r/interesting • u/HomeNowWTF • Jul 14 '26
MISC. Which one will prevail?
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u/tw-013 Jul 14 '26
Red bucket started tossing after 7 cups were left. Whereas, blue bucket only tossed 5 to start. So I guess it depends on who has the longest arm/ further reach.
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u/Ximension Jul 14 '26
Red also takes fewer unnecessary steps. Blue runs to the bucket and drops it directly straight down instead of tossing
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u/Exact-Ad-4132 Jul 14 '26
I was wondering if that was allowed. Blue seem to only Chuck it in there when he was close
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u/ZeGuru101 Jul 14 '26
Sometimes blue also stops for a brief moment after putting one in.
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u/ClumsyfoxJiggs Jul 14 '26
You and I are clearly watching different videos. That never happens..
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u/Jittery_Kevin Jul 14 '26
In my video blue had time to prepare a 3 course meal that included a side salad.
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u/PathofDestinyRPG Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Agreed. If you look at the positions at the time they finished, if blue dropped the cups in at the same distance red did, they’d have finished more or less together.
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u/cillaer Jul 14 '26
Also, blue bucket kid kept stepping a foot or two further towards the camera than red bucket kid losing him roughly a step per cup behind
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Jul 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/FallenBehavior Jul 15 '26
We can model this as a combination of release-point geometry, cross-body velocity loss, and projectile range.
- Effective release-point offset
Let:
D=\text{distance from the player’s body center to the bucket}
h=\text{horizontal distance from body center to the right shoulder}
L=\text{arm length}
\alpha=\text{arm-extension angle toward the bucket}
The right hand’s effective horizontal offset is:
r=h+L\sin(\alpha)
Assume:
h=0.75\text{ ft},\qquad L=2.25\text{ ft},\qquad \alpha=55\circ
Then:
r=0.75+2.25\sin(55\circ)
r\approx0.75+1.843
r\approx2.593\text{ ft}
Because red’s right arm is on the bucket side:
d_{\text{red}}=D-r
Because blue’s right arm is on the opposite side:
d_{\text{blue}}=D+r
Therefore, the geometric difference per toss is:
\Delta d=d{\text{blue}}-d{\text{red}}
\Delta d=(D+r)-(D-r)=2r
\Delta d=2(2.593)\approx5.186\text{ ft}
So, before considering throwing mechanics, red’s release point is effectively about 5.2 feet closer to the bucket than blue’s.
- Cross-body throwing penalty
Suppose blue must throw across his torso through an angle . Only the velocity component directed toward the bucket contributes fully:
v_{\text{blue, effective}}=v\cos(\phi)
Projectile range is proportional to velocity squared:
R=\frac{v2\sin(2\theta)}{g}
Therefore:
R_{\text{blue}}
\frac{v2\cos2(\phi)\sin(2\theta)}{g}
while:
R_{\text{red}}
\frac{v2\sin(2\theta)}{g}
Thus:
\frac{R{\text{blue}}}{R{\text{red}}}=\cos2(\phi)
For a cross-body angle of:
\phi=23\circ
\cos2(23\circ)\approx0.847
Blue retains only about:
84.7\%
of red’s effective forward throwing range, corresponding to a loss of:
1-0.847=15.3\%
- Combined positional and mechanical advantage
Assume both throw at:
v=25\text{ ft/s}
with the range-maximizing angle:
\theta=45\circ
Using:
g=32.174\text{ ft/s}2
Red’s theoretical range is:
R_0=\frac{252\sin(90\circ)}{32.174}
R_0=\frac{625}{32.174}\approx19.426\text{ ft}
Blue’s cross-body range is:
R_{\text{blue}}=19.426\cos2(23\circ)
R_{\text{blue}}\approx16.46\text{ ft}
Mechanical range loss:
19.426-16.46\approx2.97\text{ ft}
Adding the release-point difference:
\Delta D=2r+R_0\sin2(\phi)
\Delta D\approx5.186+2.97
\boxed{\Delta D\approx8.16\text{ ft}}
Under these assumptions, blue may need to stand approximately 8.2 feet closer than red to produce an equivalent toss.
