pong ball is 4cm diameter, so we'll call the pipe the same diameter to make the numbers easy. That gives area of approx 12 square cm, and volume of the whole pipe (30cm long) of 360 cubic cm. That converts to just over 12 oz (US). May have to wait until you really need to go, but you should have enough!
The first thing I thought was
EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
but that was really funny
EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
but that was really funny
hahahahhaa....pssssssssssssssssssssssss
thats a lot of pee
thats a lot of pee
Sorry but I have to agree with vikingboy, You are definately gonna need a lot of pee as most men can't even pee into a standard sized toilet with out leaving the floor soeking wet, how the hell are they gonna pee into a hole 4cm wide and 6 inches of the ground.
Congratulations - the peed on ping pong ball has become the first puzzle in my favorite category. How can anything top it? Many thanks for lots of fun and laughs.
I would be more concerned about not being able to breathe, since I am in an 8 x 8 x 8 cube with no doors and windows, than getting the ping pong ball out.
Plus would you really want to touch that ping pong ball after you just peed on it.
very good best ive seen on here yet thnx
And now you've got a pee pong ball! 
That's really disgusting, but hilarious!!!
i nearly pee'd my pants when i saw the answer
very good teaser, ray
very good teaser, ray
thats disgusting !thats the kind of thing my dad would have come up with! 
!thats the kind of thing my dad would have come up with!
funny
NICE one! I'm always in favor of bathroom humor.... some of the comments made are less than flattering... no need to be nasty.
I thought this was clever and creative. Braingle: It may have fallen better under the TRICK catergory.
I thought this was clever and creative. Braingle: It may have fallen better under the TRICK catergory.
That was really suprising. I did not see that coming. That is kinda weird. Who would of thought?
ME
it was too easy DUH!!!!!
u could of cried in the hole or sweat in the hole or spit in the hole lol!!!
it was too easy DUH!!!!!
u could of cried in the hole or sweat in the hole or spit in the hole lol!!!
That was funny!!!!!1 But it was kinda hard to figure out.
But it was kinda hard to figure out.
ok just lost my apitite. lol jk that was great
ok anybody tell me if im doing this right. k ur so dumb. ur an idiot. dont be dissing me
libra0890
how was thst?
libra0890
how was thst?
that was funniieeee
Trust me, it's true. I've tried it!
wow thats great i got after i read the hint....however i must confess it was an accedient...i...uh was so frustrated with it that i was like well what the heck i will pee in the hole and see if that works....and sho nough...lol lmao
funny but me and my perverted friend got it straight up. 
ummmmm, first of all, why are you in the cube.second, how did you get in. third, why is a pipe sticking up from the floor. fourth, how did the ping pong ball get in there. and fifth, why are you worried about a stupid ping pong ball if you are stuck in this escapeless room????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Oh my god, that was hilarious I would of never thought of it because the teaser was too confusing
Ok, that works (funny I didn't picture myself naked in the room .. there's still hope for me .. I broke the glass, used it to split the ruler (I assumed it was wood .. dating myself?).. tied it together end to end using half of my string, straightened paperclip with fish hook bend at one end (now you know my hobby), used rest of string to tie straight portion of clip to end of now 11 inch ruler thin enough to go down pipe, heated fish hook with match, jammed contraption down tube to melt through pp ball (pun intended) gave a twist to hook unmelted side of ball and withdrew the ball. I assume someone would let me out at this point and I would be embarrased as heck .. but I got to say your method is more straight forward .. or straight downward .. hope to post again sometime when I really solved it .. let's see 0 for 1 .. best two out of three?Peace everyone .. back to the rails
This is comment #94. I scanned through the previous 93 and did not notice any answer to the questions: -------------------------------------1. How did you get into the room? -----------------------------------2. Why do you want that ping pong ball?
---------------------------------------
I have plausible answers, but you may prefer to find them, or better ones, by yourself.
