4
$\begingroup$

A friend of mine challenged me to jump over a bottle on the floor. I'm good at jumping over obstacles so I accepted. But then I realized that I couldn't do it!
Why? Explain!

Notes: I'm not injured. The floor isn't sticky or irregular. The bottle has standard size of 1,5L. Jumping means that you "take off" from the floor, pass above the bottle without touching it, then land on the floor

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
8
  • $\begingroup$ Downvoter please explain your action. If it's because the text isn't clear, just ask and I'll explain. $\endgroup$
    – leoll2
    May 1, 2015 at 12:52
  • $\begingroup$ @leoll2 I did not dv nor will i vote to close. As you are relatively new but very active though I just wanted to caution you about the "speculative answers" close reason. There was a time when this question would have been closed reflexively. meta.puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/1254/… $\endgroup$
    – kaine
    May 1, 2015 at 13:17
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ You're trapped in the Matrix and you realize the truth... there is no bottle. $\endgroup$
    – Cubicon
    May 1, 2015 at 13:26
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @leoll2 I agree but some of the questions that inspired that close reason allowed fewer than this. The complaint was that the motivation for which "correct" answer to select was based on bias OP preference. If I wanted this question closed, I would vote to close it. But for your own sake see: puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/568/… $\endgroup$
    – kaine
    May 1, 2015 at 13:35
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @kaine Good example. In order to circumscribe the problem and make the problem less "broad", I tried to add several notes, but apparently it wasn't enough. I'll discuss about lateral-thinking in meta asap, as I really believe that the lateral-thinking policy can be improved, for the good of the whole community. $\endgroup$
    – leoll2
    May 1, 2015 at 13:45

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
18
$\begingroup$

I think

he put the bottle on the floor against the wall in the corner of the room

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ So you go onto the next floor or onto the roof of the building and jump over it there. (Though this is most likely the intended answer.) $\endgroup$
    – kaine
    May 1, 2015 at 13:07
  • $\begingroup$ @kaine but is it really jumping over? $\endgroup$
    – A.D.
    May 1, 2015 at 13:08
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @kaine, they could be on a roof. But then I don't think they would really be your 'friend' $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    May 1, 2015 at 13:09
  • $\begingroup$ You jump and pass over the bottle. It is as fair as his placement of the bottle. The truth is we don't know enough of the situation to say for sure what happened. The comment is just fun. $\endgroup$
    – kaine
    May 1, 2015 at 13:10
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ In order to beat your friend, however, you put a small table over the bottle and jump up and down on that. You are now "jumping over the bottle" using a linguistic trick similar to "biting an inch off a poker" :-) $\endgroup$
    – Joffan
    May 1, 2015 at 15:15
7
$\begingroup$

Another solution (there are several) is that

he put the bottle underneath a large table or other piece of furniture.

Note there are lateral thinking ways to get around some of the obsticales presented by this idea such as jumping on the furniture in such a way that you go over the bottle while remaining on the furniture.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
5
$\begingroup$

One possibility is that the bottle is

on a floor that you can't get to, like a bottle on the floor of a secure facility you don't have access to.

Another possibility is that the

ceiling is too low for you to jump over the bottle.

More generally these all mean there is

some sort of obstruction preventing you from jumping over the bottle.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Good attempt, but the floor is the same for you, your friend and the bottle $\endgroup$
    – leoll2
    May 1, 2015 at 12:49
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @leoll2 Your comment doesn't make any sense to me. In what way is the floor different for you, your friend, or the bottle in either of his scenarios? You can easily be on the same floor and still be separated by a locked door. Or are you trying to say that you must be in the same room? $\endgroup$
    – Warlord 099
    May 1, 2015 at 13:19
3
$\begingroup$

A more unlikely situation:

Your friend lives in a rotating house where they ceiling can become the floor (after being rotating around). He glues the bottle onto the ceiling (which can also be a floor but currently isn't). Then he read what A.D. said, and glues it into the corner of the ceiling.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
$\begingroup$

A solution you should not tell to black hat:

When he challenged you to "jump over a bottle on the floor", he meant "on the floor" to refer to you and not the bottle. You can't technically be "on the floor" and jump at the same time, and so...hey...put that machete down!!!

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.