Science Hypothetical: You win a trip into space, or ... - Page 3

**Rain Man** · 02-25-2014, 03:24 PM

Here's the scenario:

Your local dairy decides to sponsor a "Cow Jumped Over The Moon" contest, where first prize is a one-week trip to space. The winner will go to central Russia, board some massive Russian rocket along with a Bulgarian cosmonaut and an American mission control person, and will enjoy a one-week stay aboard the International Space Station. (I'm not sure how space travelers get back down these days, but that's a detail we can figure out later.)

You are one of 12 people who win a sweepstakes to go into the finals. You show up and compete against the other 11 in a decathlon of dairy-related contests. You do well in the cheese trivia and cow leaping contests, but struggle during the yogurt swim and bull riding.

You're in second place entering the final event, which butter eating. The first-place contestant, a charming young Bowdoin College coed, downs four sticks of butter, but with iron resolve you lay the hammer down and eat 5.5 sticks to take the win. She goes home with second prize, which is a year's supply of chocolate milk.

So you've won. The ISS trip is yours. But not everyone is excited about entering space. The Russians aren't into safety all that much, and it's a rough trip up, and space sickness happens, and if a 25-cent bolt fails you die gasping in absolute zero before your body falls into the sun.

So you have an option:

1. You can take the one-week trip to the ISS. All prize taxes and intermediate travel costs will be paid by the dairy.
2. You can take a one-time cash prize of $150,000, with all prize taxes paid by the dairy.

Which do you take?

RippedmyFlesh · 02-25-2014, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Meh. Pretty sure it costs more than 150 large to get someone to space, so on a purely NPV basis space makes decent sense. But I'm a cheap ****. I'm a CHEAP ****.

Is it taxable? If so, what's the value of the space trip? If I have to pay tax on space trip no go. Not even close.

So what are the tax implications?

Don't know if you were being sarcastic. From OP.

2. You can take a one-time cash prize of $150,000, with all prize taxes paid by the dairy.

I would take the cash. If I was 25 I would do something stupid like take the trip.

cosmo20002 · 02-25-2014, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katipan

No way the contest/trip couldn't be turned into a book that made way more than 150K.

People have been in space before, so not sure how much of a story it would be. Now, do something crazy up there, I'm sure you can think of something, and then maybe you'll have a story to sell.

**The Franchise** · 02-25-2014, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

man, look at all those beaten-down domesticated people. $150,000 isn't much money. Paying off your mortgage? That is your dream?

Bizarre difference in philosophy, I guess. To me, the meaning of life is the accumulation of fantastic experiences which often but not always comes from vacations. These experiences don't end when you are done or get back home, they live on in your memory.

I don't get up every day and go to work to pay off my house, I do it so that I can hopefully save enough money someday to stop working, and then its party time.

The only reason why I'd probably take the money if it was $15MM is because even though the intangible value of the ISS voyage would be incredibly high, I can probably make up for it with that fat wad of cash because I could quit immediately and do stuff for an additional few decades more than planned.

Who said that they were going to turn around and pay off their mortgage? You could in turn take that $150k and go to a bunch of different places that you've always wanted to see.

saphojunkie · 02-25-2014, 04:18 PM

Yeah... I've seen how this story ends.

Spoiler!

blaise · 02-25-2014, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

man, look at all those beaten-down domesticated people. $150,000 isn't much money. Paying off your mortgage? That is your dream?

Bizarre difference in philosophy, I guess. To me, the meaning of life is the accumulation of fantastic experiences which often but not always comes from vacations. These experiences don't end when you are done or get back home, they live on in your memory.

I don't get up every day and go to work to pay off my house, I do it so that I can hopefully save enough money someday to stop working, and then its party time.

The only reason why I'd probably take the money if it was $15MM is because even though the intangible value of the ISS voyage would be incredibly high, I can probably make up for it with that fat wad of cash because I could quit immediately and do stuff for an additional few decades more than planned.

I don't think it's a beaten down thing, for me. It just doesn't appeal to me that much. I'd rather use the $150,000 to travel around on Earth. I'd rather go to Italy, Japan, Paris, and London than be able to look down on Earth for a few days.

