A ping pong ball is stuck deep inside a narrow pipe bolted to the floor.
No tools fit. No hands fit.
How do you get it out?

Q: A ping pong ball is stuck deep inside a narrow pipe bolted to the floor. No tools fit. No hands fit. How do you get it out?

Pour water in — the ball floats up.. The pipe is the prison; the ball just needs a lift. We keep reaching for tools shaped like the problem; sometimes the answer is shaped like the room.

Question

Accepted Answer

Pour water in — the ball floats up. — The pipe is the prison; the ball just needs a lift. We keep reaching for tools shaped like the problem; sometimes the answer is shaped like the room.