Title text:
They rounded down to 182.8 instead of rounding up to 182.9 because 182.9 might make the statement incorrect.
Transcript:
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Source: https://xkcd.com/3248/
this post was submitted on 21 May 2026
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If you've 24" tyres and a first gear ratio of 3.5:1, then:
RPM x (pi x 24" circumference )x (1/63360 miles per inch) x (60 minutes per hour) x (1/3.5 ratio) = 4.5 mph
Giving the RPM at a satisfyingly round 221.6 rpm.
I don't know whether to be impressed or appalled.
You should send this comment to the creators. Seriously, I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it.
Also, your ratio rant reminds me of a story.
When they were making '2001 : A Space Odyssey' they had a problem. In the original story the mysterious object was a glowing diamond. The special effects team couldn't come up with a really good diamond, so they replaced the diamond in the story boards they'd already drawn. The just covered every diamond with a black rectangle.
Eventually, someone pointed out that the black rectangle looked really cool and otherworldly. So they replaced the diamond with the monolith we're all familiar with.
For years, fans speculated as to the deeper meaning of the monolith. Was it a tombstone, a book, the Bible?
Finally, the author was speaking and at the Q+A a young man stood up and declared he'd solved the puzzle.
The ratio of the monolith was 1 : 4 : 9, the squares of the first three numbers.
Arthur C. Clarke was so impressed he used the idea in one of the sequels.