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        riddles >> easy >> ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
        
(Message started by: jmlyle on Jul 31st, 2002, 11:27pm)
Title: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by jmlyle on Jul 31st, 2002, 11:27pm
This is a great one. There is also a direct, positive correlation between ice cream sales and incidents of rape.

-- jmlyle
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by JPM on Aug 1st, 2002, 6:35am
I'm guessing this has something to do with heat.  When it's hotter outside ice cream sales go up, and people in general are just more disgruntled and uncomfortable.  I know, I live in Texas.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by snags697 on Aug 1st, 2002, 12:48pm
And, of course, when it's cold out, less people go outside to commit crimes and/or become victims.  I know, I live in the northeast. ;-)
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Arvin Farahmand on Aug 7th, 2002, 11:17am
MASSIVE URBAN RIOTS, happen in summer, not in Winter -- at least when you look on a global scale.

The ice cream -> summer link is obvious.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by cadamus on Aug 7th, 2002, 7:25pm
***HINT***

This is based on cause and effect. The two effects are massive riots and eating ice cream. What single cause would lead to both of these. (And it is not always temperature)
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by fredo on Aug 9th, 2002, 10:56am
Eating Ice Cream causes headaches...
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Brett Danaher on Aug 9th, 2002, 11:57am
This is ridiculous.  I can't believe no one as posted a correct answer, although the first poster here I think knows it.  

Anyway, the key is in the title "massive URBAN riots."  Think - the more people in an area, the more ice cream consumed.  The more people in an area, the higher likelihood of riots.  Sorry to give it away, but everyone was posting about temperatures.  

However, if the correlation were between "ice cream sales per capita" and "riots per capita", that might be interesting.  If there IS a correlation there, then I have to think some more about this riddle.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Brett Danaher on Aug 9th, 2002, 11:59am

on 08/09/02 at 11:57:38, Brett Danaher wrote:
This is ridiculous.  I can't believe no one as posted a correct answer, although the first poster here I think knows it.  

Anyway, the key is in the title "massive URBAN riots."  Think - the more people in an area, the more ice cream consumed.  The more people in an area, the higher likelihood of riots.  Sorry to give it away, but everyone was posting about temperatures.  

However, if the correlation were between "ice cream sales per capita" and "riots per capita", that might be interesting.  If there IS a correlation there, then I have to think some more about this riddle.


Or stop eating ice eating ice cream!
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by KT on Aug 18th, 2002, 5:12am
Funny, I read the question to mean "Why did the scientists perform this study?"  The only reason I could figure was that they had gotten a government grant and needed to use up the money or they would never get more.




I am not a complete idiot.  I had my tonsils taken out.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Robert Grimsley on Aug 23rd, 2002, 12:38pm
There is also a correlation between age and crime.  (Whether young people eat more ice cream than older people, I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me).
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by phasemute on Aug 23rd, 2002, 7:11pm
Power outages directly cause ice cream eating as well as rioting.

Brett; do you know what a direct, positive correlation  is?
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Anwis on Aug 27th, 2002, 5:12pm
I Scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream....  :)

Screaming is a palpable sign of urban riots, is it not?

Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by James Fingas on Aug 30th, 2002, 1:24pm
I am enlightened from reading your creative answers! Now I see that the question is ambiguous!

What is the independent variable? If they are correlating ice cream and massive riots, what is the X variable? Time of year? Place? Number of people? Which city you live in? Decade? Time of day? Day of the week? Number of big tourist events? All of these have correlations! I'm sure there are many more!

New answer: the reason is people. On a deserted island, no ice cream, and no riots. Out in space too (except for free-dried ice cream (YUCK) for astronauts).
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by spyros on Sep 19th, 2002, 3:35am
If I am correct "positive" correlation does not mean that the more ice cream is eaten the more probable a riot is. It can be the opposite (the
less the ice cream consumed, the more a riot is bound to happen)

So... how about money? Riots are bound to happen in areas where poor people leave (rich people don't usually riot!). If you are poor, chances are that you can not afford to let your children (or yourself) buy as much ice cream as they/you would want .

