macy's math

NBC special on the macy's parade stated that every year "approximately 3 million screaming fans" line the "2 mile route".

now i'm no math whiz, but i believe that works out to 284 people per linear foot. or 142 on each side of the street.

is that POSSIBLE? at best you might squeeze 1.5-2 people across in each foot of street footage; crowd must therefore be 71-95 rows deep.

my gut says 10-15 rows deep, MAX. for a total crowd of maybe HALF of ONE million.

am i wrong here?

[for the metrically inclined, NBC claim works out to 466 peeps per meter of street frontage; the 71-95 rows deep now equates to 3-5 abreast. reasonable assumption?]

 

EDIT: "5-7 abreast" in the metric line. could barely RETYPE the message before the 10 min deadline, let alone do the math!

 

I believe people in the buildings looking out windows are added to the count. I remember reading something about that recently. So you need to count vertical too.

 

yeah, i considered that, but it would still need to be like 5 times as many people as on the sidewalks!

i recall from 9/11 that the twin towers could hold about 10,000 people apiece. are there enough skyscrapers in all of manhattan to line up 2.5 MILLION on their balconies?? much less 7th ave alone??

 

Maybe they include all those watching it on TV who "wanted to be there" so they are there in siprit...?....Maybe?.. :-D

 

no, TV viewers were more like 50 million. 3 million was definitely for in person.

wiki and other sources seem to agree on the 3 million. which sounds about right for a parade *12* miles long, not 2. and yet, they seem to agree on the length as well.

i'm still not buying it. for every yard/meter across, i'm seeing 20-30 people squished together. and 5-10 more up high. where are the other 400 or so lurking?!

how long is a typical "block"? 1/10 mile? meaning we've got to cram 75,000 people per?

INCOSSIGLE!

 

Perhaps it doesn't have to be a line but a circle centred on Macy's or several football pitches...perhaps it includes pregnant women and people carrying children? Maybe it includes web or Internet visitors? Or has someone counted the number of legs and divided by 2, so that pets count as two people...?

Or perhaps a "screaming fan" is one where the bearings are worn out and need lubrication. If so, we're in the right place here in replacing the fans by water cooling the CPU rather than using a fan? :-D The mind boggles at 3 million "screaming fans" from obsolete computers!

 

I dunno apparently NBC had exclusive broadcasting rights to the parade,could they be blowing their own trumpet perhaps?

There wasn't even a million men at the million man march:-D

roflmao Octuplets are in fashion this season:-D

 

What parade is this again ?

 

that NBC special was truly DREADFUL, btw. billed as a look back at 85 years of parade moments, there were very few "moments" that didn't directly involve matt lauer, katie couric, or al roker!

the few FEW instances of early clips, etc., were fascinating**, but i swear katie couric's INFANT DAUGHTER got more air time.

then again, the whole thing was opposite the lady GAGA special...which i heard was equally dreadful....


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** such as the years they released the balloons skyward at the end of the parade! god, i wish they'd revive THAT tradition!

 

WTF? I missed a parade? :-D

 

I believe that, if we substitute the word "aisle" in place of "street", the mathematical probability is accurate.

Example: "at best, you might squeeze 1.5-2 people across in the aisle in Macy's with the $9.99 waffle irons; idiots in the store actually wanting to buy one therefore must be 71-95 rows deep." :-D