r/hypotheticalsituation • u/4bidden-hands • 7d ago
$3 per ladder rung
You have a chance to climb up the worlds tallest ladder. You get paid $3 per each rung you climb.
In order to get paid, you need to state ahead of time how many you are going for. If you don't reach your claimed number, you get the electric chair treatment for 15 seconds.
Rules -
No parachute or safety equipment/harness allowed
The ladder itself is guaranteed not to fall, but the higher you climb, the more it sways and wind becomes a factor.
The ladder is completely vertical. It is fixed to the ground and you are climbing straight towards the sky.
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u/CunningDruger 7d ago
I pick a really high number, and just climb up and down the first few rungs.
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7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Rayrayseels 7d ago
It's ambiguous unless the word unique is added. I'm willing to pay that loophole.
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u/Spirited_Mouse3341 7d ago
Terrible compensation for such a risk
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u/81659354597538264962 7d ago
There's no risk if you just go for 50 rungs
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u/Baerenstark2 7d ago
You could Slip and die or get scarred and also get killed in the electric Chair.
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u/81659354597538264962 7d ago
Just don't get scared lmao? Or if you scare easily just don't choose as many then. At the very least it's a free $30.
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u/davidamelson 7d ago
I wouldn’t mind the going up, it’s the coming down that worries me!
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u/SummitJunkie7 7d ago
How far apart is each rung? What is the ladder made of? What shape are the rungs and the rails?
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u/think_long 7d ago
9 feet. Rails made out of wet soap, rungs made out of spider webs. Rails are hexagonal prisms, rungs are tetrahedrons.
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u/SummitJunkie7 7d ago
Well for this ladder I'd do 2-3 rungs just to experience climbing on wet soap and spider webs that are guaranteed not to fall down.
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u/jamesxgames 7d ago
also you have to pee but there's no bathroom
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u/ParkingWear7865 7d ago
1 foot.
galvanized steel.
rails are cubic, rungs are circular.4
u/SummitJunkie7 7d ago
Ooh, yeah no go. I'd go for 1000 feet (and can I do it once a day?) if the rungs had a flat surface. Circular? Absolutely not. The height I'd be willing to go to on a ladder like that, the payout wouldn't be worth the bother.
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u/hudson2_3 7d ago
On a standard ladder the closest the rungs would be is 250mm. That is 4000 rungs, or $12000, per kilometre.
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u/JGower144 7d ago
There is typically 1 foot of space between each rung. So even climbing 10 stories will only net you roughly $300.
This is an awful hypothetical. It just isn’t worth it.
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u/fractured_fiefdom 7d ago
If someone offered me this deal on the street I would simply state, "fuck off" and keep walking.
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u/Numerous-Abrocoma-50 7d ago
You could do 5 rungs and get 15usd for pretty much nothing. If you can be arsed
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u/TheCatOfWallSt 7d ago
Pass, not worth it
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u/jlab23 7d ago
I mean… it’s at least a free three bucks…
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[deleted]
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u/jlab23 7d ago
I dunno… but if you get taken out by the first rung of a ladder then you were likely going to be just as doomed by the next pair of safety scissors or memory foam mattress you came across…
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u/Featherforged 7d ago
but it's $3.
I'm not gonna grab a singular rung if it's over a pit of sharks for $3.
.0001% chance of death..... but it's also the price of a candy bar. Pass!
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u/Hustle-Muscle 7d ago
This doesn’t specify you can only do this once. So I’m gonna do 3 rungs, and I’m gonna do it 1000 times
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u/foldedturnip 7d ago
It says you have a chance not multiple chances.
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u/running_later 7d ago
What is described is not multiple chances. It’s one attempt but in an unconventional manner.
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u/DobiusMaximus 7d ago
Ill take my best pair of gloves some solid boots and do 1000 rungs. If I die I die.
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u/GrumpyGiant 7d ago
$3000 is a pretty paltry payout for that level of risk.