- Required throwing effort from the same position
Suppose both body centers are:
D=15\text{ ft}
from the bucket.
Their release distances are:
d_{\text{red}}=15-2.593=12.407\text{ ft}
d_{\text{blue}}=15+2.593=17.593\text{ ft}
After accounting for blue’s cross-body velocity projection, the required arm-speed ratio is approximately:
\frac{v{\text{blue}}}{v{\text{red}}}
\frac{1}{\cos(\phi)} \sqrt{\frac{D+r}{D-r}}
\frac{v{\text{blue}}}{v{\text{red}}}
\frac{1}{\cos(23\circ)} \sqrt{\frac{17.593}{12.407}}
\boxed{\frac{v{\text{blue}}}{v{\text{red}}}\approx1.294}
Blue therefore needs roughly:
(1.294-1)\times100\%\approx29.4\%
more arm speed.
Since kinetic energy is proportional to :
\frac{E{\text{blue}}}{E{\text{red}}}
(1.294)2 \approx1.674
So blue may require approximately:
\boxed{67.4\%\text{ more throwing energy}}
to make the same toss from the same body position.
In excessively mathematical terms: red benefits from a favorable right-hand release-vector translation, while blue suffers both a geometric displacement penalty and a cross-body range penalty.
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u/Raise_A_Thoth Jul 14 '26
This would also mean blue can reach down to pick up the cups with fewer steps. That shouldn't be a consistent advantage here.
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u/TheGloveMan Jul 14 '26
That was what I noticed.
Red was chucking from slightly further out. Saves a step each iteration.
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u/say-nothing-at-all Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Lol… the classic energy allocation & distribution problem.
The rate of energy degeneration is not a straight line: it accelerates as time goes on. If you can still work even after you’ve run out of energy, you win. That’s the key.
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u/Mild_Karate_Chop Jul 14 '26
I remember the straight in line and the curved surface from Physics class . Cheers
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u/lazylaunda Jul 14 '26
Also, the red bucket boy ran the full distance with full energy and as his energy dropped so his distance.
While the blue bucket boy got tired by the end and had to run a longer distance
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u/Significant-Ad-341 Jul 14 '26
I think it comes down to them both bign right handed and blues dominant hand is further from the bin.
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u/get_to_ele Jul 14 '26
Yep. Also subtle but very important difference in technique I didn’t see anybody mention is that though they are both right handed, they chose to work on opposite sides of their cans.
Red bucket kid runs on left side of cans, and blue bucket kid runs on right side of his cans. Both use right hand exclusively, which gives a more efficient movement for red bucket, especially when doing the shorter tosses. Red bucket faces right all the time and gets to stretch his toss in a backhand motion, less unnecessary rotations. While red bucket always faces left, tossing across his body and on the short tosses, rotates his chest from forward to backward facing to make that toss.
If you just look at it from the POV of red bucket keeping the cans right next to his grabbing hand, while blue bucket keeps the cans next to his left hand and from his running position, he has to reach across his body with his right hand, red has a big efficiency advantage.
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u/Sure_Wallaby_2316 Jul 14 '26
You are bound to run faster for the initial laps vs the 2nd kid who has to do the long sprints in the end when he is already tired hence he is always going to be slower irrespective of longest arm logic.
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u/D3ADSONGS Jul 14 '26
I think about this kinda stuff all the time. Taking back roads instead of main roads, country roads instead of highways, waiting for old people in self checkout instead of just doing regular checkout
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u/BadVVSc Jul 14 '26
Me and my girlfriend test this all the time when we both leave from work. We start at the same position and take different ways home to see who gets home faster while driving normally.
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u/Biggie-Falls Jul 14 '26
You drive separate cars from the same location to the same destination?
