Take a piece of paper and cut out a perfect circle with diameter 1 inch.

What is the diameter of the largest unaltered coin which may be passed through the hole without tearing it?

(Consider the coin to be very thin, and the paper to be very flexible and tear resistant, but not at all stretchy.)

(In reply to re(4): My 2 cents worth by Richard)

I just tried an experiment using a piece of a plastic grocery bag instead of a piece of paper. I cut a hole the size of a US 5-cent piece and was able to easily get a US 25-cent piece (much larger than the 5-cent piece) through the hole without stretching the plastic at all.

This would make a good riddle:  When is 5 cents worth 25 cents?

Posted by Richard on 2006-05-30 15:37:04