---------------------------------------
I have plausible answers, but you may prefer to find them, or better ones, by yourself.
here is comment #95:
hmm. uh...no comment.
the end.
hmm. uh...no comment.
the end.
here comes #97...
this time it really IS the end!
thank you.
this time it really IS the end!
thank you.
Good answer, but I suggest another solution. First of all, it never mentioned if the room is on the first floor. So if it's on say, the 2nd floor, then you could easily use your ruler to poke it downward and it'll fall. Technically, you "got it out."
I like your answer. What about this: Light the match. Either drop it on the ping pong ball or heat up the paper clip and drop that. Let that melt the ball enough to stick the string on the ball and fuse to the string as the plastic hardens.
comment #100!!! i rock. lol. i hate all of you
libra0890
libra0890
Comment 101:
Mabye it's like one of those maze games where you try to move tha ball through the maze and somehow you and the ball got stuck. OK I know it's kinda strange, but at least I sort of have a reason for why you are stuck in a cube.
What would happen if you catch the tube on fire and then when it hardens, you can pull out a molten mess. You would get the ping pong ball out, but your game of ping pong would be ruined. But, How would you play ping pong by yourself with just a ball and no rackets?
Or, if you are in a magical room, then maybe you can use levitation to get the ball out. If you are in a strange cube, anything can happen.
This is the end on my novella. At least for now. I'm 101 Yay! and I like to spend time thinking about getting a ping pong ball out of a tube because i have nothing better to do! After all, I am in a small cube!
Mabye it's like one of those maze games where you try to move tha ball through the maze and somehow you and the ball got stuck. OK I know it's kinda strange, but at least I sort of have a reason for why you are stuck in a cube.
What would happen if you catch the tube on fire and then when it hardens, you can pull out a molten mess. You would get the ping pong ball out, but your game of ping pong would be ruined. But, How would you play ping pong by yourself with just a ball and no rackets?
Or, if you are in a magical room, then maybe you can use levitation to get the ball out. If you are in a strange cube, anything can happen.
This is the end on my novella. At least for now. I'm 101 Yay! and I like to spend time thinking about getting a ping pong ball out of a tube because i have nothing better to do! After all, I am in a small cube!
You really had me thinking on that one very good
very good May 11, 2005
i liked it that was really funny
i loved it it made me wanna pee my self!
crude and stupid.But also funny.
i thought as were all so strong you just break the pipe and it will go rollin rollin rollin, down a pipe go rollin ,rollin rollin rollin ,yo hi . neway it turned out 2 b much much much more hysterical!!!! in my faves!!! thanx 4 the laugh. soz 4 the mad moment of song there!!!!!!!
I thought you could just suck it out (or the opposite!)
gross teaser,but a good 1 neway
teaser,but a good 1 neway
*Added to my favorites*
What if the the tube led to the sea...
intresting but who wants a ping-pong ball with pee on it?
I have the #100 comment!
*Teaser added to my favorites*
*Teaser added to my favorites*
haha, amusing!
I thought of blowing in the hole at an angle But peeing?!
But peeing?! 
When I saw the answer, I was like... . That has to be the weirdest teaser ever.
. That has to be the weirdest teaser ever.
i don't get it
OMG!
I'd have to drink 2 pints of ale to get me to pee that much!
That was a good one Raynee!!!
That was a good one Raynee!!!
THAT IS BY FAR THE BEST TEASER EVER! *puts it in faves*
good one!
cool teaser i wish i had the creativity to write a teaser like that, but that was soo clever and good, one of my favs!!!!!!!!
