September 29, 2004

Toutatis, the asteroid, came as close to earth as any asteroid in 500 years... the perennial question: what would you do if it was going to hit earth in the next 24hrs? (I would just cross my fingers and hope it hits Texas first)
posted by Warrior 20 years ago
  • Toutatis, shaped like a yam, and 4.6 kilometers (2.9 miles) long Is that a "world-killer"? Seems I recall reading somewhere that anything bigger than about a kilometer is in the kiss-your-ass-goodbye range.
  • But to answer the question: I'd have some phone calls to make, but otherwise I think gathering my family and making their end as painless and unfrightening as possible would pretty much wrap up the day.
  • I'd think about procuring supplies and a rural fortification, assuming there was fair warning. There's some good advice in Revelation X: SUPPLIES TO STOCKPILE: A.TONS OF GUNS and AMMO Especially the ammo. Amatuers are always stockpiling guns and forget the massive ammounts of ammo(casings, clips, powder, loaders) that'll also be needed. B. POUNDS OF CRACK COCAINE Not for you! For your "soldiers." With the above, you will find it easy to procure water, food, shelter, medicine, etc. C. GALLONS OF LIQUID LSD For you, to keep you FANATICAL ... to make you a LEADER!
  • a YAM?? somehow, this does not frighten me.
  • By Toutatis! I'd hide out in a small village of indomitable Gauls.
  • To answer your question Fes, here's a handy web page which will do just that. Plugging in a couple of numbers and we get an energy prior to impact of 2.21 x 10^22 Joules = 5.28 x 10^6 MegaTons TNT A couple of million megatons; I'd say our bucket just got kicked. I'm heading off to play with this for a bit.
  • I wonder if anyone has done any numerical modelling at an explosion of that scale.
  • Ramix the Gaul(ette) to the rescue...!!! Just gimme some magic potion and i will save the world, by Toutatis!
  • Go to work for Halliburton. Bush & Co. will give them control of Fort Knox and assign them the job of "Cleaning Up America". Of course then we'll find out later that the administration PUT the asteroid there.
  • Hey! I live in Texas.
  • I'd think a couple million megatons would do the job quite well too, but if I read correctly, apparently not: What would happen if a 10-kilometer-diameter asteroid penetrated Earth's crust at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per second? They think the Chicxulub impact site (the dinosaur killer) is one example of such an incident. rolypolyman: I found this page that estimates "the probability of an impact at a given location" and "provides the following formula for estimating the area of destruction, based on nuclear weapons tests" So, for that sized asteroid with that lead time, I would (tap tap tap tap...thinking) Buy or steal a shotgun and ammo. Buy or steal food staples and batteries for my radio. Buy or steal Tylenol or cyanide. Cover the windows in my house with plywood and hide in the basement or go to a friends house in the country and do the same. What Fes said. Have a heart attack.
  • rolypolyman - you may find this and this of interest. These are with regard to modelling the impact which is thought to have killed off the dinosaurs. One of the interesting things to come out of this work is that the worst place to be when a big asteroid hits, other than at the point of impact (of course), is directly opposite it, on the other side of the planet. Big impacts launch material on ballistic paths out of the atmosphere, and they seem to tend to re-enter around the other side of the globe, with fairly devastating effect. There is also this work which you may like to eyeball.
  • *sigh* ah well, my google fu is slow today
  • Ramix: I *knew* I had seen that name somewhere!
  • two words: disaster sex.
  • (I'm hopped up on caffeine)
  • Try heroin. Tho, I don't know if 24 hours is enough lead time to find a dealer. So, maybe just some inappropriate sex.
  • "Appropriate" a suitable arsenal of firearms and ammunition, canned foods, bottled waters, knives, maps, etc. and head for the hills. Unless of course I'm too near to the impact site. In which case probably some appropriate sex With only 24 hours, purchasing firearms could be rather difficult with those pesky waiting periods. Unless, of course, they are no longer enforcing laws.
  • Yea, get laid and get some good drugs is what comes to mind right now. Of course, if it really happened I'd probably be a sentimental sap and go see my family instead.
  • wedge, the world is going to end, think big: disaster orgy!! me, end of the world party: 24 hours of sex drugs n rock&roll woohoo....kaboom!
  • World Orgy. Now. But quidnunc's suggestion is a good one, too.
  • Why Texas?
  • Mmmmmmm, mashed yams. With butter.
  • All my exes live in Texas.
  • Grab my towel and hitchhike on the nearest interstellar ship.
  • "I would just cross my fingers and hope it hits Texas first" DITTO
  • "Why Texas?" JESUS CHRIST. FUCK God save us all. No hope.
  • "Hey! I live in Texas" Bunch of bullshitting arseholes.
  • Toutatis . Data, pictures, animations, 'simulated landing' on it...
  • i did say "perennial"... and why texas? well 'cos that's the world's real "Axis of Evil"
  • if i knew something like this were to happen, i'd send a rag-tag group of lovable misfits up to it to drill a hole and nuke it from within.
  • Bruce Willis and aerosmith are already on the way.