Why are most ladders 13 ft tall?

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Death_of_Pathos
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02 Dec 2008, 12:05 am

To help students find the Pythagorean triplet!

NocturnalQuilter
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02 Dec 2008, 2:06 am

:?:

kxmode
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02 Dec 2008, 2:12 am

If they were shorter Charles Barkley would be a sadpanda

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Bradleigh
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02 Dec 2008, 2:35 am

I dont get it, then again I use the metric system.

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black_legion
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02 Dec 2008, 4:15 am

well, most people would hqave to 13ft up a wall anyway.

Keith
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02 Dec 2008, 5:33 am

Easy, any longer and they wouldn't be able to be used inside a building or placed on a works vehicle without causing too much problem. Most places that are safe require a short ladder, anything else would require a hoist or something

anna-banana
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02 Dec 2008, 5:34 am

Bradleigh wrote:

I dont get it, then again I use the metric system.

Australia has metric system?

great, another reason to go there

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Death_of_Pathos
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02 Dec 2008, 4:29 pm

Most ladders are not 13ft tall to my knowledge, but most referenced by (non metric) math books are 5 or 13 ft tall because allows students to work with Pythagorean triplets... right triangles where all 3 edges are integers. 5 4 3 and 13 12 5 are the two best known Pythagorean triplets.

ie, if a 13 foot tall ladder is leaning against a vertical wall, and its base is 5 feet from the base of the wall, how high up is the top of the ladder? The answer is sqrt(13^2 - 5^2)=12 of course, instead of some nasty affair with radicals remaining.

computerlove
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03 Dec 2008, 2:42 am

anna-banana wrote:

Bradleigh wrote:

I dont get it, then again I use the metric system.

Australia has metric system?

great, another reason to go there

Only two countries in the whole world don't use the metric system: USA and Liberia(wtf?)

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jawbrodt
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03 Dec 2008, 2:57 am

computerlove wrote:

anna-banana wrote:

Bradleigh wrote:

I dont get it, then again I use the metric system.

Australia has metric system?

great, another reason to go there

Only two countries in the whole world don't use the metric system: USA and Liberia(wtf?)

I have wondered this myself. Sure our system works just fine, and for most of us who grew up with it, easy to understand, but, why not switch to metrics? After a few years, no one would be complaining anymore. Plus, it would be easier to teach to children in school. I think it's time for the US(and Liberia) to switch, and make the metric system universal worldwide. I don't understand why it hasn't happened yet.

It will happen eventually. :chin:

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jawbrodt
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03 Dec 2008, 3:19 am

About the ladders....are they exactly 13 feet? Maybe they are actually 4 meters, which is very close to 13 feet, and us Americans simply round it down? Sounds possible? :chin:

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computerlove
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03 Dec 2008, 3:24 am

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7YTf08xjpE[/youtube]

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Death_of_Pathos
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03 Dec 2008, 10:23 pm

They aren't actually 13 ft tall. Its a math joke.

And Id like to point out that while I would prefer everyone be on the metric system, the american units have their appeal in every day use. ie, there are 12 inches in a foot (a highly factorable number), and it is common place in European countries to use 1.2m as a standard unit for some applications (like when dealing with lumber).

gismo
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