Silly ways to weigh an elephant

Feb 27, 2016 08:23

How would you weigh an elephant without using scales ( Read more... )

sums, whimsy

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venta February 27 2016, 09:23:55 UTC
When I was a kid, I remember a friend of my mother's telling me about an interview question that the RAF had used in her day (which probably would have been the late 60s). The question was something like "How would you transport a giraffe across London?"

I think the point was not that they wanted a complete transport solution, but that they wanted to hear what questions the candidate would ask to solicit more details about the job. In particular, a question they were keen to hear was "Is it alive?"

I think your elephant answer is great. Especially coming up with a justification for the question. You should totally apply to Google and test it out :)

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drdoug February 27 2016, 09:40:18 UTC
I like the giraffe question very much. Having done some giraffe transport myself, I would want to know "Is it an actual giraffe, as opposed to a stuffed-toy giraffe?".

"Is it alive?" is a great question, and makes me also want to ask "Does it need to be still alive on the other side of London?".

My actual answer would be a boring one of ringing round ZSL, Whipsnade, Woburn Safari Park, etc to find out what they do. But trying to work it out in my own head is fun and is an obvious thing to write if I have time later today...

You should totally apply to Google and test it out :)

:) My vague impression is they've gone off this sort of question.

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venta February 27 2016, 09:42:54 UTC
I shall look forward to reading your thoughts on giraffe transport, should you have time to write them!

My vague impression is they've gone off this sort of question.

What, creative silliness about elephants isn't a reliable predictor of employablity? Nonsense :)

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drdoug February 27 2016, 09:50:00 UTC
I suspect that if it's a good predictor of anything, it's a good predictor of someone who can get distracted and/or nerd-sniped fairly easily ...

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purplerabbits February 27 2016, 12:46:45 UTC
I can tell you how NOT to transport a giraffe - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/31/giraffe-dies-head-injuries-open-truck-south-africa (warning, bad things happen to giraffe :-(

To properly transport a live giraffe you would need a specially made horse box (guraffe box) OR an open top box with a well planned bridge free route. If going across London you may also want a police and/or animal handler escort.

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