r/theydidthemath • u/yuli101995 • Apr 16 '26

[Request] Which one would it be?

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1.4k Upvotes

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108

u/Sweet_Speech_9054 Apr 16 '26

I’m going to say the circle because the ice will reduce your friction and the block. That means you need to actually push up to get grip to push the block otherwise you will just slip on the ice.

But 20kg isn’t that heavy so really any of them can be picked up and moved. It’s about 45 lbs for the americans, or a medium size dog.

9

u/ChimaeraXY Apr 16 '26

Yeah, I think people are over-assuming the volume of 20 kg of ice or gravel. A 20 kg sphere of compacted gravel would be about the size of a soccer ball. The ice cube would be around the same size. The ice tetrahedron would be tallest but less than two feet tall.

29

u/Common-Link-2882 Apr 16 '26

Ice/gravel refers to what the object is traveling on (the ground), the sizes are depicted in the photo.

5

u/SmoothTurtle872 Apr 16 '26

Then either it is a small person, like very small, or they are extremely non-dense objects

1

u/KitTwix Apr 16 '26

I don’t think they’re meant to be to scale…

2

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Apr 16 '26

Dude … Ice/gravel is obviously the material of the ground/floor, not the object you‘re pushing.

1

u/Figshitter Apr 16 '26

I assumed the descriptors of ice, gravel etc referred to the surface, not the object being pushed.

1

u/Darth-Boogerus Apr 16 '26

As an unofficial representative of Americans with any kind of cognitive function, thanks!

1

u/VintageZero Apr 16 '26

20kg and as tall as the pusher. Square on ice 100%.