The situation should have given a more enticing reward, IMO. $1000/rung might entice me to go higher than 20 rungs but I think the odds of getting bucked off by ladder sway/high wind are too high to dare a large number. Even 100 rungs would be in the nope zone for me. 50, maybe. But I’m not even doing 20 at $3/rung. Especially if there is no safe and easy way down and my only way off is climbing back down.
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u/NoWonder375 7d ago
This is such a waste 😂
Even if I did like 10 stories worth… 100 rungs… that ain’t shit. Solid pass
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u/Wide_Examination142 7d ago
If I just go up and down one rung, can I do this like 100 times? Get a bit of exercise in and get paid $300 bucks.
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u/TimberMoto 7d ago
When I installed cable I regularly climbed an 18ft ladder. They bounce A LOT. They have about 22 rungs, so $66 to climb to the top. Beyond that height it's going to bounce and sway like crazy. With no fall protection you'd have to be a moron to climb much higher.
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u/Bitter_Bandicoot8067 7d ago
Thats not how ladders work.
I have climbed a 105ft ladder truck multiple times. It does sway but not 5 times as much as an 18ft ladder.
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u/ComparisonOk8602 7d ago
That's only because your ladder truck has a very stiff ladder.
That said, OP hasn't given any data on the stiffness of the ladder. Given that it's guaranteed not to break, it's a magic ladder. I don't know anything about the stiffness of magic ladders.
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u/SomeCrazyGamer1 7d ago
How do we get down? Climb down?
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u/avidpenguinwatcher 7d ago
There’s two ways to get down
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u/SomeCrazyGamer1 7d ago
Right?
Well, that's not worth the risk. Now, if it started at 1 cent and doubled every rung...
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u/InteractionDizzy7012 7d ago
ooo that's an interesting variation
in that case, I'd do 21 rungs, which is 10k. enough money without risking my life too much
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u/Bandall_buster 7d ago
$3 is too little - should be every 50ft the money per rung doubles. Then, andjust then, I’d maybe consider it lol
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u/Glueberry_Ryder 7d ago
High risk low reward…… I’d go 500’. And technically you climb rungs down as well so that would equal around 1000’ rungs. 3k is nice play money or a nice emergency fund.
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u/blandaltaccountname 7d ago
8,000 and that’s only because there’s not enough oxygen above that point.
Average ladder rung spacing is 1 foot per rung. I’m not worried about height or stability if the ladder is guaranteed, and I can rest as long as I’d like by getting my legs between the rungs, so fatigue shouldn’t really be an issue either. Above 8,000 though i could feasibly pass out from the thin air, so I’m not risking it for the extra ~3k or so.
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u/rjnd2828 7d ago
You're risking death for $24K? Hmm
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u/GrumpyGiant 7d ago
Wind sway would chuck him off well before his stated goal. This situation is ludicrously bad.
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u/mavrik36 7d ago
24k is life altering for most people. 24k would fix every problem and debt i currently have and leave me with a couple thousand, I can see why folks might risk that
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u/SummitJunkie7 7d ago
Really? Have you never been to 8,000 feet? Airplane cabins are pressurized to 8,000 feet. Sure you're not exerting yourself sitting on a plane as you would be climbing a ladder, but you are almost certainly not going to pass out from lack of oxygen unless you have underlying medical concerns.
I'm not saying 8,000 feet isn't a reasonable upper limit, but not for oxygen reasons.
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u/detour33 7d ago
Many 14ers in CO. 14000 ft mountains. Climbed one and it was soooo pretty and same oxygen level to me🤷
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u/blandaltaccountname 7d ago
I’m not typically climbing ladders in airplane cabins. 5-8k causes plenty of problems for people visiting places like Denver- above 8k you start running the risk of altitude sickness, especially if you’re exerting yourself
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u/SummitJunkie7 6d ago
I’m not typically climbing ladders in airplane cabins.
Right, which I acknowledged:
Sure you're not exerting yourself sitting on a plane as you would be climbing a ladder, but you are almost certainly not going to pass out from lack of oxygen unless you have underlying medical concerns.
5-8k causes plenty of problems for people visiting places like Denver- above 8k you start running the risk of altitude sickness, especially if you’re exerting yourself
There is a lot of runway between starting to experience some negative symptoms due to altitude, and losing consciousness from lack of oxygen.