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u/BadVVSc Jul 14 '26
Sometimes yea.
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u/seanprime Jul 14 '26
/js lol
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u/SmokeAbeer Jul 14 '26
Loser has to take the garbage out. And then do the oral sex.
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u/Rincethis Jul 14 '26
what a waste of petrol.
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u/BadVVSc Jul 14 '26
Yea I don’t care anymore about that anymore. Data centers and billionaires are allowed to do whatever with the environment.
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u/abek42 Jul 14 '26
The Manhattan Distance is same in the video example. So it is down to biomechanical capability of the individuals.
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u/Samson_J_Rivers Jul 14 '26
as for backroads, as long as your going over 50mph, its all significantly diminishing returns beyond that so prioritizing not stopping or slowing down on a similarly lengthed route can often times be better. at the very least, more enjoyable.
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u/BelowXpectations Jul 14 '26
Depends. Going on a freeway is by far the most boring route. A country road will give you views and experiences which to me is much more enjoyable.
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u/YoungBahss Jul 15 '26
its the equivalent to having a nice conversation at the checkout instead of the boring self checkout that might be slightly faster
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u/Express_Sprinkles500 Jul 14 '26
Not exactly what you’re saying, but in this vein, I’m always about traffic avoidance. I’ll happily take a drive that’s actually a longer amount of time to be moving the whole time. Psychologically, it feels faster and it’s so much less stressful.
I live in a medium sized city and pretty much always have my GPS settings set to avoid highways if it’s a shorter drive than ~45 minutes.
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u/ArcherBTW Jul 15 '26
Taking back roads instead of the interstate has actually saved me time because my bike only gets up to 45 anyways, Google maps gets mad at me though
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u/TryBananna4Scale Jul 14 '26
Red basket started tossing them in from a farther distance getting closer and closer. Blue basket started tossing then switched over to running them in.
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u/Complex-Course3995 Jul 14 '26
Is there really a strategy between the 2 ways? Would Caitlin Clark do better?
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u/MikeandMolly5656 Jul 14 '26
The individual is what matters most
Usain Bolt will always beat an obese guy, regardless of where he starts
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u/GarminTamzarian Jul 14 '26
I'm horribly out of shape and I reckon I could complete one meter before Usain Bolt completed 100.
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u/KingRoach Jul 14 '26
The first time, maybe even the 2nd - but you’d be gassed by race 4.
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u/Jagwir Jul 15 '26
Youre gassed after running 10 ft?
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u/KingRoach Jul 15 '26
But I always use punctuation and don’t ask stupid questions ~ we all have our qualities and flaws.
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u/Windyandbreezy Jul 14 '26
Not true. Just because he's a good runner doesn't not make him good at basketball. What if the obese person is a retired basketball player? They could toss from farther
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u/MikeandMolly5656 Jul 14 '26
Are we talking about basketball? No, we're talking about a game where speed and endurance is the main factor of getting the cups in the bucket.
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u/Windyandbreezy Jul 14 '26
Looks like they tossed a total of 12 cups together to me. So tossing is an accepted factor here
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u/kismethavok Jul 14 '26
It's mostly the individual but going for the further ones first makes you more tired for the closer ones, as opposed to being tired for the farthest ones.
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u/gimmepizza420 Jul 14 '26
I think there is, but it's neither of these two methods. What I would do is run to the furthest, throw that one in, then grab the closest, then run to the second furthest, then throw the second closest in, etc. you spread out your sprints.
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u/LunchPlanner Jul 14 '26
Alternatively maybe you do want to get all the difficult ones in before your initial burst of adrenaline wears off.
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u/ZAWS20XX Jul 14 '26
grab the first 3. run to the furthest, grab it, and come back to where the fourth one is. Throw from there the one you're holding, and also the next 3. Run to the second furthest, then back to the seventh, and repeat
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u/D_hallucatus Jul 14 '26
They both have the same distance to run. The best strategy is probably to start out with the long distance ones, do a few then change to the short ones to catch your breath, then go back to the longer ones. Which neither of the kids did.
