A boy goes and buys a one-piece fishing pole that is 6' 3" long. As he goes to get on the bus, the bus driver tells him that he can't take anything on the bus longer than 6'.

The boy goes back to town, buys one more thing, and the bus driver allows him on the bus.

He did not damage the fishing pole in any way.

What did he buy, and what did he do with it?

(In reply to re: Silly Guess (Actual Solution) by TomM)

Indeed, I don't think that, mathematically at least, there is any limit to the size of the fishing pole you can bring.

A box measuring 6^3 feet will take a pole measuring over ten feet (the diagonal is Sqrt(6^2 + 6^2 + 6^2)). In a four dimensional box you could carry a pole measuring twelve feet, and all the while no side of the box would measure over six feet.

Of course, I think you might raise eyebrows on the bus when you try to take your 60-foot long fishing pole on board in a box wrapped up in ten dimensions...
Edited on November 9, 2003, 2:36 am

Posted by Sam on 2003-11-09 02:35:02