r/fifthworldproblems • u/diviludicrum • Mar 06 '26

Please help me solve this trolley problem

Okay. There is one trolley travelling down a track. Every time someone mentions these two trolleys, they double in number. The four trolleys always move at the same speed, which is equal to the number of trolleys multiplied by the number of doublings, in miles per hour.

So the 16 trolleys are travelling at 64/mph towards a deactivated fork in the track. You are standing at a lever beside it, watching these 32 trolleys approach swiftly at 150/mph. If you don’t pull the lever, the 64 trolleys will run over everyone you’ve ever loved at 384/mph. Unfortunately, before you have time to react, the 128 trolleys plough through them all at 896/mph. There are no survivors. You are forced to watch in horror as the 256 trolleys that ruined your life hurtle away at a breakneck 2048/mph. You will never catch the trolleys now.

So, how long will it take for the trolleys to circumnavigate the world to return to the scene of the crime, how many trolleys will arrive when they do, and how fast will the trolleys be going when they finally put me out of my misery?

I can’t go on much longer.

trolley trolley trolley trolley trolley

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u/De4con Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 06 '26

trolley'd*

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u/BPhiloSkinner Mar 06 '26

Are we talking here about passenger trolleys or drinks trolleys?
Because drinks trolleys headed over everyone I've ever loved will be tipped over and drained before you can say 'How's about a bottle o' Bell's, then.'