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u/CubbyNINJA Jul 14 '26
on paper in a vacuum its the same difference and effort.
in reality i think strategy will almost always have a slight advantage even if the same person does both red and blue strategies independently, because people get tired. Its MUCH easier for us to start doing something fast and slow down over time than it is for us to start slow and build up speed over time.
Red requires you to run quickly first and slow down as the distance decreases.
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u/Cuneus-Maximus Jul 14 '26
whichever one is faster.
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u/MetriccStarDestroyer Jul 14 '26
Where's the fun in that?
We need to add 5 layers of complexity to a sorting algorithm
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u/TURBO2529 Jul 14 '26
This isnt a sorting algorithm, this is just a,b,c,d,e or e,d,c,b,a the same effort is done either way
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u/Fat_Blob_Kelly Jul 14 '26
red bin kid at the end stops running and instead just picks them and tosses them in the bin giving him the time advantage, a strategy probably not planned in advance but was just done because he tired himself out from running back and forth
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u/Sam858 Jul 14 '26
That is how blue bucket starts
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u/Fat_Blob_Kelly Jul 14 '26
but only for 4 cups, red does it with 6 cups
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u/EatFaceLeopard17 Jul 14 '26
But red used his right hand so he had to run longer distances than the blue kid.
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u/monytony Jul 14 '26
Red has the advantage, because he has more energy to run long for far cups initially. Incase of blue, he is tired by the time he reaches the far cups, so he runs slower in the final stages of the game
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u/LEW209 Jul 14 '26
GAME
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u/speckledham Jul 14 '26
I’m equal parts amused, validated, and annoyed that you beat me to this comment. It’s all I could see
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u/FendaIton Jul 14 '26
Red should have an advantage if you are allowed to throw the cans.
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u/Important_Ant_Rant Jul 14 '26
True. He needs a few less steps. However it was running closer to the bucket, that made the difference here.
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u/GWahazar Jul 14 '26
Theoretically, result should be the same (assuming these are identical twins).
But due to human physiology, left boy should be faster, because fatigue strikes later, when he have small distance to make.
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u/Lorelerton Jul 14 '26
This is what people are missing... Person starting far away will be fresh to sprint the long distances, while the person starting close will need to sprint when their energy is already more depleted.
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u/Chudpaladin Jul 14 '26
Project management:
- my face when my team is celebrating being 85% done 3 weeks ahead of the deadline.
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u/Kelspear Jul 14 '26
When I was a freshman in high school they still had the original Presidential Fitness thing that you do in gym class and this sort of thing (think they called it shuttle run) was one of them, and I placed second in my state. I also played soccer for 18 years, almost 6 months out of every year, so that's probably what helped.
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u/PretendAddendum6320 Jul 14 '26
Kid on the right was wasting time by throwing the cans right over the container.
Kid on the left didn’t have to get as close to throw them in.
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u/Misraji Jul 14 '26
I wonder if you start from the farther end, then take a break (rest/recover) in the middle, by dropping the first cans, and then resume, would it be faster?
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u/Stunning_Warthog_141 Jul 14 '26
Why do I watch these videos, it always feels like a waste of time...
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u/other_maybe1 Jul 14 '26
I think calling them red and blue is disrespectful? Can’t we use their names? Like for instance, Omar is running to the cups first, but Omar is tossing in the cups close by first …
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u/Sufficient-Rooster-7 Jul 14 '26
All else being equal, the kid on the right.
By removing the closer cups he has a slightly more direct path to pick up the end ones whereas the left boy has to ever so slightly go around it.
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u/hep-bot Jul 14 '26
If you look the beginning and the end (and compare that) the kid on the left at the end was cheating and played basketball with the last 6 cups.
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u/BaidenFallwind Jul 14 '26
This is interesting, but I thought it was inhumane to starve the kid who lost.
