Doug Mataconis

The orchestra question turned up as a meme on Facebook over the weekend.

Cheers Doug and thanks for making me famous! Could you tweet link to original on fb please

I'll have to check to see if I still have it bookmarked, but I'll look.

I wouldn't listen to any number of players who can do #beethoven's ninth in 40 minutes. Who wrote that?

The #CD standard of 74 minutes was defined by @Sony so it fits Beethoven's ninth. @Philips wanted 60 minutes.

An approximate standard. My very first CD was 79 minutes long. Can anyone guess what it was? #quiz

Beethoven's 9th symphony plus bonus track Wild Thing by the Trogs?

Two options, it is a logic trap question or the question writer is an imbecile.

As a logical trap question this is eloquent and austere

That’s sort of what I was thinking, it is a pretty elegant logic trap. Like, asking an American, “do they have the 4th of July in the UK?”

We do. We just call it "Thanksgiving."

At which the traditional meal is sour grapes.

If it takes one woman nine months to have a baby, how many months would it take nine women?

you either take a fully developed baby or 9 underdeveloped babies, sounds fair

you pipeline it right and allow 8 months setup time you can have 1 full size baby a month

A friend of mine had a premature baby at 4 months, then premature twins at 4 months too. All survived. 3 babies in 8 months, net: efficient.

expensive in medical-care dollars and parental dread/stress, mind.

Fortunately my friend and I are in the UK, so healthcare didn't cost her a penny at point of use. Would be ruinous otherwise.

Well, I imagine the doctors would still like paid, so the money was spent natheless.

Yes, hence I made a specific point of including "at point of use". We pay through taxation. Works for us. I have no desire to see it change.