The Dudeism Forum

Okay, this one's been bothering me for a long time.  The Coen's sweat every word of dialogue, so there's not way this is a mistake, but what is it saying about the characters...

The ransom note states the kidnappers want one million dollars in unmarked, non-consecutive twenties

TWENTIES!!!  A million dollars in twenties!

Think about that.

I just took a stack of 100 bills and pressed them as compactly as possible.  I measured it.  It's pretty darn close to an inch high.  Now let's do the math...

How many twenties are in a million - 1,000,000 / 20 = 50,000

Every 100 bills takes up an inch, so how many inches high would a stack of 50,000 bills be - 50,000 / 100 = 500 inches.

How many feet is 500 inches - 500 / 12 = 41.67 feet.

So a million dollars in twenties stacked up would be approximately 42 feet high.  That's pretty damn high.  So how much cubic space would that take up?

You can see there's no way that would ever fit in a briefcase. Not to mention the weight of a million dollars in 20?s.  No way any one person could carry it.  Let alone throw it out the window.  And take it on a motorcycle.

Even if they were one hundred dollar bills, the stack would be 8 feet high.  Still too big to fit in a normal sized briefcase.

So how could the nilhists, the dude, the big Lebowski, Brandt and Walter (undies?) think that a million dollars could be delivered in a small briefcase.  And for it to be as light as it obviously was.

So what's my point?  

There's no fucking reason--here's my point, Dude--there's no fucking reason to believe this was simply a script oversight.

Does it mean anything?

Maybe I'm out of my element.

You have been right with the calculations so far, but let's look at this link with the specs of American currency: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/math/money/bills/one/

(Assume notes compressed, so no air bubbles in between bills.)

According to it, any denomination bill is 2.61 inches x 6.14 inches x .0043 inches. So, the cubage (heh) of the bill would be about 0.069 cubic inches. Multiply that by 50,000 and we have about 3445 cubic inches. That makes almost exactly 2 cubic feet! (Type "3445 cubic inches in cubic feet" on Google).

Now, this could mean a briefcase 3 feet x 2 feet x 4 inches. Not too impossible to throw out of a car window (?), but let's consider the weight.

50,000 bills x 1 gram per bill = 50,000 grams = 50 kg = 110 pounds. 

So you're right about the weight! It would be too heavy to throw!

If they used $100 bills instead, it would take up 1/5th the space - no problem there. The weight becomes 22 pounds. Easier?

Good nitpick!

Fuckin amateurs
havent you heard of data compression? All the cable repair guys are briefed on this. Maybe just maybe you arent privy to the new shit.

And never mind the tenets of suspending all your belief systems while watching a movie, It Was A League Game for christ's sake. Life does not stop and start at your convenience, you miserable piece of shit!

Quote from: JonDude on January 14, 2010, 10:18:26 PM
You have been right with the calculations so far, but let's look at this link with the specs of American currency: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/math/money/bills/one/

(Assume notes compressed, so no air bubbles in between bills.)

According to it, any denomination bill is 2.61 inches x 6.14 inches x .0043 inches. So, the cubage (heh) of the bill would be about 0.069 cubic inches. Multiply that by 50,000 and we have about 3445 cubic inches. That makes almost exactly 2 cubic feet! (Type "3445 cubic inches in cubic feet" on Google).

Now, this could mean a briefcase 3 feet x 2 feet x 4 inches. Not too impossible to throw out of a car window (?), but let's consider the weight.

50,000 bills x 1 gram per bill = 50,000 grams = 50 kg = 110 pounds. 

So you're right about the weight! It would be too heavy to throw!

If they used $100 bills instead, it would take up 1/5th the space - no problem there. The weight becomes 22 pounds. Easier?

Good nitpick!

You're a good man.  And thorah.

I thought maybe I'd have to put 4 more detectives on the case.  Have 'em working in shifts.

Quote from: not_exactly_a_lightweight on January 14, 2010, 10:48:54 PM
Fuckin amateurs
havent you heard of data compression? All the cable repair guys are briefed on this. Maybe just maybe you arent privy to the new shit.

And never mind the tenets of suspending all your belief systems while watching a movie, It Was A League Game for christ's sake. Life does not stop and start at your convenience, you miserable piece of shit!

I am the walrus.