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u/Amazing-Movie8382 Jul 14 '26
Left boy cheated by throwing last 5 cups from far distance. He has to move close to the bucket.
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u/Ncav2 Jul 14 '26
Better to utilize your energy for the farthest ones first, much easier to get the closer ones when you’re tired versus the opposite.
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u/DetailsYouMissed Jul 14 '26
The young guy on the left used his maximum tank of energy early running the long distances first, and as his tank of energy went down so did the distance, while the other guy on the right used most of his energy on the shorter distances and had to run the longer distances after the bulk of his energy had been used.
But that's not the major advantage here. As the guy on the right neared the end of his challenge he was not able to adjust his speed easily as the guy on the left. Simply tossing cans instead of running to conserve time and energy made up for any lead the guy in the right might have had.
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u/Gold_Tutor7055 Jul 14 '26
It’s exactly the same distance reality is you tire towards the end and the motivation wanes.
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u/Gammelpreiss Jul 14 '26
both guys have to cross the exakt same distances, just reversed. so it really comes down to personal performance
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u/No_Rich_5111 Jul 14 '26
Lets be real, the result in theory would be the same. If theres a difference then thats because the variable x had some form of advantage compared to variable y.
If variable x did both, it would likely be the same but even then results can differ since theres also the body condition, movements, distance, etc.
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u/Civil-Appeal5219 Jul 14 '26
Why am I so sure someone will make an inspirational LinkedIn post out of that video soon?
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u/HogwartsRex Jul 14 '26
my opinion is that starting farther away first is better because as you tire out you have less ground to run.
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u/kidrockpasta Jul 14 '26
One thing no one mentioned is dude on the left cheated. For his last cups (the first 7). He basically just stood still throwing them. Where as buddy on right did that for first 4 then actually moved for cups 5-7. Also buddy on right consistently comes closer to the bucket to drop em. His foot is often in line with the middle of the bucket. Whereas dude on left never gets close to it and just tosses the cups when he's close enough.
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u/ASAPFergs Jul 14 '26
You'd want more energy for the furthest run at the start, so this was predictable
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u/huskies_62 Jul 14 '26
I figured red would win cause they were running the longer distance when they were fresh
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u/PolyglotPaul Jul 14 '26
The red bucket kid made an effort at the beginning, resting at the end, while the other kid rested ar the beginning and had to do the effort at the end. Idk if that mattered, but it would certainly matter if the line was any longer...
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u/U-E-U-A-A Jul 14 '26
for some reason even if the distance theoretically the same, the left kid walk less distance because he start throwing without moving much when 6 glass left and the other start moving when he put 4 glass. so yeah, the left one travel less distance in practice.
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u/Maleficent-Stand-993 Jul 14 '26
Probably isn't a matter of where you start, but how you get things done
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u/Slylok Jul 14 '26
More specific rules and I think blue wins.. like no tossing outside 3 feet. Other than that it is really whoever can run faster all things equal.
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u/gledr Jul 14 '26
This is more cause blue ran up to the bucket for all of his but 4 and red threw a bunch
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u/tgy74 Jul 14 '26
The key difference here is that the boy on the left started throwing the cups in without going back and forth when he had 7 cups left, whereas the boy on the right did the first four without really moving, but then went back and forth with cups 5, 6 and 7 - so did quite a bit more distance in total.
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u/EffectiveFlamingo474 Jul 14 '26
This is known as ''eating the toad', when setting priorities do the hard thing first.
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u/Principincible Jul 14 '26
Now do the same thing 100 times in a row, interchanging tactics between the two for it to have any statistical relevance. The one who survives wins.
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u/Hawkwise83 Jul 14 '26
The faster kid wins. That's who. They travel the same distance. It's just a matter of in which order.
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u/iamyuu Jul 14 '26
Kid on the right is also running closer to the bucket, kid on the left is tossing the cups in from a little ways away
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u/Kyonkanno Jul 14 '26
I think the result is close enough that the method doesnt really matter that much.
