How long do you think a ping pong ball would float for on the open sea?

[sharkeeper]

Wouldn't it eventually fill with water and sink?

Or would it make it to shore somewhere?

 

[yankeesfan]

42 days

 

[mwmorph]

it probabyl wont fill with woater seeing it is made of plastic so depending on type is unreactive or very slightly reactive, it would also not decompose for a few hundred years. definitely make it to shore i guess.

 

[mobobuff]

It'd probably get picked up by a large bird, or a large fish, before it started to become permeable to salt water.

 

[her209]

It would get eaten by a shark.

 

[sharkeeper]

Damn sounds like a fun RFID project!

EDIT: I don't know what they're made of. Definitely a resin of some type. Doesn't appear that it will break down anytime soon.

 

[lokiju]

Wilson!!!!




Oh, sorry wrong kind of ball.

 

[Demo24]

probably float up in some country unless a) it got eaten by a whale b)taken by a Pelican

 

[everman]

If something didn't eat it, I'd assume deterioration by UV radiation would cause it to crack.

 

[sharkeeper]

It'll probably end up in the sea chest of a freighter or another cruise ship actually.

 

[redly]

it would float to the carribean, where I would happen to be snorkeling. It would clog my breathing tube and I would panic and drown.
fvcking ping pong anyway

 

[Howard]

I'd say there's a very slim chance of that happen. Way too much water area to be navigated by ships.

 

[skywhr]

until a fish ate it

 

[sharkeeper]

It was lost not far from Cuba.

Damn stop using a lower heater hose for a breather!

 

[mobobuff]

Originally posted by: sharkeeper
It was lost not far from Cuba.

Damn stop using a lower heater hose for a breather!

Were you playing pingpong on a boat deck? Because that would be awesome.

 

[sharkeeper]

Were you playing pingpong on a boat deck? Because that would be awesome.

Yes I was. Three tables on the stern. Wind caught the ball and it went over. Oops.

 

[Armitage]

My guess is that the plastic alone will probably float, so even if it sprung a leak and filled with water it would still float - just a bit lower.

Wasn't there some idea to raise some piece of wreckage by pumping it full of ping-pong balls?

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: Armitage
My guess is that the plastic alone will probably float, so even if it sprung a leak and filled with water it would still float - just a bit lower.

Wasn't there some idea to raise some piece of wreckage by pumping it full of ping-pong balls?

they did that on mythbusters and they had to be careful of the seals ingesting them and choking, and one seal actually got one ball but let go of it.

MIKE

 

[Raiden256]

Originally posted by: yankeesfan
42 days

Definitely The Answer...

 

[sharkeeper]

Here is where the "crime" was commited.

meh

 

[Bootprint]

Probably quite a while. Ocean currents and lost shoes.

Shoes lost off a container ship off of Korea, found next year off the coast of Vancouver and Washington almost a year later.

 

[MAME]

it would float forever practically

even if it cracked, the plastic would still float I'd imagine

 

[sharkeeper]

I always liked the idea of a message in a bottle. Throw a tracker light enough not to take too much buoyancy and it would be cool to see where it winds up.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Kvaerner Masa
It'll probably end up in the sea chest of a freighter or another cruise ship actually.

I'd agree. Especially since you're on a cruise ship, you're in some highly travelled waters.

Interesting to think about though.

Hey, by any chance, do you work with the navigation systems on the ships?

 

[bret]

float forever if not ate by a sea creature!