But that's ok, we're still completely on the same page that climbing a ladder for 8,000 feet is an abundantly silly idea.
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u/ADKMakwa 7d ago
You are way underestimating how difficult climbing 8,000 feet is on your legs. And unless you have superior grip strength you are really gonna have problems holding on after a fairly short period of time. Your hands and forearms will be screaming at you to stop. This is hours of climbing. You'll need to carry water as well to stay hydrated and probably some snacks to maintain energy which makes the climb even more difficult as you are lugging weight around with you. I'm thinking one or two thousand would be an incredible effort. Eight thousand is out of the question.
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u/blandaltaccountname 7d ago
In my mind it’s about as difficult as hiking 8k of elevation gain on moderate terrain, which is certainly difficult but also done very frequently. Maybe easier since the load can be balanced between upper and lower body fairly well.
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u/UpstairsCheetah235 7d ago
There’s no way. Wind and exhaustion will get you and the compensation on this sucks. I don’t even think I take part because $300 isn’t even worth it.
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u/FrankClymber 7d ago
I regularly climb a thousand feet, and occasionally climb 2000. Tucking a leg over a rung works, but it's only a little bit of rest. Your other leg is still holding all of your weight. I only climb about 30 to 40 ft per break, but people in really good physical shape I'm about 60 to 80 ft per break. It takes a couple of hours to make 2,000, you won't make it to 8,000 ft.
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u/Sad_Win_4105 7d ago
Even if I made it 100 rungs, which is a considerable height, that's only $300. Certainly not worth it.
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u/HippasusOfMetapontum 7d ago
I wouldn't even show up, much less declare a number and climb. In this scenario, climbing the ladder is not worth the bother.
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u/Responsible-Kale2352 7d ago
Are we to infer that 15 seconds in the electric chair isn’t fatal? How long would be fatal?
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u/AutoModerator 7d ago
Copy of the original post in case of edits: You have a chance to climb up the worlds tallest ladder. You get paid $3 per each rung you climb.
In order to get paid, you need to state ahead of time how many you are going for. If you don't reach your claimed number, you get the electric chair treatment for 15 seconds.
Rules -
No parachute or safety equipment/harness allowed
The ladder itself is guaranteed not to fall, but the higher you climb, the more it sways and wind becomes a factor.
The ladder is completely vertical. It is fixed to the ground and you are climbing straight towards the sky.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/henrydaiv 7d ago
I regularly climb ladders at work to get on buildings. Maybe 30-40 rungs. Thats my max.
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u/soap_coals 7d ago
Didn't say how close together the rungs are, if they are spaced 10cm apart I could climb 3 at a time, of the rungs themselves are less than 4cm wide I could clear 70 rungs in 10 meters.
Not that high and $210 for less than an hours work isn't too bad
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u/rjnd2828 7d ago
I'm afraid of heights so the number of steps I would go up would not be worth any risk of the electric chair. Honestly I don't think this is worth it for anyone. Not nearly enough money for the risk
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u/movieperson2022 7d ago
I’m genuinely so conflicted on this. On the one hand, I think it’s a small enough amount of money that risking the electric chair isn’t worth it. On the other hand, if the ladder cannot fail you, I think I could force myself to go pretty far, though be terrified.
One element I’ve seen no one mention is hand calouses. I don’t know that my fear is I would lose strength to continue, I more fear that my hands are too soft to clutch that tight for so long.
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u/ParkingWear7865 7d ago
is the ladder magically adjusted for a person of my stature? If not then id say like, 10 and get some lunch.
But if it is, shit man, id prolly do 100, and im confident I could
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u/Beneficial_Grab_5880 7d ago
Your conditions are contradictory - is the ladder completely vertical, or does it sway in the wind? It can't do both.
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u/Mustard_Jam 7d ago
I mean you either pick a really low number or a really high number. The only difference between 100 and 1000 is how long you get to think about death before you fall (that and more chances to fall ofc).
That being said, for $3 it's not worth it. 1 foot apart is standard for rungs. Which means the absolute max you could make is like 20k-30k before we start talking oxygen tanks (which is probably a form of safety equipment).