Not to mention that not being able to eat  enough ice cream is a good enough reason to riot  :)
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by James Fingas on Sep 19th, 2002, 11:09am
Spyros,

I think that "direct, positive" correlation does in fact mean that ice cream and riots increase together. If more ice cream caused fewer riots, that would be a negative correlation.

Correlation IIRC is integral(XY)dt-integral(X)dt*integral(Y)dt, where t is the independent variable. This number will be positive if they increase and decrease together, and negative if one increases while the other decreases.

The problem I identified here is that we don't know what t is. Without t, we can't decide which ice creams go with which riots, so we don't know how to quantify the question. Every answer, therefore, implies what t is. Since there are likely different t's that we could pick, there are different correct answers. Many have been suggested, and some of them I'm sure are correct.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Chronos on Sep 19th, 2002, 11:11am

Quote:
If I am correct "positive" correlation does not mean that the more ice cream is eaten the more probable a riot is. It can be the opposite (the less the ice cream consumed, the more a riot is bound to happen)
No, that's a negative correlation.  If there's no connection one way or the other, then that's just called "no correlation".

Besides, in the US, at least, there is no urbanized area where a significant portion of the population can't afford ice cream, and even the richest folks only eat it about once a day or so.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by jmlyle on Sep 19th, 2002, 12:43pm
Okay, I'm not sure what the people are talking about when they say that temperature is not involved, because it is. I learned this fact both in Sociology and Experimental Psychology classes. There WAS a study which showed the correlation between ice cream sales and instances of rape, which I reference in my first post (w00t!).

Obviously, high temperatures result in high ice cream sales. Also, high temps cause people to wear more revealing clothing. And, (especially if any one has seen "Do The Right Thing,") they should know that high temeratures also lead to frustration, especially when power failures are involved. Urban areas are more likely to have brown outs when everyone is running their air conditioners to beat excessive temperatures. Basically, extreme temeratures create situations in which people are more likely to riot, rape, and buy ice cream....

--------------------------------
-sig deleted to protect the innocent
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Praji on Jul 9th, 2004, 3:28am
The unhappier ppl are, the more pro-riot they will be.
The unhappier ppl are, the more ice cream they will eat.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Speaker on Jul 14th, 2004, 7:56pm
Praji, your answer seems to indicate a negative correlation.

If people are unhappy, they eat ice cream. This causes them to become happy, because ice cream is commonly accepted as a comfort food.

If people become happy, they will not riot.
If people do not riot, then the instance of riots decreases.

Therefore, eating ice cream results in fewer riots.

Of course, this is based on eating ice cream causing people to become happy.  :D
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by towr on Jul 15th, 2004, 12:16am
Yes, but you're assuming they get ice-cream before the riot, whereas everyone who is anybody knows you don't get ice-cream till after the riot ;)
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff900/fv00823.htm
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff900/fv00832.htm
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff900/fv00839.htm
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Speaker on Jul 15th, 2004, 12:24am
Ha ha ha  ha ha

Let them eat cake! Famous last words, if only they had had refrigeration back then...  ::)
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Fifis on Mar 9th, 2013, 6:59am
The title reminded me of Monty Python’s “Urban Idiots”.

The basic reason for correlation between sales of any product and number of riots in that location is the amount of people inhabiting the area. It’s just the general population that influences ice cream revenues and number of riots in that area. In villages, ice cream is not abundant, and villagers rarely have subcultures and opposing groups; everything is uniform. In cities, large groups of people include protesters and potential remonstrants. And of course, more population results in more ice cream sold.

However, the entry about temperature is very smart (hotter weather = quicktempered folks). It’s easier to undress and fight than to buckle anoraks up and fight.
Title: Re: ICE CREAM URBAN RIOTS
Post by Annettagiles on Sep 30th, 2014, 4:28am
What do you meant? or what are you trying to exhibit from this?


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