[valis]

Originally Posted by LauraMJ

There ya go, valis, all fixed.

thank you kindly, ma'am......

<tips hat>

[pyritechips]

Originally Posted by valis

thank you kindly, ma'am......

<tips hat>

You don't wear a hat!

[Fidelista]

The ball without holes , makes my choice a stronger one .
Everyone knows you need a little imperfection , in this case holes , to destroy an object !.
MT Rushmore has lots of cracks and imperfections !.
Smoothness has to count .
A slick ball ? now that is something else! . >f

[BanditFlyer]

I think this survey is missing Dave Letterman's toupee and George Washington's teeth.

Seriously though, anything containing polymers will last less than a decade in the sun. Rushmore will be around a little longer than that.

[valis]

Originally Posted by BanditFlyer

I think this survey is missing Dave Letterman's toupee and George Washington's teeth.

Seriously though, anything containing polymers will last less than a decade in the sun. Rushmore will be around a little longer than that.

somehow I doubt that if you were to put a brunswick out there, it'd be gone by 2020.......

[Wiskycoo]

Originally Posted by valis

what would last longer, all things being equal.
...
Mt. Rushmore

A non-drilled 16 lb bowling ball

A 1950's era locomotive engine

A ski boot (preferable technica, but it's immaterial).

All items places on or around Mt. Rushmore, preferably above it, so that in the case of a large rain storm, the mobile objects wouldn't be subject to being underwater.
...

I like this thread...

Well, if all items are equal, I'd be more inclined to pick the bowling ball without the holes, as the shape of an item and how it erodes certainly is something to think about. The steeper the slope or the smoother the lines the less likely it will erode, and a bowling ball certainly has all that. As for the other items including the mountain, they have too many rough edges and places for water to hide in and eventually weaken the structure by ice or movement. - acid rain being the worst, IMO.

The way I see it is every piece of sand was once a mountain.

edit: mind you...the mountain is a larger piece of 'sand' then a bowling ball...hummm...yes I can see the sleep deprivation for this one...LOL

[BanditFlyer]

Originally Posted by valis

somehow I doubt that if you were to put a brunswick out there, it'd be gone by 2020.......

How much woud a brunswick with no holes in it cost to purchase? (and where do I go to buy one)

Seriously, just leave one sitting on your roof for one year and watch what the TX sun does to it. Materials science was, for a short period, a hobby of mine. I actually thught of majoring in it. And then I had a roommate with a degree in it, so I'm curious as to how this would really play out. But I'd seriously be surprised if whatever the bowling ball's made of(unless, of course, it's high quality stainless steel, which I doubt) would outlast granite, regardless of how badly eroded and weathered the granite was at the starting gun.

[valis]

Originally Posted by Wiskycoo

I like this thread...

hmm....something odd about that....me starting something people like.

Originally Posted by Wiskycoo

Well, if all items are equal, I'd be more inclined to pick the bowling ball without the holes, as the shape of an item and how it erodes certainly is something to think about. The steeper the slope or the smoother the lines the less likely it will erode, and a bowling ball certainly has all that. As for the other items including the mountain, they have too many rough edges and places for water to hide in and eventually weaken the structure by ice or movement. - acid rain being the worst, IMO.

The way I see it is every piece of sand was once a mountain.

edit: mind you...the mountain is a larger piece of 'sand' then a bowling ball...hummm...yes I can see the sleep deprivation for this one...LOL

yeah, that sleep deprivation thing is a hobby of mine....stupid insomnia, and no 'off' switch for the brain.

If it were a lump of granite and a bowling ball, I'd go with the bowling ball. But based on sheer size, I have to go with Mt. Rushmore, regardless of what el bandito says. Think the bowling ball would give it a run for it's money, though.

As an aside, ever wonder how many bowling balls are in landfills?

[pyritechips]

Originally Posted by valis

hmm....something odd about that....me starting something people like.



yeah, that sleep deprivation thing is a hobby of mine....stupid insomnia, and no 'off' switch for the brain.

If it were a lump of granite and a bowling ball, I'd go with the bowling ball. But based on sheer size, I have to go with Mt. Rushmore, regardless of what el bandito says. Think the bowling ball would give it a run for it's money, though.

As an aside, ever wonder how many bowling balls are in landfills?

Things don't hold form then suddenly give up the ghost. All degradation is a gradual, analog process. At what point would Rushmore stop resembling a mountain? At what point would the ball stopp being a ball? At what point would my candidate - the humble but persistant hotdog - stop being a dog? I think all physical objects are composed of both a composition and a form. For example, Rushmore has both a definite chemical composition and a recognizable form. If tectonic activity would split it in half and cause some of it to tumble down would it still be the same mountain? What if a microscopic imperfection in in the bowling ball caused once section of its exterior sphere to decay, would it's no-longer spherical form stop it from being a bowling ball?

[Fidelista]

Originally Posted by valis

As an aside, ever wonder how many bowling balls are in landfills?

I wonder what happens to retired bowling balls too ?
There must be millions of them , and they are still making more ! ..
>f

[pyritechips]

Originally Posted by Fidelista

I wonder what happens to retired bowling balls too ?
There must be millions of them , and they are still making more ! ..
>f

Hmm! The report I heard of never mentioned bowling balls in landfills. Do they actually last forever? Do you know anybody that has ever said "My bowling ball just doesn't feel right any more. I think I'll throw it out and get a new one."?

I think we are onto a real mystery here! One course of action is for one of us to go to a bowling alley, seek out the manager and ask "What do you do with old balls when they aren't usable any more?".

Who volunteers?

PS: Can you recycle a bowling ball?

[Fidelista]

Originally Posted by pyritechips

Hmm! The report I heard of never mentioned bowling balls in landfills. Do they actually last forever? Do you know anybody that has ever said "My bowling ball just doesn't feel right any more. I think I'll throw it out and get a new one."?

I think we are onto a real mystery here! One course of action is for one of us to go to a bowling alley, seek out the manager and ask "What do you do with old balls when they aren't usable any more?".

Who volunteers?

PS: Can you recycle a bowling ball?

Are they ever unusable ????
I am thinking about a family of bowlers . When Grandpappa dies , you spend his money , burn his papers , give away his stuff , but hey -- bowling balls are forever !.
As people die , the number of balls have to be growing, and they are SOMEWHERE. Kind of alarming !.

[pyritechips]

Originally Posted by Fidelista

Are they ever unusable ????
I am thinking about a family of bowlers . When Grandpappa dies , you spend his money , burn his papers , give away his stuff , but hey -- bowling balls are forever !.
As people die , the number of balls have to be growing, and they are SOMEWHERE. Kind of alarming !.

OK, that was a non-answer!

I volunteer myself. I will research the mystery of the bowling ball...

...wish me luck!

[BanditFlyer]

Originally Posted by pyritechips

...Do they actually last forever?...

Everything lasts forever if you take care of it, protect it from the weather, etc. I'd be curious as to what a bowling ball sitting in the exposed sun for twenty years looks like on it's sun-exposed face.

Maybe someone in TSG has seen one in a junkyard somewhere propping up an old '48 Studebaker or something?

Here's what happens to things that are left unmaintained by humans: http://www.worldwithoutus.com/

[pyritechips]

Bingo!

http://myconsurmernews.blogspot.com/...ing-balls.html