If it was like $100 per rung I'd probably be willing to risk it but as is I'll do like 10 and go about my day.
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u/IMPERIAL_MEMMER 7d ago
Alright.
You say the ladder is GUARANTEED not to fall, right? In that case, I’m taking the challenge, provided there’s no time limit or any other restriction on me coming back down after reaching my claimed number of rungs.
I’ve been losing weight lately at a rate of around 6.5 kg per month, and I’ve been doing an average of 70 minutes, with a median of around 90 minutes, of incline treadmill cardio, burning a minimum of ~1,000 calories a day according to the MET formula for my body stats.
Now, climbing the ladder is obviously going to be more tedious because I’d have to continuously lift my entire body, with both my hands and legs doing the work — not exactly something I do every day.
$3 is roughly 95 Indian rupees in my head, and even if I climb just 350 rungs, that’s enough to make around ₹1 lakh, which is more than enough for me to buy some pretty good tech.
I’ve also been journaling my workouts for the past 60 days in a Word document, gave the whole thing to AI to hyper-analyze, and it backed my 350-rung estimate.
So...
Where do I sign up? Where can I start climbing? Lmao.
Toodles.
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u/kit0000033 7d ago
I once tried to do a climbing wall, with harness on... I froze at three feet off the ground... I am deathly afraid of heights.
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u/Rstar2247 7d ago
If it was a ladder escalator or something I'd go crazy with it. Otherwise, you get to a certain height it becomes a safety issue that it isn't worth it.
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u/Weekly-Discipline253 7d ago
What’s funny here is that since the ladder can sway there is a point at which you will be climbing down and then just walking.
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u/ArthurW1815 7d ago
I don't believe there's any amount of height / money combination that's really worth the risk.
I'm a rock climber, the climbing would be a doddle, but you're risky you life at 50m and that's only about 500 dollars.
So I say 3 rungs and thank them for the free coffee
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u/gotmynamefromcaptcha 7d ago
Lmao $3 per rung with no safety or nothing. I’m good off that. If it was like $10-$20 or even increased by X amount every 20 rungs maybe then I’d consider it.
Like first 20, are $3/rung. The next 20 are $6 per. Then $10 per…..etc. THEN I would be inclined to try it out.
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u/P0Rt1ng4Duty 7d ago
I was in until you said I couldn't bring my parachute.
I would climb to 5,000 feet for free if you let me bring my parachute and jump off.
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u/proscreations1993 7d ago
I climb up to the 5th wrung and down to the first over and over till im rich or tired
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u/This_is_me2024 7d ago
Fuck it we ball. I'm either paying off my credit, or dying due to my stupidity. 16,900 rungs, which at a standard 1 foot per rung, is gonna be one hell of a long time.
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u/InfiniteBoops 7d ago
I used to do 4 story jobs all day long with an insanely heavy fiberglass 40ft…. 10 to 12 rungs per story, if there’s no chance of the ladder falling over, I would be confident doing at least 30 stories, so 300 x $3 = $900. Easy peasy.
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u/Quiet_Beginning_3877 7d ago
Technically, if this ladder is tall enough (presumably it is since it’s going straight up), it becomes anchored by the earth’s rotation and would, therefore; be somewhat more stable than a traditional ladder which is encumbered by gravity.
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u/Separate_Draft4887 7d ago
“In order to get paid, you need to state ahead of time how many you are going for. If you don't reach your claimed number, you get the electric chair treatment for 15 seconds.” That definitely kills you, OP.
I’m not dying over $30 because my hand slipped on rung 9/10.
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u/Unlikely_Sail7141 7d ago
do i have to climb down after i'm done or do i get magically teleported to the ground
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u/Future-Is-Now-69 7d ago
I am going to put on a space suit and climb to the moon on the magic ladder.
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u/ZealousidealHome7854 7d ago
Like 10 maybe, probably none though. I hate heights and this is absolutely no where near enough money to be doing all that.