L
L
man, i don't know why i was surprised to see that as an answer. well done
man, i don't know why i was surprised to see that as an answer. well done
man, i don't know why i was surprised to see that as an answer. well done
eeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
eeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Haha very clever
eewwwww grose !
a) make a circular hook with the clip little smaller than the diameter of the ball
b) tie it to the end of the string.
c) Light the matches by striking it on the floor. use the heat of the fire to expand the circular hook so its now larger than the diameter of the ball but will still fit through the pipe
d) slide the hook into the pipe so the hook is now placed below the ball ( remember that the hook is larger than the ball and will slide around it )
e) When the hook cools, pull the hook & ball with the string
Jeanie-Ass
a) make a circular hook with the clip little smaller than the diameter of the ball
b) tie it to the end of the string.
c) Light the matches by striking it on the floor. use the heat of the fire to expand the circular hook so its now larger than the diameter of the ball but will still fit through the pipe
d) slide the hook into the pipe so the hook is now placed below the ball ( remember that the hook is larger than the ball and will slide around it )
e) When the hook cools, pull the hook & ball with the string
Jeanie-Ass
Excellent! But I think you'd really have to have one huge bladder!!
Bizarre.
Now that's a teaser!!!
If you magically get in the cube I say you save it for the toilet and just magically get out the cube, nice, dry, pee-less ping pong in hand.
that was kinda easy after i saw the hint. if you had a lot of spit that would of worked also... that was kinda easy after i saw the hint. if you had a lot of spit that would of worked also... that was kinda easy after i saw the hint. if you had a lot of spit that would of worked also...
to whom it may concern:ping pong balls are made with cellulose,and that causes them to burn in a vey quick manner. not a gas that they are filled with
what if you crack one into the tube and light the foogas with the match to blast the ball out,as a cannon?
Mar 09, 2007
It was, in my opinion, a perfect letdown. As Erwin Brecher rightly puts it in his 'Journey Through Puzzleland':
"One of the basic criteria of any good puzzle is that the question or answer not be deceptive. When they are, the result is not quite a trick question but certainly a letdown".
I certainly hope better questions that actually involve real scientific reasoning are posted here.
"One of the basic criteria of any good puzzle is that the question or answer not be deceptive. When they are, the result is not quite a trick question but certainly a letdown".
I certainly hope better questions that actually involve real scientific reasoning are posted here.
dumber and dumber it seems to be getting here
I [ersonally don't feel this "teaser" is worthy of comment.
High Fives to Bradon for the best comment
I'm not sure about someone's 'Journey Through Puzzleland', but obviously several tourists got off at the wrong stop, or sleep through the whole trip. This teaser does require a little physical science, reasoning and basic logic to solve the problem. No letdown for most. But if you don't get it, you don't get it.
...and I want to get this 'wet' ping pong ball out of the hole, why?
Good teaser, well written and fun to work out.
...and I want to get this 'wet' ping pong ball out of the hole, why?
Good teaser, well written and fun to work out.
Oh what a discussion of bodily functions with a questionable result. Sure hope this was a guy doing the loading of the pipe as I'm not sure a female could place the needed substance into such a depository.
This is not good morning entertainment, sorry
uhh im guessing the pipe is fastened to the floor??? cuz why not just take the pipe out......an flip it.. still funny answer1
still funny answer1
actually I meant to add: 
!! I thought this was a family site
!! I thought this was a family site
Okay, so I've peed in the hole and retrieved the ping-pong ball. Now, more importantly, can someone tell me how to get out of this room with no doors or windows?? It's starting to smell like pee!
I thought of sucking on the pipe like a straw.
But, peeing would work.
But, peeing would work.
funny lmao and I think some people should lighten up a bit
it's meant to be fun
it's meant to be fun
I would have used the ruler to press down on the ball quickly in rapid succession until it bounced out. After all ping pong balls are very light.
That was hilarious! I loved it and will put it in my favorites.
I was certain there would be some means to suck/blow to retrieve it. I thought of poking a hole in the side of the tube to suck, but with the tube being stuck 6 inches in the floor, no chance of a hole. Don't think you could suck it out without someway to displace the air you're removing. Anyway, great teaser!
