Random trivia

I was about to call "bullshit" but then saw that the question was qualified, "other than oil and gas products."  So that makes more sense. 

This isn't exactly trivia, but it's thought-provoking:  If you could construct a giant treadmill going in exactly the opposite direction at exactly the same speed as an airplane sitting on top of that treadmill, will the airplane take off or will it stand still, assuming the speed would otherwise be sufficient for takeoff?  In other words, assume the plane will take off at 100 miles per hour and that it is going 100 miles per hour on a treadmill going 100 miles per hour in the opposite direction that the plane is aimed.  This was actually tested on Mythbusters.  Explain the reasoning behind your guesses.  (There is a correct answer.) 
 
So, if the treadmill was moving opposite to the plane at the exact speed it was moving forward?  I'd say the plane should stay on the treadmill, because with no forward movement, there's no airflow over the wings, which equals zero lift.
 
I suck at physics, but I would guess that weight and pressure of the plane would have something to do with it as well. I suppose that the plane would take a lot longer, but assuming that we're talking about an endless treadmill, it could take off.
 
I may be way, way off the mark here but here goes:

If you have a treadmill and when you walk/jog/run on it and it is free to start to move, by your forward motion you are pushing the treadmill back at the same speed in the opposite direction. However, if you start the treadmill to mechanically go in your opposite direction at, say, 6MPH, you will need to fight against that to stay still and will have to run faster - I think. The way I see it is that as you put your foot on the treadmill to move your self forward, as your foot hits the treadmill, it stays in that same point on the treadmill until you take it off so if the treadmill is going back mechanically and not by your momentum, it will start pushing that foot (and you) back - unless you work harder against it.

Does the above make sense, because it does in my head? But I too am crap at physics and am simply trying to visualise it.

And the myth I am assuming that the TV show is busting is that people will think it will stay still, but I think it may go back.
 
If the airplane is not stuck on the treadmill it will take off (kinda like a Harrier or even a helicopter!) because it is on wheels. The plane won’t move forward but the engines make the plane lift upwards.
 
I guess the question is: are we operating in a perfect physics environment or a real-world environment?
 
Forostar is correct:  The plane will take off.  If it were a car, the car would remain motionless, as its forward speed would be matched exactly by the opposite speed of the treadmill.  However, unlike a car, an airplane's motor (whether a prop or jet engine) does not power the wheels.  It generates thrust through the air.  Thus, the airflow over the wings would still generate lift, and the plane would take off, even though it wouldn't move forward on the treadmill. 

The Mythbusters show tested this on a small scale and in full scale, the latter using a giant mat pulled by a truck going in the opposite direction of a light aircraft.  According to the hosts, this question caused more vigorous disagreement on the show's message boards than any other question in the show's history.   
 
Maybe I'm missing something?  Even tho it isn't the plane's wheels that move it, if it is achieving a speed of 100mph, while standing still, there still is no air speed, correct?  unless the prop itself is generating the airspeed... I guess I don't know that.
OK, I'm re-reading, I think I understand.  The engines are moving the aircraft upwards as well as forwards, so it is moving in more dimensions than just straight forward. 
 
Is it?  Hmm.  That's interesting, I suppose...I guess I would think the air would flow around the wing due to the forward motion, but I accept that I am wrong.
 
Less sure about a jet, but the example used on the show was a prop, and it definitely worked.  Surprised the heck out of the pilot, who was absolutely certain the plane wouldn't take off. 
 
Multiple choice: How many wolves live in the following countries? Match the countries with the figures.

1-Austria
2-Germany
3-Poland
4-Slovakia

A. Ca. 1000 wolves
B. Ca. 400 wolves
C. Ca. 30 wolves
D. 1 wolf
 
I think 30 wolves is the figure I once heard for Germany, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was only one.
 
So I guess Austria has only 1 wolf, my guess based on it being a smaller country.  I'm assuming this is wild wolves we're talking about?

So then Poland, I guess, would have 1000 wolves, and Slovakia 400?
 
Very good Invader, all correct.

Poland has the most wolves of Europe (not counting Russia), and yesterday I read that since many years a wolf appeared in Austria again.
 
Well, after you said that no5's were all wrong and Perun said the answer for Germany, it was pretty easy to figure out. :)
 
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