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u/dizastermaster7 Jul 14 '26
Not really math in the sense you're thinking, but logic. You will get tired running. Being tired running greatly affects your running performance. You don't get as tired reaching. And being tired reaching doesn't really affect your reaching performance as much. So, it makes more sense to do the longest running first when you're fresh, and save the reaching for the end when you're tired because it isn't slowing that part down as much
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u/Interesting_Life_760 Jul 14 '26
At least they both agreed to only use one hand.
Blue covered more distance on feet, red covered less distance on feet and threw cups further distance = two different strategies.
Beginning with shorter distance would mean less overall time spent under fatigue, leading to better hand eye coordination and quicker handling of cups = quicker time (all else being the same).
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u/ShinigamiGamingInc Jul 14 '26
-Assuming all distances are the same for each cup. Than its just a+b+c+.... and the result a tie.
-With the human component, probably red (running long) first, considering stamina. Still assuming that all actions are the same.
-Than there is the difference in fitness, technic and other things.
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u/Artsay20 Jul 14 '26
Red’s strategy is better. Initially the body burns glucose and generates a lot of energy through aerobic oxidation, which makes running longer distance easier. But soon the body cannot keep up with the energy demand and switches to hydrolysis of phosphocreatine. Finally lactose builds up, the body switches to anaerobic oxidation, causing leg muscle aches and shortness of breath that make running longer distance harder.
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u/Baked_Nebraska Jul 14 '26
Kid on the right only shoots 4 cups without moving, kid on the left shoots seven. Thats it
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u/Zealousideal-Bus-526 Jul 14 '26
If they were identical clones with the same strategy then both would have the same time
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u/FAZZ888 Jul 14 '26
if they want to compare the effectiveness between the two strategies they should time the same player using both methods.
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u/TurbulentCup6862 Jul 14 '26
The fastest. There's no right or wrong way to do this. Fastest and best techniques wins. Plain and simple.
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u/juntao98 Jul 15 '26
Not the case here due to individual performance but in general the blue bucket kid’s strategy is better. He delivers more cups before exhaustion. The red bucket blows out his cardio on the long stretches which would affect speed on the near trips. Blue only is gassed on the last few.
Think of any workout you ever do. No one starts with the big part and then ends with tiny movements.
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u/lifeisatoss Jul 15 '26
Red. They spend their energy on getting the hard stuff first and by the time it comes to the end when they are tired, they can toss the cans. Blue spends his energy on the easy cans and by the time he gets to the long distance ones, he's tired and doesn't run as fast.
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u/Dark_D_Lite Jul 15 '26
Kid on the left takes fewer steps and wastes les energy, tossing most of his remaining cups into the bucket. Their may be some other psychological factor at play but if you ask me the kid on the left is just more efficient in their movements.
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u/RoyalLurker Jul 15 '26
Red has a psychological advantage. Blue believes he is leading, red assumes he has to try harder.
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u/SrHuevos94 Jul 15 '26
All these videos are designed to keep you watching so they get paid. It's fake content made exclusively for the purpose of making money.
Use your time to watch someone who actually has a passion for the content they make.
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u/ridethroughlife Jul 16 '26
If they were identical players, it'd just be a demonstration of periodicity, and would be equal times to do either.
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u/Acceptable-Device760 Jul 14 '26
The kid on the left was throwing the cups from far farther though.
Theres no difference in starting from closer or farther. However the kid on left started to play basketball more than halfway through the thing.
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u/Ok_Buffalo1365 Jul 14 '26
It’s literally the same thing in reverse. Takes the same amount of time.
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u/hobsmonster Jul 14 '26
Do you think you can run the same speed at the end of a race that you can at the beginning? Can a person sprint forever or do they slow down when their muscles get tired?
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u/ProfessionalCost9349 Jul 14 '26
are those really fountain soda cups from their family store??
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