I was certain there would be some means to suck/blow to retrieve it. I thought of poking a hole in the side of the tube to suck, but with the tube being stuck 6 inches in the floor, no chance of a hole. Don't think you could suck it out without someway to displace the air you're removing. Anyway, great teaser!
dumb
A 12" pipe would have approximately 19,600 MM of internal volume. The average human bladder is 15 ML or 15000ML In order to get the ball you would need a larger bladder (19.6ml+) to fill the pipe enough to get the top.
15000MM not ML, sorry
[quote]you could break the magnifying glass, cut yourself and bleed into the tube[/quote]
emo much?...lol
Great teaser ...got me stumped by it
emo much?...lol
Great teaser ...got me stumped by it
It sounds like a few people are mixing results with manners and cleanliness!!! Remember kids, this is a brain TEASER, and NOT a miss/mrs/mr. cleanliness results time. Totally Awesome teaser! With the inside diameter of the pipe being only a millimeter larger than the ping pong ball, the tube would fill up quick!
With the inside diameter of the pipe being only a millimeter larger than the ping pong ball, the tube would fill up quick!
I agree with Bandon, doehead, and Phyllisa.
It is a question of volume.
One would need an exceptionally large bladder to fill a tube of that volume, enough to get the ping pong ball to a point where it can be removed from the tube
One would need an exceptionally large bladder to fill a tube of that volume, enough to get the ping pong ball to a point where it can be removed from the tube
Mar 09, 2007
Peeing in the pipe will do one of two things. make the ball float (Assuming the other end of the pipe is sealed or the ball is currently floatin in still liquid) or it will flush the ball down into the piping system.(more likely)... Anyone seen the mythbusters float the sail boat using ping pong balls?
they poured water and pingpong balls into a pipe and the forces of the water carried the balls 30 ft below the surface of the bay.
they poured water and pingpong balls into a pipe and the forces of the water carried the balls 30 ft below the surface of the bay.
isnt it kinda more trick than scinece? well, i thought you could light the match throw it in with the string so that it would burn up the oxogyn and then sti ont the tube to not let any in, then when you get up and air rushes in stick the ruller in to catch the ball as the air rushing in propells it up. damn you over anilization!
i'm not gonna lie here. I hated this one. It was pointless and does not fullfill the definition of a brain teaser-that of something that challenges the mind in an intellegent way.
w3ll that was kind of dumb but entertaining! but theres no light so how could u aim? lol and cant u just suck it out with your mouth?
Thats a lot of pee
Smash the Magnifying glass, use some broken glass to slit your wrist, and let the blood dribble into the hole. Your in the stupid room anyway, and your air is going to run out. This way you still die, but you get the ball. 
nice comment Geralzibob. i was also thinking about making myself bleed. you'll die, but at least you got the ball
stupid.....
what ever happened to RAYNE?????
Very clever.
Thank you for the teaser although I found it to be rather disgusting.
Thank you for the teaser although I found it to be rather disgusting.
This is more like a dumb joke that a buch of kids might giggle about at recess thinking they are being clever. Is there a shortage of really good teasers out there? (And don't suggest that I submit one--I'm not qualified as yet.)
Also, this is the first time I have felt compelled to enter a negative comment about a teaser.
I sooo agree jcann. I also am not in the habit of being negative. While I do "get" it, I just think there are better teasers out there. This also reminded me of "potty" humor when my kids were younger.
LMAO! That one was a hoot! BUT, couldn't you light the match and heat up the paper clip on the end of the string to melt the ping pong ball a bit, leaving the paper clip on the ball?
hated it. hot garbage. dissapointing. give me my money back
hilarious
First of all, EWWW GROSSS!!!! You are a stupid immature weirdo! And secondly, why are people asking why you want the ping pong ball? It's obvious that you are extremely bored and you want to use the ruler to bounce the ball against the wall. DUH!
