From mccauley@databahn.net Wed Mar 27 23:44:54 1996
Newsgroups: alt.fan.lion-king
Subject: How long was the log?
From: mccauley@databahn.net (Joe McCauley)
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 05:44:54 GMT

From the strange brain of Mwalimu...

How long was the log we saw Simba, Pumbaa and Timon walking on in the log
crossing scene?  I would estimate they were walking about 3-4 yards every 5
seconds, or about 36-48 yards per minute.  Using a figure of 40 yards per
minute, it works out to 57600 yards, or about 32.7 miles per day.  Estimates
on the length of Simba's exile vary from 2 to over 5 years, but for the sake
of argument, let's say it was 3 years, or 1095 days.  That would make the log
about 35800 miles long, and the tree it came from would reach about 1/7 of
the way to the moon (if the tree were located on the equator, you could climb
it to perform maintenance on satellites in geosynchronous orbits).

"But Mwalimu, wouldn't they have to eat and sleep?"

Oops, I forgot about that.  Okay, so figure they only spent half their time
walking and the other half eating, sleeping, and whatever else.  That makes
the log 17900 miles long (with apologies to the geosync bird engineers).

"That's still pretty long.  The weight of that thing, and the forces that the
trunk would have to withstand would be immense.  Not to mention the orbital
dynamic forces on an object that tall which would tear it apart."

Good point!  That means the wood of this tree would have to be one of the
strongest materials known to lion.  It would also explain why the log didn't
break under its own weight.  Such a material would be one of the greatest
discoveries in the history of lionkind - if you can figure out a way to cut it.

"But don't you think they might have crossed the same log more than once?"

Ummm... errr... well, yeah, I guess that's possible.  Oh well, back to the
drawing board.
--
Joe McCauley <mccauley@databahn.net>
"Outside a dog, a book is a man's best friend
 Inside a dog, it's too dark to read."  -Groucho Marx