A playful farmer is returning home from his farm carrying two huge
pineapples, each one weighing 5 pounds.
Tired from working at the farm, he decides to take the short way
home where he has to cross an old bamboo foot bridge. When he
reaches the bridge, he sees a posted sign that reads "maximum
bridge capacity - 200 pounds".
The farmer weighs 195 pounds. With the two pineapples his total
weight is 205 pounds and exceeds the bridge capacity. Feeling
tired, he does not want to make three trips across the bridge to
bring one pineapple at a time.
A playful man, he thinks that if he juggled the two pineapples,
leaving one up in the air and holding only one pineapple at any
time, his total weight will be 200 pounds and he can cross the
bridge safely.
He does exactly that. He juggles very good and does not drop the
pineapple on the bridge. But soon the bamboo bridge breaks and
he falls into the shallow river below.
Why did the bridge fall?
Assume that everything is correct - that the weights are accurate
and the bridge will collapse if the force acted on it exceeded 200
pounds.
Why did the bamboo bridge fall?
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