**BigMeatballDave** · 02-25-2014, 04:27 PM

I'm taking the cash and buying my own tractor and telling Trans Am to **** off.

HonestChieffan · 02-25-2014, 04:27 PM

Id take the cash and donate it to my church.

**BigMeatballDave** · 02-25-2014, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

man, look at all those beaten-down domesticated people. $150,000 isn't much money. Paying off your mortgage? That is your dream?

Bizarre difference in philosophy, I guess. To me, the meaning of life is the accumulation of fantastic experiences which often but not always comes from vacations. These experiences don't end when you are done or get back home, they live on in your memory.

I don't get up every day and go to work to pay off my house, I do it so that I can hopefully save enough money someday to stop working, and then its party time.

The only reason why I'd probably take the money if it was $15MM is because even though the intangible value of the ISS voyage would be incredibly high, I can probably make up for it with that fat wad of cash because I could quit immediately and do stuff for an additional few decades more than planned.

That kind of cash would be huge career move for me.

**BigMeatballDave** · 02-25-2014, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

Id take the cash and donate it to my church.

saphojunkie · 02-25-2014, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

Id take the cash and donate it to my church.

Change your screen name right now.

**hometeam** · 02-25-2014, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

man, look at all those beaten-down domesticated people. $150,000 isn't much money. Paying off your mortgage? That is your dream?

Bizarre difference in philosophy, I guess. To me, the meaning of life is the accumulation of fantastic experiences which often but not always comes from vacations. These experiences don't end when you are done or get back home, they live on in your memory.

I don't get up every day and go to work to pay off my house, I do it so that I can hopefully save enough money someday to stop working, and then its party time.

The only reason why I'd probably take the money if it was $15MM is because even though the intangible value of the ISS voyage would be incredibly high, I can probably make up for it with that fat wad of cash because I could quit immediately and do stuff for an additional few decades more than planned.

never said my 'dream' is to pay off my mortgage. But, on a practical level, sure going to space is ****in awesome. But, would I trade one week of that for a lifetime of financial stability? meh. Ill buy a trip in 2050 when its 200 bucks.

**kysirsoze** · 02-25-2014, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

man, look at all those beaten-down domesticated people. $150,000 isn't much money. Paying off your mortgage? That is your dream?

Bizarre difference in philosophy, I guess. To me, the meaning of life is the accumulation of fantastic experiences which often but not always comes from vacations. These experiences don't end when you are done or get back home, they live on in your memory.

I don't get up every day and go to work to pay off my house, I do it so that I can hopefully save enough money someday to stop working, and then its party time.

The only reason why I'd probably take the money if it was $15MM is because even though the intangible value of the ISS voyage would be incredibly high, I can probably make up for it with that fat wad of cash because I could quit immediately and do stuff for an additional few decades more than planned.

All of this. $150,000 is not even close to a substitute for have spent time in space. Some of you guys need to talk to your inner child or something. The only drawback to the space trip would be what an insufferable blowhard I would be for the rest of my life because I'VE BEEN TO ****ING SPACE.

**hometeam** · 02-25-2014, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Who said that they were going to turn around and pay off their mortgage? You could in turn take that $150k and go to a bunch of different places that you've always wanted to see.

I did.

And that's exactly what I would do.

No mortgage means another 600 bucks a month plus ownership of (hopefully) an appreciating asset.

For me, It would only take about half of the prize money to do that. Plenty left.

BIG_DADDY · 02-25-2014, 04:35 PM

1 week in space without a doubt. I didn't even have to think about it. That is a crazy ass experience for pennies on the dollar.

**Rain Man** · 02-25-2014, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

man, look at all those beaten-down domesticated people. $150,000 isn't much money. Paying off your mortgage? That is your dream?

Bizarre difference in philosophy, I guess. To me, the meaning of life is the accumulation of fantastic experiences which often but not always comes from vacations. These experiences don't end when you are done or get back home, they live on in your memory.

I don't get up every day and go to work to pay off my house, I do it so that I can hopefully save enough money someday to stop working, and then its party time.

