I was on a road trip with a friend when we drove past a very tall radio tower. I told my friend, “That thing has to be at least a thousand feet tall!” He looked out the window for a moment, and said “I’ll bet it’s closer to 1500 feet.” We stopped at a gas station and asked how tall the tower was, and it was exactly 1500 feet tall! Now that I owe my friend a steak dinner, how could he tell how tall the tower was?
Radio towers are always painted with alternating red and white stripes. If the tower is over 700 feet tall, every stripe is 100 feet high. My friend just counted the 15 stripes and knew immediately it was 1500 feet tall. This only works if it’s over 700 feet; if it’s under 700 feet, the tower will always have seven stripes. Bonus Factoid: The top stripe on the tower is always red.