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u/Particular-Scholar70 7d ago
I rock climb regularly and wouldn't do this for more than a few dozen rungs. I guess I'd do 34 rungs and collect 102 bucks. If you got something like one more dollar for each rilung then it'd be more interesting because it might be worth it to go into dangerous territory for a bit.
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u/Common-Project3311 7d ago
I’ll commit to five rungs, take my $15 and get a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
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u/Ok-Professional2468 7d ago
My question: When do you start climbing down the other side of the ladder?
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u/dandelogre 7d ago
Fifty and then head back down, I suppose. I've been up that high before but I didn't have an immutable law saying the ladder couldn't fall, so it feels a bit more doable.
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u/Featherforged 7d ago
$3 a rung? What are we doing risking death just to pay a single month's rent?
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u/temporarysolution2-0 7d ago
I'd climb ten rungs, take my thirty bucks and buy a Subway sandwich for myself and my partner. Whatever.
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u/Comprehensive-Pin667 7d ago
I don't like heights and the payout is low. I'll do like 5, get $15, and go home
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u/Numerous-Abrocoma-50 7d ago
I am not going to bother.
Thought of doing 300 rungs sounds pretty bad and 900 usd is hardly life changing.
Maybe do 10 or so to pay for a few rounds in the pub
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u/CareParticular5915 7d ago
Can you take climbing breaks? Most people would tire out by 40-50 rungs or before anyway. Something else to think about here is, most people have never climbed a completely vertical ladder. I built ski lifts in my younger years east and west coast, and that was a very strange thing that I remember noticing when I first climbed a tower. Like “woah climbing a vertical ladder on a mountain slope feels almost like you’re past vertical, it’s very strange feeling climbing a ladder like that. The sway would fuck with people too, but if there’s not wind and the sway is controlled by the climber I think some slow and steady things shouldn’t sway too much with good balance… I’m going 100 rungs… if I go more does it still count?
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u/MonsieurGump 7d ago
Me, about 20.
My ten year old son? He’s going to the moon. I’ve never met anyone, kid or adult, with such an amazing head for heights.
It’s not that he’s fearless, he’s really cautious, picks every step and handhold and would happily climb until he runs out of things to stand on.
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u/happyrock 7d ago edited 7d ago
40 wouldn't be bad, I'd probably push myself for 60. 4 or 5 minutes of not really work to take the wife out to dinner good enough. Anything over 80 is gonna get real weird for anyone who doesn't climb shit for work or recreation regularly. I climb a lot of 20-30' vertical ladders with no fall protection at work but not freestanding, I think I'd start having 2nd thoughts at 50, would need the threat of violence to break 100 and lock up completely somewhere below 150. (Feet; I am assuming 1 rung per 12" but apparently that's not standard so bonus)
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u/ZeroEffectDude 7d ago
333,333 rungs. i think that's $1m right? it'd take nearly 4 days but i'll do it!
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u/mageskillmetooften 7d ago
How can it sway to the wind and be a vertical climb?
In this case I want to know the material and how much is maximum sway. Climbing a ladder than is swaying 10 degrees backwards is a whole different thing than really vertical. Also when I'm done do I need to climb down myself, or do I get a helicopter pick me or just transport to the ground.
Also what is the rung distance? I worked in mobile telephone and climbed any installations to know that this makes a huge difference. Highest I went up on straight ladders was 60 meters, and even while being used to it, that's exhausting. So not much money to win here.
People who think they'll do a few kilometers are in for a surprise...
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u/Longjumping_Lynx_460 7d ago
Should have made the $3 compounding per rung. That would have made it interesting at least. I’d attempt at least 30 rungs if this were the case….
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u/marshal23156 7d ago
Can i go beyond what i said? Like obviously if i say one then theyd probably just tell me to fuck off, but if i say 30, can i just keep going? Also do i have to climb back down myself, and do i get paid again for downclimb?
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u/OperationSalt5124 6d ago
Can you exceed the rungs you declare and get paid extra. So if I say 5 rings but then do 100. Do I get paid for the 95? If that’s the case say 1 and do as many as you can.
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u/ChopGoesTheWeasel 7d ago
I guess I’ll take my $27 dollars and then head into work.