And secondly, why are people asking why you want the ping pong ball? It's obvious that you are extremely bored and you want to use the ruler to bounce the ball against the wall. DUH!
That's disgusting!!
The only advice I have is to put it in a different category--trick, maybe...sure, that would be somewhat a hint but, come on, who's going to figure it out if it's in the science category!?!
Also, I would think that if you were in a room with no doors or windows, you'd be much more concerned with finding a way out than with getting a ping pong ball out of a pipe...and especially by peeing on it!! Hopefully, you wouldn't have much interest in touching it then!
Just one more question: what if you hadn't drank enough lately or whatever the case may be, so that you couldn't pee enough...just a thought!
The only advice I have is to put it in a different category--trick, maybe...sure, that would be somewhat a hint but, come on, who's going to figure it out if it's in the science category!?!
Also, I would think that if you were in a room with no doors or windows, you'd be much more concerned with finding a way out than with getting a ping pong ball out of a pipe...and especially by peeing on it!! Hopefully, you wouldn't have much interest in touching it then!
Just one more question: what if you hadn't drank enough lately or whatever the case may be, so that you couldn't pee enough...just a thought!
I'm guessing that the reason you want the ping pong ball out of the tube is because whoever built this room around you won't let you out until you solve the puzzle. You know, the usual torture-thinking deal.
Anyways, I didn't have a good guess, especially after I decided that there would be no way to light the match: most matches I encounter are NOT the self-lighting ones, and if the room is sealed, there's no way to focus sunlight with the magnifying glass to light the match.
As for the "potty humour" side of the answer, I giggled like I was a schoolkid at recess, thinking I was clever. I LOVED IT!! It really brought me back.... ahhhh.....
Anyways, I didn't have a good guess, especially after I decided that there would be no way to light the match: most matches I encounter are NOT the self-lighting ones, and if the room is sealed, there's no way to focus sunlight with the magnifying glass to light the match.
As for the "potty humour" side of the answer, I giggled like I was a schoolkid at recess, thinking I was clever. I LOVED IT!! It really brought me back.... ahhhh.....
I usually don't think like that, so I would never had gotten that unless I was actually in that situation.
I agree with lots of people. (1) This is a trick question, not a science teaser. (2) There are probably many ways to use the implements on hand to get the ball out of the hole, but the answer wouldn't be as much fun. (3) Speaking of the fun answer, it's crude and I'm shocked, simply shocked, I tell you! (4) The fun answer isn't likely to work either unless you have a large supply of some beverage like beer on hand to replinish your empty bladder. (5) The final solution has to be to call out for a supply of beer to be delivered for use to refill your bladder. (6) How does the beer get inside the room with you? Well, how did you and the ball get in there? In the end, it's magic, not a trick or science -- it's pure magic, and I loved it and was tremendously amused. Don't know how I never crossed paths with this teaser till now. Kudos to the creator who is obviously a brilliant trouble-maker.
Sorry for the typo -- "replinish" should be "replenish." In this age of texting, I still know how to spell. My fingers just make mistakes sometimes.
STUPID
Yes, you are!
If peeing is so disgusting...don't ever do it again.
If peeing is so disgusting...don't ever do it again.
HA! That is too funny. I was all prepared to comment that, no matter what the right answer was, I would just pee in the tube. Nice one!!
I see this is very old (2002!) and has been teaser of the day at least once before (since I commented at that time). I still agree with doehead--something I don't do very often. And I definitely think it should be in the trick category if used at all.
I really don't get how this is a teaser. Who says "you" are a human? Bacteria should also be able to go on Braingle and solve teasers
Didn't get the answer, but after I saw it, I decided I really didn't want that ping pong ball after all.
jaycr--your comment is much funnier than the teaser!
i thought you tied the match to the string, then used that to make the metal expand so u could reach your hand in there
I was close. I would take a dump down the tube and hopefully it would be sticky enough that you could push the ruler into the excrement and then pull it back out with the ping pong ball attached to the dung. This would, of course, require about a six inch stool which would be no problem most days of the week.
