# Airplane pressure vs. Strongmen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 22, 2005, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-pressure-vs-strongmen/322856 "2005-09-22T09:01:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Neverest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neverest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverest)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-pressure-vs-strongmen/322856/1 "2005-09-22T09:01:41Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_390.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_390.html) In this article, Cecil mentions that 2,200 pounds of pressure would need to be overcome to open an emergency exit on a Boeing commercial flight @ 30,000 feet. My thought was: “What about the worlds strongest man event”? The one where they pull a train/plane/semi-truck (how are they SEMI, exactly?). How much pressure are these guys exerting to break gravity’s hold on the peice of equipment? Is it enough that one of them (or two? the buddy system?) could open an emergency door at altitude? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-pressure-vs-strongmen/322856/2 "2005-09-22T12:50:39Z")
> [@Neverest](#): > > The one where they pull a train/plane/semi-truck (how are they SEMI, exactly?). Welcome, **Neverest**. Ask and ye shall receive: [Why are tractor-trailer rigs called “semis”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msemi.html) Such is the nature of the Straight Dope. (Of course, that wasn’t exactly what you asked, but what the heck, I answer what I can.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-pressure-vs-strongmen/322856/3 "2005-09-22T13:22:00Z")
As to the original question, if they are merely _pulling_ the thing, it’s not a question of how much it weighs, but how much friction there is in the wheel bearings. With perfect bearings (made of unobtanium, of course) on a perfectly flat road, an _ant_ could tow a semi. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-pressure-vs-strongmen/322856/4 "2005-09-22T20:11:55Z")
> [@John W. Kennedy](#): > > As to the original question, if they are merely _pulling_ the thing, it’s not a question of how much it weighs, but how much friction there is in the wheel bearings. With perfect bearings (made of unobtanium, of course) on a perfectly flat road, an _ant_ could tow a semi. I don’t know about that. I mean their is still the matter of inertia and all… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-pressure-vs-strongmen/322856/5 "2005-09-22T20:36:37Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know about that. I mean their is still the matter of inertia and all… That’ll limit the acceleration, but would not prevent one from pulling it. The ant pulling the unobtainium semi would take quite a long time to get up to speed (and a similarly long time to stop it), but eventually, it would. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-pressure-vs-strongmen/322856/6 "2005-09-26T19:44:56Z")
You forgot to specify the theoretium-coated perfectly smooth and level surface for the ant to pull the semi on. Even a very very small bump would prevent the ant from pulling the semi over it.