The only reason why I'd probably take the money if it was $15MM is because even though the intangible value of the ISS voyage would be incredibly high, I can probably make up for it with that fat wad of cash because I could quit immediately and do stuff for an additional few decades more than planned.

I picked $150,000 as an amount primarily because that's a level where I would be on the fence. I'll admit that flying into space would scare the living pancreas out of me, so there's a value in avoiding petrifying fear and $150,000 might be enough for an excuse.

The other reason is that $150,000 can buy you a lot of good experiences down on terra firma. Would I go into space for a week, or would I do an epic trip around the world for a year?

The epic earth trip is really tempting, but in the end I envisioned myself sitting in the South Pacific in front of some overwater hut, and I would look up and see the Milky Way and think, "Man, I could've been up there." No matter where I went or how I spend the money, I would always look up on a clear night and say, "I could've been up there." In the end, I would do the space trip for that reason. It's hard to turn down a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that less than 500 human beings have done in the history of mankind.

Plus, what's more impressive at a party? "I spent a year traveling the world", or "Yeah, I was in freakin' outer space".

View Poll Results: Which prize option would you take? (See back story in thread header.)
One-week trip to the International Space Station	21	35.59%
$150,000 in cash	37	62.71%
I would take neither. My real prize is in winning the contest in the first place.	1	1.69%
My answer depends on whether I can take my dog. My dog and I go everywhere together.	0	0%
Voters: 59. You may not vote on this poll

02-25-2014, 03:24 PM
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $2918491 VARSITY	Hypothetical: You win a trip into space, or ... Here's the scenario: Your local dairy decides to sponsor a "Cow Jumped Over The Moon" contest, where first prize is a one-week trip to space. The winner will go to central Russia, board some massive Russian rocket along with a Bulgarian cosmonaut and an American mission control person, and will enjoy a one-week stay aboard the International Space Station. (I'm not sure how space travelers get back down these days, but that's a detail we can figure out later.) You are one of 12 people who win a sweepstakes to go into the finals. You show up and compete against the other 11 in a decathlon of dairy-related contests. You do well in the cheese trivia and cow leaping contests, but struggle during the yogurt swim and bull riding. You're in second place entering the final event, which butter eating. The first-place contestant, a charming young Bowdoin College coed, downs four sticks of butter, but with iron resolve you lay the hammer down and eat 5.5 sticks to take the win. She goes home with second prize, which is a year's supply of chocolate milk. So you've won. The ISS trip is yours. But not everyone is excited about entering space. The Russians aren't into safety all that much, and it's a rough trip up, and space sickness happens, and if a 25-cent bolt fails you die gasping in absolute zero before your body falls into the sun. So you have an option: 1. You can take the one-week trip to the ISS. All prize taxes and intermediate travel costs will be paid by the dairy. 2. You can take a one-time cash prize of $150,000, with all prize taxes paid by the dairy. Which do you take?
Posts: 141,802

02-25-2014, 04:18 PM	#34
saphojunkie MVP Join Date: Aug 2011 Casino cash: $4486550	Yeah... I've seen how this story ends. Spoiler!
Posts: 12,619

02-25-2014, 04:27 PM	#36
BigMeatballDave GBM 8-12-15 Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Dayton, Oh. Casino cash: $10052154	I'm taking the cash and buying my own tractor and telling Trans Am to **** off.
Posts: 59,997

02-25-2014, 04:27 PM	#37
HonestChieffan Seeking the Truth daily Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the Country in MO Casino cash: $1824309	Id take the cash and donate it to my church. __________________ “Make no mistake. If you try anything to raise the cost of vishessavatubs, I will veto it.” - Joe Biden, SOTU 2023
Posts: 53,455

02-25-2014, 04:35 PM	#44
BIG_DADDY THE RED MENACE Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Texas Casino cash: $4928410	1 week in space without a doubt. I didn't even have to think about it. That is a crazy ass experience for pennies on the dollar. __________________ The diabolical genius of Marxism-Socialism is that it provides the emotional and intellectual road map for autocrats to persuade millions of people to support their own enslavement to government. ~Mark Levin April 15, 2019
Posts: 32,387