# What travels over 600 mph and stops with a drop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2004, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765 "2004-06-11T03:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ready29003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@ready29003](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ready29003)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/1 "2004-06-11T03:18:50Z")
My wife heard this riddle on the radio but never heard the answer. Does anyone know? (slight chance the wording is messed up ) ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/2 "2004-06-11T03:38:59Z")
D.B.Cooper? ---
**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/3 "2004-06-11T03:39:17Z")
Rain? ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/4 "2004-06-11T03:56:23Z")
A rocket-powered car hit by a falling piano. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/5 "2004-06-11T04:43:31Z")
A large jet airliner would seem to fit this description. ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/6 "2004-06-11T04:52:28Z")
Sniff. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/7 "2004-06-11T05:03:42Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > Sniff. My guess is a sneeze, but I’m 99.9% sure that it’s an old urban legend about sneezes going that fast. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/8 "2004-06-11T05:05:23Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > Sniff. Hmm… a sneeze, but I’d really have to question the commonly claimed figure (on the net) of 600 mph for a sneeze. It seems an absurdly high speed for a reflex driven explosion of air coming from the human body to travel. ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/9 "2004-06-11T06:09:53Z")
I wasn’t talking about the sneeze, I was just referring to the “What’s green and moves 300 m.p.h. backward” joke, for which the punchline is your loudest grossest sniffle/loogie creation sound you can muster. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/10 "2004-06-11T13:39:23Z")
> [@cabdude](#): > > Rain? google didn’t help much, but I’m going to second this. [Here’s some data](http://cbs2.com/tidbits/weathertidbits_story_194231731.html): > [@](#): > > If you were behind a rain drop on the freeway you’d honk your horn. The average rain drop only travels 7 to 18 miles an hour. > > Keep in mind that is in still air…the number varies in a wind driven rain. But if the drop went any faster than 18 miles an hour it would break apart. The range in speed of a drippy drop depends on the actual size of the water droplet. In case you’re wondering, [rain in the Koran](http://www.muslimworld.co.uk/hy/rain.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/11 "2004-06-11T13:50:34Z")
A bowl of egg drop soup in a 747? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/12 "2004-06-11T14:01:02Z")
A Maglev Train? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/13 "2004-06-11T14:24:16Z")
Sound? ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/14 "2004-06-11T16:25:55Z")
Try going to the radio station’s website and see if they’ve posted the answer. ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/15 "2004-06-11T17:40:41Z")
Well, paratroupers don’t jump at nearly that speed, or typically from planes capable of that speed (because the minimum airspeed of such jets is usually uncomfortably fast for a drop) An air-launched missile deploying (e.g.) “smart” antipersonnel or anti-vehicle canisters might qualify (MIRVed ballistic missiles go considerably faster) but they wouldn’t make much of a joke or riddle – too technical. Um… landing gear on a jetliner? That’s my best guess. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/16 "2004-06-11T17:54:34Z")
IIRC sneezes can go in excess of 40 mph but never much more. Something electronic? Those are speeds a little under Mach 1 and if you drop something electronic it will no longer work. Or an airplane. Stop on a drop of the airplane wheels. But, then again, 600mph is less than Mach1 and most planes can atleast do that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/17 "2004-06-11T18:32:56Z")
> [@KP](#): > > Well, paratroupers don’t jump at nearly that speed, or typically from planes capable of that speed (because the minimum airspeed of such jets is usually uncomfortably fast for a drop) Wouldn’t that rather be the answer to “What travels and has over 600 drops?” Well, he _did_ say the wording might be messed up… ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/18 "2004-06-11T18:33:40Z")
If we’re talking electronics, how about a CD player? The disc spins pretty fast (I admit, I don’t know _how_ fast) and it pretty much stops if you drop it. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/19 "2004-06-11T18:43:06Z")
A cough stops with a cough drop, and the sound of a cough travels at over 600 mph. Question answered. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/20 "2004-06-11T20:35:11Z")
A musical note. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765.md?page=2)