Melons and Lemons

If a melon is dropped from a second floor window in New York and at exactly the same time a lemon dropped from a second floor window in London which one hits the ground first?

a lemon because it is smaller

Originally posted by deriver69
If a melon is dropped from a second floor window in New York and at exactly the same time a lemon dropped from a second floor window in London which one hits the ground first?

It depends. Are both buildings the same height?

Originally posted by deriver69
If a melon is dropped from a second floor window in New York and at exactly the same time a lemon dropped from a second floor window in London which one hits the ground first?

The melon because in England, for reasons I don't understand, we call the first floor the ground floor, the second foor the first floor etc. So in London the second floor is one floor higher than in the US.

Originally posted by howardbradley
The melon because in England, for reasons I don't understand, we call the first floor the ground floor, the second foor the first floor etc. So in London the second floor is one floor higher than in the US.

Absolutely correct. And I personally think for once the americans are far more logical

Originally posted by deriver69
Absolutely correct. And I personally think for once the americans are far more logical

The floor under the second floor is called first floor. Logical.
The floor under the first floor (the ground floor) is called the zeroeth floor? As logical. 😕

I think I was on the right track. . . well, sort of 😕

Originally posted by FabianFnas
The floor under the second floor is called first floor. Logical.
The floor under the first floor (the ground floor) is called the zeroeth floor? As logical. 😕

Could be, its just the first floor then ends up being the second floor you get to.

I dropped a melon out of a 7th floor window once. No-one dropped a lemon at the same time so I guess it was pretty pointless in this context.

Originally posted by mrstabby
I dropped a melon out of a 7th floor window once. No-one dropped a lemon at the same time so I guess it was pretty pointless in this context.

Was that an african or a european melon?

Originally posted by KurtHoegh
Was that an african or a european melon?

Melon charentais is the tastiest of all.

Must have been european, as african melons are non-migratory

Actually on the subject of melons, are you meant to eat the seeds of watermelons or spit them out?

Originally posted by deriver69
Actually on the subject of melons, are you meant to eat the seeds of watermelons or spit them out?

Yes, I believe every part of the watermelon is edible, even the seeds.

Edit: Wikipedia says: "Watermelon seeds are rich in fat and protein, and are widely eaten as a snack, added to other dishes, or used as an oilseed".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon

Originally posted by deriver69
Absolutely correct. And I personally think for once the americans are far more logical

I like the 'zeroth floor' implication of calling it the Ground Floor. It means if you are going up in a lift (rather than an elevator, obviously!) you go up 8 floors to get to the 8th floor. It also means that the first basement can be called floor -1, the one below that is floor -2 and so on. [The flip-side, I suppose, is that an 8-storey building goes up to the 7th floor in the UK, but the 8th floor in the US.]
While we are on the subject of numbering conventions in tall buildings, I also like the idea that there exists a floor in between the 12th floor and the 14th floor.