Question on the Fly

May 28, 2010 at 1:04 pm 14 comments

Inspired by yesterday’s post, here’s another brain buster that has caused great dissension in our family for years (literally). I probably have mentioned this to some of you dear readers before, but nonetheless here’s the situation:

You’re driving down the road at the legal speed (whether 45, 55, or 65, unless you’re in Montana). A fly flies in through an open window into your vehicle.

Does the fly (1) continue flying in your vehicle, or (2) does it splat on your back window?

Hmmmmmmm.

I won’t specify who in our family is on what side of the debate (i.e. the splatters vs. the non-splatters).

Entry filed under: Dan, Farm Implements.

Question from the Gutter Veterans’ Day

14 Comments Add your own

1. Dale Folks | May 28, 2010 at 2:26 pm

He continues to fly in your car or he lands on someone.
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2. Jon | May 28, 2010 at 11:22 pm

Continue flying . . .I’m a non-splatter
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3. nana | May 29, 2010 at 7:11 am

Shouldn’t you be tiling a floor or something? 🙂 Does Trish know you are playing on the computer??? Can’t wait to see ya’ll in two weeks!
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4. Dan Greenfield | May 29, 2010 at 7:14 am

Floor’s tiled, nana. Gotta put the toilet in next. That’s happening this AM.
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5. Josiah Finneran | May 29, 2010 at 7:43 pm

I side with the non-splatters, once inside the car/van the fly is in a type of vacuum that is not effected by the wind outside of the vehicle. The fly therefore annoys all the people inside the car. I have seen this happen.And yes the bathroom looks awesome Mr. Greenfield!!!
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6. Dan Greenfield | May 29, 2010 at 7:52 pm

Thanks, Josiah. I finished it all today, too! Just in time. It’s nice to have 2 bathrooms going again.

As for the non-splatting, the rejoinder to your comment (that I hear from some anyway) is “how can that happen? If someone jumped into a moving train, he’d tumble about, not automatically assume its speed.”

As I said, this is a VERY serious issue in our home. A lot is at stake [heh heh]
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7. bj | June 2, 2010 at 10:12 am

If the fly is able to fly into your car, he is already traveling at the same speed of said car. The fly can continue flying, or, even if it stops dead in it’s tracks, it’s momentum will keep the fly going with the car. A simple test for the kids, at much slower speeds, would be to take an object that is not too heavy, such as maybe a lightly balled up piece of paper. Drop the paper while standing. It will drop directly to the ground in front of you. Now, have someone run, or ride a bike, while someone else watches. The first person builds up speed, then drops the paper. Have someone mark the point the paper is dropped, and someone else mark where it lands. The paper is not able to fly, but yet it lands a good bit away from the point where it was dropped. Hopefully this will help your ages old question of the fly– to splat or not to splat! If they want more help understanding momentum, I would have to dig into my old physics notes, and, well, it ain’t happening, sorry! 🙂 ha ha.
Now, on to more important questions… If a tree fell in the woods, and no one was around to hear it, would it make a sound…. 🙂
Really, though, hope this helps!
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8. Josiah Finneran | June 4, 2010 at 10:06 am

bj knows his or her (sorry I don’t know you) physics well and has momentum down well, but as someone asked me how does the fly enter the car when you are traveling at 55 mph the answer is in the fact that when you open your car window air pours in; the fly doesn’t have to be moving at all your car is moving for him . A good example of this is a strong current, you can be just having fun in the water when you get SUCKED into the current. Did you do anything to get up to the speed of the current ? No, you stumbled into it and it took you along for the ride.The same principle can be applied to the case with the fly, he didn,t try to get into the car he was sucked into the car!
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9. Josiah Finneran | June 4, 2010 at 10:31 am

Mrs. Greenfield needs to get a blog! I have visited everyone’s blog that has one in your family except of course Josiah and Lidia’s. I known you’ll probably reply , “And so should you!” but the difference is nobody in my family takes alot of pics, so my blog site would most likely end up like Andy’s!! Just a little food for thought=)
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10. Dan Greenfield | June 4, 2010 at 10:35 am

Josiah, Mrs. Greenfield does Facebook and that’s about it. 🙂

As for yourself, blogs don’t necessarily need to have pictures. “Blog” is short for “web-log,” akin to a journal. Most blogs give information and provide opportunity for discussion and interaction (such as my own blog, Di Sheiyah). You just need to have something to say.
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11. bj | June 7, 2010 at 9:48 am

I talked to Jason Lindsey of Hooked on Science, and he agreed with what I suggested, but added (and this goes along with what Josiah said) objects take on some of the moving energy another object gives off. so even if the fly wasn’t moving, as in Josiah’s example, it takes on the car’s forward energy.
This is a fun discussion!
BTW, for Josiah’s sake, I am a girl, married to Blain, = Blain’s Jenn, or– BJ. So, there’s my nickname. 🙂
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12. Josiah Finneran | June 12, 2010 at 7:50 pm

I’m sorry to have to say this but mom has convinced me that a bug would never in real life get sucked into a moving car. Now this doesn’t mean that you can’t still hypothesize (I know bad english) about the science involved in this fly scenario which has us all captivated!!!
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13. Josiah Finneran | June 18, 2010 at 7:46 am

In real life people drive down the road all the time with 2 or more windows especially in the summer and never have these huge amounts of bugs flying into their car and causing such great annoying of the folks in the car!
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14. Don Johnson | November 8, 2010 at 2:44 pm

What an interesting discussion! I know you are all finished with this, but I’d like to add a personal story for the record.

In 1977 (in Montana, as it happened), I was driving my 1972 Dodge Charger with the window down. At the moment the incident happened, I also happened to have my mouth open…

So…

I’m with the splatters!

BTW, fly doesn’t taste too good.

Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
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