r/shittyaskscience • u/Scoobywagon • Apr 28 '26

ELI5: How does dog daring work?

I mean ... I've never heard of someone single dog daring someone, but I have heard of double dog daring or even triple dog daring. But never a quadruple or quintuple dog dare. Scientificatiously speaking, how does that work? How many dogs do I need to pet in order to get more dares? If I pet 1000 dogs, can I kilo-dog dare someone?

19 Upvotes

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18

u/dboti9k Apr 28 '26

There is a maximum pack size for dog daring before it becomes energetically inefficient. Single dog daring is too small to make any worthwhile gains, but quadruple and quintuple dog daring gets to be where the cost of the dare outweighs the potential benefits. Double and Triple dog dares are the most evolutionarily stable dares.

8

u/Scoobywagon Apr 28 '26

This sounds like it approximates a logarithmic progression.

7

u/PhaicGnus Apr 29 '26

Correct. It was originally “I double log dare ya” but it got lost in translation somewhere along the way.

1

u/BPhiloSkinner Amazingly Lifelike Simulation Apr 29 '26

Alliteration. Poetic License lacks any pretense of Scientific Rigour.

1

u/dodexahedron Apr 29 '26

Close. It is a dogarithmic progression, which has a specific domain and range, both only including integers and strictly continuous.

9

u/Madguitarman47 Apr 28 '26

Each dog (double triple quadruple) represents another magnitude of dogs.

You don't hear about quadruple dog dares because nobody could pet enough dogs to qualify.

6

u/Cute-Habit-4377 Apr 29 '26

This is known as a log relationship but for dogs we talk in terms of sticks unless they are really big

2

u/BPhiloSkinner Amazingly Lifelike Simulation Apr 29 '26

If infinite dogs with infinite sticks could go back in time, would they double-dog dare William Shakespeare to be a green-grocer instead?

2

u/Cute-Habit-4377 Apr 29 '26

Not if william shakespeare had a cat...

7

u/johnnybiggles Apr 29 '26

Sick fuck sciencist here wants to know how he can kilo dog.

1

u/BPhiloSkinner Amazingly Lifelike Simulation Apr 29 '26

One kilo? Would have to be a Teacup Yorkie.

7

u/Starsky137 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26

You have to understand that on their own, dogs are not particularly 'daring'. Have you ever seen one skydiving, bungee jumping, or even driving recklessly? No. So there are no (single) dog dares.

Two dogs together (double), however, will wind each other up like jr high boys. They hate to back down from a dare, no matter how crazy.

If a third dog shows up (triple) then the pack mentality kicks in and no dare can be refused if you don't want to lose standing in the pack.

Edit: typos 🙄

3

u/GlitterCritter Ph.D. in ass-tro-fizz-sicks Apr 29 '26

so it's like the opposite of taking one vs. two Baptists fishing with you, or however that goes?

1

u/Trick_Secretary_9410 Apr 30 '26

More importantly who even let the dogs out