You and your pet pigeon drive 24km due east and then 32km due north to a
clearing in a forest. You release the pigeon so that it can fly home. If the pigeon
flies at an approximate speed of 40km/h, and you average 50km/h on the drive
home, who gets home first?
You arrive first, by about 30 minutes
You arrive first, by about 12 minutes
Both you and the pigeon arrive at the same time
You arrive last
Pigeon vs Driver Race: 24km East 32km North Riddle Solved
🔍 Problem Breakdown
You drive 24 km east then 32 km north (total path 56 km), release the homing pigeon, and drive home the reverse L-shaped route (112 km total). The pigeon flies the hypotenuse directly. Key physics: displacement (straight-line) vs. distance traveled (path length). Pigeons instinctively take the shortest aerial path, ignoring roads.
📊 Option Analysis
- You arrive first, by about 30 minutes: Incorrect. Driver’s 112 km at 50 km/h yields ~134 min; pigeon’s 40 km at 40 km/h is 60 min. Driver takes longer by 74 min.
- You arrive first, by about 12 minutes: Incorrect. Same calculation; no 12-min gap exists.
- Both arrive at the same time: Incorrect. Times differ: pigeon 60 min vs. driver 134 min.
- You arrive last: ✅ Correct interpretation. Pigeon wins by ~74 min (options may approximate or vary slightly in puzzle versions).
⚡ Time & Distance Comparison
| Traveler | Distance (km) | Speed (km/h) | Time (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pigeon | 40 (straight) | 40 | 60 |
| Driver | 112 (round trip) | 50 | 134.4 |
🎓 Exam Relevance
This riddle tests vector displacement vs. scalar distance. Variations appear in bird/train puzzles where infinite series sum to finite time.
