A man with shifty eyes approaches you with a metallic suitcase. He opens it up and presents you with two options:
You must either...
1) Clench a potato in your left hand for the remainder of your life 2) Eat only potato products for the rest of your life. e.g., you may eat french fries as long as its fried in potato oil. You may not add salt. Mashed potatoes = okay. Mashed potatoes + gravy = bad.
Concerning the held potato, let's assume that this potato is both sentient and telepathic. If you try to discard the potato in any way, it will self detonate with a blast radius of 500 km. There is no nuclear fallout. You must keep the potato attached to a majority of your body at all times, therefore, simply amputating your hand will also result in detonation. Eating the potato is not allowed, unless you chop off your hand and eat your left hand along with the potato (thus, the potato is still attached to your body), but once you have a bowel movement and your hand + potato exits your system, you will explode.
On the other hand, if you drop the potato accidentally, the potato, being telepathic will know that you mean no harm and will not blow up. However, you have only 20 seconds to retrieve the potato or it will blow up.
Concerning options two, if you break the rules and eat something other than potato product even if accidentally, you will blow up with a blast radius of also 500 km. HOWEVER this time, with nuclear fall out.
Slashdot Mirror
A man with shifty eyes approaches you with a metallic suitcase. He opens it up and presents you with two options:
You must either...
1) Clench a potato in your left hand for the remainder of your life
2) Eat only potato products for the rest of your life. e.g., you may eat french fries as long as its fried in potato oil. You may not add salt. Mashed potatoes = okay. Mashed potatoes + gravy = bad.
Concerning the held potato, let's assume that this potato is both sentient and telepathic. If you try to discard the potato in any way, it will self detonate with a blast radius of 500 km. There is no nuclear fallout. You must keep the potato attached to a majority of your body at all times, therefore, simply amputating your hand will also result in detonation. Eating the potato is not allowed, unless you chop off your hand and eat your left hand along with the potato (thus, the potato is still attached to your body), but once you have a bowel movement and your hand + potato exits your system, you will explode.
On the other hand, if you drop the potato accidentally, the potato, being telepathic will know that you mean no harm and will not blow up. However, you have only 20 seconds to retrieve the potato or it will blow up.
Concerning options two, if you break the rules and eat something other than potato product even if accidentally, you will blow up with a blast radius of also 500 km. HOWEVER this time, with nuclear fall out.
Choose wisely.