My first reading told me the pipe was 12 inches in diameter and 6 inches long. This leaves the slightly smaller ping-pong ball with nearly 6 inches of it above the end of the pipe. You'd be able to get a good enough grip to roll it up and out, and if not, just give it a good smack to get it bouncing and grab it. (where do you get a 12 inch ping-pong ball? the same place you get a sealed room containing a living, peeing, puzzle solver)
Now the comments are getting disgusting.
This is hilarious! And to those of you who find this offensive or "unworthy" you have absolutely no sense of humour! I love it! Great ingenuity too!
Never mind the ping pong ball...How am I supposed to get myself out of the room? No window, no door. Help!
This was clever and funny - and, Babe, loved your comment!!
Sorry,but this a sad version of a teaser. This should be buried or burnt now.
I heard this exact teaser years ago but there was a source of water. I too would like to know how without water one would pee enough to get the ball to float to the top. Also may not be such an easy task for a female.
I think at 13 years, this teaser is old enough to be set free and leave the Braingle nest forever!
I think at 13 years, this teaser is old enough to be set free and leave the Braingle nest forever!
Foul. At least for me, being over 65, without enough pee to fill the pipe, especially since there's no access to water.
Bugger I'm older than you are and I thought it was stupid, only because it didn't make any sense. This said "science" I don't think so.
I read a mentalrobics article a while back that had this exact teaser in it, so I know that you did not make this one up. Also, in any way is this a science teaser? What, because golf balls float that makes it "science"? If you ask me, due to all of the random objects that you don't need, it should be a trick teaser.
A bit mislead because this is in the science section, but the solution works nevertheless.
I actually got the answer right hahaha, but I had heard a similar teaser a while back and remembered the floating thing
Cute!! To those complaining about the category, Raynee explained toward the beginning of comments that the editors placed it in this category, it wasn't her choice. Anyway, this one was new to me and I've been around for a while!
The room with no doors or windows was built AROUND YOU! Anyway, first thing I'd try is to suck it out of the hole. PP balls are very light, and the clearance is tight enough to form a vacuum effect. If that failed, I'd fashion the paperclip into a semi-circle like a crescent moon. I'd leave a 90-degree tab to tie it onto the 6" ruler. Then I'd light the match and heat the metal clip along its crescent shape, for as long as the match would burn. As soon as the match burnt out, I'd lower the hot clip so that the crescent makes full contact with the pp ball. As another commenter stated, the ball should explode with a blue flame. Then I'd re-fashion the clip to a fishhook and snag the broken pp ball, then pull it out of the hole.
Well, I experimented with a toilet paper roll. It is roughly the same diameter and 1/3 the length of the 12" pipe. By capping the roll and filling it up three times. I measured it to be about 12 fluid ounces. On occasion, I have more than filled a 12-oz. soda can with pee. It can be done, if the bottom of the 12" pipe is plugged. I really enjoyed this teaser!
I believe you could also blow quickly into the hole and the ping pong ball will pop out, similar to what you can do in beer pong. That was my solution, even before reading the hint!
Maybe you could tie the paper clip to 1 end of the string, and the magnifying glass to the other end to act as a grip. Then holding the magnifying glass, spin the string and paper clip to build up static( ping pong balls are made from cellulose, great conductors of electricity ). If you built up enough static in the clip, you could then drop it down the hole and gently fish out the ball?
You might also be able to incorporate the ruler in this, depending on its composition of course. The match could then be struck on the floor and lit to show you have the ball.
Now that's SCIENCE( Editors take note ), not a SICK TRICK!
You might also be able to incorporate the ruler in this, depending on its composition of course. The match could then be struck on the floor and lit to show you have the ball.
Now that's SCIENCE( Editors take note ), not a SICK TRICK!
Follow Braingle!