The Oskaloosa herald., 1904-08-04
THE SQUIRREL PRosLEM.

might be kept up thus.
sa
THE SQUIRREL PROBLEM.
Now that public interest in the re-
spective ages of Mary and Ann has
died out and that problem has been
relegated to the limbo of half-forgot-
ten things, the old trouble about the
man and the squirrel has been reviv-
ed to add to the discomforts of the
heated term. An eastern paper is re-
sponsible for the outrage of inflicting
it upon long-suffering people pend
ing the beginning Of the presidential
campaign. The problem in itself
looks simple and harmless enough:
The hunter saw the squirrel peep
ing from the opposite side Of the
tree. The hunter started around the
tree; the squirrel moved with him In
the same direction, keeping the tree
always between them. The hunter
made a complete circuit of the tree.
So did the squirrel. Did the hunter
go around the squirrel?
OF course everybody knows the an
swer right off, but all are not agreed
as to what it is. Following are a few
Of the answers and arguments to
date:
The solution of the hunter-squirrel
puzzle depends entirely on what is
meant by the expression ''to &c
around" In the ordinary sense, etc
go around" an object, is to encircle il
on all sides. In the case in point the
hunter was always on one and the
same side of the squirrel from the
beginning to the end of his circuit
around the tree, and consequently did
not encircle the squirrel on all sides
The hunter went around the tree
in circle, which it is true was out
side of all points on the tree where
the squirrel had been in it's cores
ponding circuit, but he never actually
got "around" the squirrel itself, the
two having maintained their same rel
alive positions throughout.
Yes, the hup!a.; ssssA. asai,ns Y ss.t,s;
squirrel The squirrel is in the tree
and the hunter, walking around the
, tree walks around the squirrel also.
If man with his mouth full of to
bacco juice will go to the cow-catcheI
end of a locomotive while it is on a
turntable, making a revolution, and
will walk around on the wall of the
pit, in the same direction and at the
same speed as that at which the en-
gine is being turned, he will never be
able to spit on the tender. This is a
parellel case, and so. Az our problem
The hunter did not go around the
squirrel. If the hunter made a com.
plete circuit of the tree and the SOUR.
rel did, too, then the squirrel kept his
back to the man.
The hunter did not go around the
squirrel!
Proof: By comparison we find that
the circle which the hunter describes
which the squirrel describes, each
with a radius Of different length, the
extreme end of each, under the nam.
ed conditions, being diametrically op.
posite the other, and supposed to be
SO at all times during the revolutions
which they perform. Therefore these
extremities represented by hunter
and squirreD can never overtake or
go around each other.
Any ordinary weather vane repre-.
senting an arrow pivoted on a staff
will explain the question practically.
The hunter went around the squir.
rel, Of course. That is so plain il
hardly needs any proof, but anyone
can prove it by just looking at the
picture and using a little common
sense.
The hunter goes around the tree,
doesn't he? Well, the squirrel is on
the tree all the time, and although
the tree is between him and the man,
the man goes around the squirrel.
Could answer your question by ask.
ing another
Suppose A and B were to take a
ride on carrousel, seating them.
selves in places diametrically opposite
each other, and remaining SO during
any number of revolutions which the
carrousel may make, would they ov-
ertake or go around each other? No,
never.
! suggest that we saw the tree
down, pivot a plank at the center OF
the stump, put the squirrel on one end
OF the seesaw and the man on the 9TH
er. It is clear that one end of the
plank does not go around the other
end, simply because both ends po