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The Surprising Truth About Straws: How Many Holes Do They Have? How many holes does a straw have? People have weirdly strong opinions about this question, but there is a mathematically correct answer from the field of topology.
- Main question: How many holes does a straw have?
- Topic: Science & Learning / General Science Concepts / Topology and Geometry of Everyday Objects
- Search topics: topology and geometry of everyday objects, math, science, learning, unquestions, riddles, sciencefacts, mathnerd
Common Search Questions
How many holes does a straw have?
How many holes does a straw have? People have weirdly strong opinions about this question, but there is a mathematically correct answer from the field of topology.
Transcript
How many holes does a straw have? People have weirdly strong opinions about this question, but there is a mathematically correct answer from the field of topology. 27? No, but I like the way you think. The three most common answers are A, two holes, one at each end. B, one hole. It’s just a hole all the way down. Or C, no holes because it’s a cylinder and that’s a continuous surface. Unless it’s a leaky straw. Those are the worst, am I right? So what’s the answer? This blob has no holes. Now it clearly has one hole. Extend that hole out into a cylinder without ever poking another hole, still leaving one hole. See, it’s a straw. I should never go into pottery. Mathematically, a straw is a circle with one hole times an interval with no holes, leaving still a shape with one hole. Math is fun.
Additional Notes
Caption context
Pause and write your answer before finishing the video! Mathematical or philosophical answers are equally accepted. Next up: pants! .
References
Referenced in transcript/caption; DOIs/source links to be synced from the Notion page where available.