Sunday, July 03, 2005

The Timer

So I was watching Broken Arrow on TV the other night and they had the 'ticking bomb'. You know what I'm talking about, the LED screen that is counting down, and when it reaches 0, the bomb explodes. I started to think about what numbers the bombs always stop at. I've got a few thoughts on the matter, and think that somebody should do a research study on the topic.

1 is a popular number. This is taking things right to the edge. You can't get any closer without going 'boom'. However, it's also pretty unrealistic. Come on now, you stopped it right at one? Seriously, what are the chances of that? If the bomb stops at 1, you're probably watching a Disney movie.

2 is too close to 1. Why pick two? If you're going to go right up to 2, you may as well go to one. 2 is a silly number to stop at.

3 is another great number. It's not right at 1 (1 is kind of unbelevable), but it's not the sillyness of 2 either. It's belevable and not so Disneyish.

4 is right out. 4 means nothing. Why go to four? If you're going to 4, you may as well go to the more preferable 3.

5 is too convieniet, it's half of 10, so you can never stop on five.

6 is too close to 5.

7 is a good number. Not too close to any 'bad' numbers. It is a close call, but much more realistic than 1, or even three.

8 is too close to 7

9 is too close to 10

10 is an even number, and a base number. 10 is right out. 10 is just silly.

11, surprisingly is the last 'good' number. It's out of the single digit number, but still makes sense. It's one away from being in the final countdown.

Anything past 11 is just confusing. Why did the bomb stop at 13? There are movies where a good 10 minutes of film transpires while the bomb clicks down 13 seconds. 11 is the last number that makes sense.

So there you have it. 1, 3, 7, and 11. If you're ever making a move with a ticking bomb, those are the ones you should choose.

2 comments:

shelleylyn said...

I don't know. Maybe you should stick with prime numbers. Prime, you know, like "this movie is going to be replayed on prime-time TV in about 3 years". Or, "I think I'll have prime rib for dinner as I watch this movie." That would mean adding 2 and 5 to your list, and removing 1.

Anonymous said...

In at least one James Bond movie, the bomb stops at 007.