DAY 235

NO PENCIL--NO PAPER
Credit: Mike Androtti---Parade Magazine---Ask Marilyn by Marilyn Vos Savant

Solve this problem in your head. Two alien spaceships are traveling directly toward each other, one at 38,171 miles per hour, and the other at 21,829 miles per hour. They originated on planets 82,710,317 mile apart. How far apart will they be one minute before they collide?

HINT:
The distance between their home planets is irrelevant.

Answer:

1,000 miles...........The two spacecrat are approaching each other at a combined speed of 60,ooo mile per hour (38,171 + 21,829). This means the distance between them is closing at 1,000 miles per minute.