At 04:43 AM 27/12/96 -0500, Zen wrote:

Just a few Christmas observations that appeared in Zen's mailbox...
Zen hopes that your holiday was a good one, and that you all got to spend
quality time with those that you hold most dear.
Here then, is something for you to consider - but don't tell the kids!
Zen the Heretic-

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  ***THE PHYSICS OF CHRISTMAS***

<snip>

    4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element.
Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized Lego
set (2 pounds), the sleigh is then carrying 321,300 tons, not counting
Santa, who is invariably described as overweight.  On land,
conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds.  Even >>granting

that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the >>normal
amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine.  We need

214,200 reindeer.  This increases the payload - not even counting the
weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons.  Again, for comparison - this
is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

Her Majesty has been sneaking treats from the royal icebox at night again
eh? ;)

Panda (My last spam until next year)
-----------------------------------
"BG Cross", "Dark Traveler", "The Dragon's Tower"
http://execulink.com/~askuse/bgcross/
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http://execulink.com/~askuse/ravengar.html