# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/21 "2004-06-11T21:43:59Z")
If you read the riddle out loud, then it’s that sentence. See, it ends with the words “a drop,” and the sound goes 600+ mph. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/22 "2004-06-11T21:55:10Z")
Sound stops with a drop in volume, so my bet is **Philster** has the best answer. Though Maglev trains are good, I’m not sure any in service go 600mph yet, and don’t necessarily drop to the track when stopping do they? ---
**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, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/23 "2004-06-11T22:05:18Z")
Let us not forget the speed of sound which, according to Google, is 761.207051 mph at sea level. That is 161 mph over the OP. ---
**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, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/24 "2004-06-11T23:15:42Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > That is 161 mph over the OP. Yeah, but DJs aren’t exactly Alfred Einsyein. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/25 "2004-06-11T23:36:32Z")
And **Zebra** s don’t notice the OP says over 600 mph which 761.2 definately is 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/26 "2004-06-12T01:32:51Z")
A duck! ---
**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 12, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/27 "2004-06-12T01:57:03Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > A duck! Dammit, he always wins! ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/28 "2004-06-12T02:38:14Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > A duck! And who art thou, so skilled in matters scientific? ---
**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 12, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/29 "2004-06-12T02:51:15Z")
Viaduct? ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/30 "2004-06-12T03:32:11Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > A duck! But after the drop, it doesn’t echo, _and no one knows why!_ ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/31 "2004-06-12T03:50:25Z")
A waterfall? Angel Falls maybe? ---
**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/32 "2004-06-12T10:18:26Z")
> [@Lance Turbo](#): > > A cough stops with a cough drop, and the sound of a cough travels at over 600 mph. > > Question answered. That’s my vote so far. ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/33 "2004-06-12T14:28:31Z")
Sitting right on the Equator, approximately 600 miles directly west of Ecuador, are the Galapagos Islands. On the largest island can be found the poor village of San Del Sando. The villagers get their drinking water from a single rusting water spigot located in the middle of town. The water from this spigot (like every thing else on the surface near the equator) circles the axis of the earth at the rate of about 600 miles per hour. The cutoff valve of this faucet is not well seated. When it is turned off it drips… until, at last, a final drop drips. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Mahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@Joe\_Mahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Mahma)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/34 "2004-06-12T16:06:30Z")
> [@Milum](#): > > Sitting right on the Equator, approximately 600 miles directly west of Ecuador, are the Galapagos Islands. On the largest island can be found the poor village of San Del Sando. The villagers get their drinking water from a single rusting water spigot located in the middle of town. The water from this spigot (like every thing else on the surface near the equator) circles the axis of the earth at the rate of about 600 miles per hour. > > The cutoff valve of this faucet is not well seated. When it is turned off it drips… until, at last, a final drop drips. 🙂 Things on the equator circle the axis of the earth at something over 1000 mph (the earth is about 25,000 miles around, and rotates once per 24 hours). ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/35 "2004-06-12T19:47:11Z")
> [@ready29003](#): > > My wife heard this riddle on the radio but never heard the answer. Does anyone know? (slight chance the wording is messed up ) supermans orgasm Declan ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/36 "2004-06-13T01:31:45Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > supermans orgasm > > Declan I think you’ll find _that_ comes out at a little less than 30mph (hey, He ain’t \*THAT \* super) … and once it’s stopped hurtling will swim ovarywards at 0.11mph ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/37 "2004-06-14T05:07:52Z")
> [@](#): > > **Joe Mahma** :Things on the equator circle the axis of the earth at something over 1000 mph (the earth is about 25,000 miles around, and rotates once per 24 hours). So right you really are, Joe, so even better, lets move the little village of the Galapagos to the latitude of Philadelphia, or maybe to Baltimore. Think about it, we can exact the terminolgy of the quiz by moving our hypothetical leaking fountain a few miles towards the preferred answer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/38 "2004-06-14T06:24:11Z")
Offbeat, but… A mechanical squeak? As a sound, it travels over 600 mph, but stops with a drop of oil. Not good enough? A cup of Maxwell House coffee in coach travels 600+mph and is good to the last drop. Organ music travels 600+mph and drops with a stop. If my pants were on fire, I’d do my best to exceed 600 mph, then stop, drop and roll. ---
**Author:** ![eva2052](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a698b9/32.png) [@eva2052](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eva2052)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/39 "2011-11-29T04:32:29Z")
> [@ready29003](#): > > My wife heard this riddle on the radio but never heard the answer. Does anyone know? (slight chance the wording is messed up ) Electricity, considering that electricity travels almost at the speed of light, and light defenitely travels over 600 mph. And, electricity ‘stops in a drop.’ if a drop of water spilled onto it the electricity would short-circuit [stop] and therefore ‘stop in a drop.’ so, electricity is my answer. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765/40 "2011-11-29T05:15:18Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > supermans orgasm > > Declan > [@flapcats](#): > > I think you’ll find _that_ comes out at a little less than 30mph (hey, He ain’t \*THAT \* super) … and once it’s stopped hurtling will swim ovarywards at 0.11mph Not [according to Larry Niven](http://www.redboots.net/comics/moswok.htm): > [@](#): > > Ejaculation of semen is entirely involuntary in the human male, and in all other forms of terrestrial life. It would be unreasonable to assume otherwise for a Kryptonian. But with Kryptonian muscles behind it, Kal-El’s\*\* semen would emerge with the muzzle velocity of a machine gun bullet\*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-travels-over-600-mph-and-stops-with-a-drop/249765.md?page=3)