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Can we settle this: how many holes does a straw have? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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At work we somehow landed on the topic of how many holes a human has, which then evolved into a heated discussion on the classic question of how many holes does a straw have.

I think it's two, but some people are convinced that it's one, which I just don't understand. What are your thoughts?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

That doesn't change the topology though. Or at least you can't without it no longer being a straw.

A straw is the product of a circle and an interval. Either the knot doesn't fully seal the interval, meaning it's topology is maintained, or you completely seal the straw, changing it from 1 long interval to 2 separate intervals, changing the object entirely.

In this situation, the straw would not be completely sealed. It is clearly inefficient, but technically there exists a path for which there is a level of force that could applied that would make the straw function.