# Wiping out Manhattan and California

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiping-out-manhattan-and-california/2649>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 11, 1999, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiping-out-manhattan-and-california/2649 "1999-08-11T04:10:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 1999, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiping-out-manhattan-and-california/2649/21 "1999-08-18T14:38:00Z")

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Speaking of icebergs (ahem!): anyone else besides me see the news report last night about the humongous berg floating between Antartica and South America. It’s 24 X 48 MILES – virtually the size of the state of Rhode Island. It’ll be around a while, unless the decision is made to bomb it into smaller portions.

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**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 1999, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiping-out-manhattan-and-california/2649/22 "1999-08-18T14:44:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> It’ll be around a while, unless the decision is made to bomb it into smaller portions.

Wouldn’t ONE Rhode Island sized navagational hazard be better than a couple THOUSAND battleship-sized hazards?

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 1999, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiping-out-manhattan-and-california/2649/23 "1999-08-19T11:36:00Z")

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No, not necessarily. Try dropping a 50 lb. block of ice into a swimming pool; at the same time, pour in a 50 lbs. of ice cubes. The ice cubes will melt much faster, due to having more surface area per overall mass.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 1999, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiping-out-manhattan-and-california/2649/24 "1999-08-19T11:42:00Z")

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However, and this is something I meant to comment on yesterday – the existence of this iceberg does suggest one partial solution for the drought in the Northeast & East – throw some cables around the sucker and tow it north to the east coast. Find a convenient bay and section the berg to a manageable size and tow it in. I saw a plan similar to this a few years ago, when California was undergoing a severe drought. The proposal then was to use San Francisco Bay as the ‘holding tank’.

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