# How many CDs has AOL mailed out to a disinterested public? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649 "2001-10-05T19:56:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![skripek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@skripek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skripek)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/21 "2001-10-08T22:21:53Z")
Miles…Let me adjust some things here… 12,132 Mi Sq x 5,280 Feet Mi \* 12 = 771,045,451 Sq Inches 771,045,451 / 20.25 = 38,552,272 (AOL CD’s weird - closer to my nebraska mis-calculation) to cover RI. I still bet that there are that many AOL CD’s floating about… ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/22 "2001-10-08T22:39:20Z")
**skripek** , your math still needs some work. First, Rhode Island is 1,212 square miles, not 12,132. Second, there are 27,878,400 (5280_5280) square feet in a mile, and 144 (12_12) square inches in a square foot. That gives the area of Rhode Island as 4,865,561,395,200 square inches. The problem then is that CDs are round, not square, so it depends on what pattern you’re going for. If you like nice neat rows and columns (assuming Rhode Island is a nice neat rectangle), you’ll need 215,648,150,479 CDs (at 4.75 inches in diameter) to fill the area, but you’ll leave some are uncovered. Of course, you would need more if you offset alternative rows, which would also leave less area uncovered. I’m not sure what method **PigBoy** used to calculate, but he is pretty close to my numbers. ---
**Author:** ![skripek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@skripek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skripek)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/23 "2001-10-08T23:44:46Z")
Well, I gave it a shot. Excel and I weren’t getting along very well before. Oh well… ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/24 "2001-10-09T16:02:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vivalostwages \* > **I haven’t checked the site that was posted in this thread for possible uses of those disks, but what I’ve done is make all of mine into postcards. Just cover the hole with the labels, write a note on the back with a Sharpie, slap on the appropriate postage, and off they go.** This sounds like a brilliant idea. One question, **viva** : Did you use normal postcard rate (21¢), letter rate(34¢), or a higher rate due to nonstandard shape? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/25 "2001-10-09T20:13:22Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* \*\* > [@](#): > > I refute your nitpick: \*\* Although: > **[Definition of disinterested | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/disinterested)** > > Definition of disinterested from Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. > [@](#): > > Usage Note: In traditional usage, disinterested can only mean “having no stake in an outcome,” as in _Since the judge stands to profit from the sale of the company, she cannot be considered a disinterested party in the dispute._ But despite critical disapproval, disinterested has come to be widely used by many educated writers to mean “uninterested” or “having lost interest,” as in _Since she discovered skiing, she is disinterested in her schoolwork._ Oddly enough, “not interested” is the oldest sense of the word, going back to the 17th century. This sense became outmoded in the 18th century but underwent a revival in the first quarter of the early 20th. **Despite its resuscitation, this usage is widely considered an error.** In a 1988 survey, 89 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the sentence _His unwillingness to give five minutes of his time proves that he is disinterested in finding a solution to the problem._ This is not a significantly different proportion from the 93 percent who disapproved of the same usage in 1980. (bolding mine) If disinterested people are receiving the CDs, AOL just may change their minds, in which case they haven’t wasted their time. The CDs also make an excellent base for a drawstring handbag, certainly an advance over the margarine tubs my Nana used to use. ---
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/26 "2001-10-10T04:16:11Z")
Kind of ironic that AOL has this whole campaign about ridding our e-mail boxes of junk mail… ---
**Author:** ![Erwin\_Deja\_Wu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Erwin\_Deja\_Wu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erwin_Deja_Wu)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/27 "2001-10-11T07:12:42Z")
14,990,673,072 and counting … ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/28 "2001-10-11T13:13:57Z")
Don’t forget Canadians. My household has received at least 4 AOL cds each year since 1995. That seems like a typical number for all my computer owning friends. ---
**Author:** ![Alzarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/29 "2001-10-11T15:15:21Z")
I’ve been saving these for years, in part because they look like CDs, and I guess I was wondering if there was anyway to record over them at some point… As an aside, can I just go through my collection, sign up for AOL, use the free hours, cancel the membership, take disc 2, sign up, use the free hours, cancel, et cetera… seems like I could have free internet access for years. And if AOL doesn’t like it, I bet they stop sending me discs… problem solved! ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649/30 "2001-10-11T16:11:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alzarian \* > **I guess I was wondering if there was anyway to record over them at some point…** Nope. > [@](#): > > \*\*As an aside, can I just go through my collection, sign up for AOL, use the free hours, cancel the membership, take disc 2, sign up, use the free hours, cancel, et cetera… > > seems like I could have free internet access for years. > > And if AOL doesn’t like it, I bet they stop sending me discs… problem solved! \*\* Doesn’t work. I tried it. They keep very long records of all of their former customers. (And, IIRC, you need a credit card to sign up…so unless you have some credit cards with other people’s names on them sitting around, it won’t work.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cds-has-aol-mailed-out-to-a-disinterested-public/85649.md?page=1)