Michael Jordans Hand Activity

Fiona Ward Shaw

11th hour

THE PROBLEM:
Make a paper cylinder that if you hold, will look and feel the same as if Michael Jordan were
holding a regular can of Coca Cola.

To solve this problem, I needed some measurements.
The span (thumb to pinky) of Michael Jordans hand =10.25 in.
The span of my hand = 7.25 in.
The height (base of palm to top of middle finger) of Michael Jordans hand = 9.5 in.
The height of my hand = 6.5 in.
The circumference of a can of Coca Cola = 8.75 in.
The height of a can of Coca Cola = 5 in.

If you look at the difference between heights and span of my hand and Michael Jordans hand, it
just so happens that my hand is 3 in. smaller than Michael Jordans. At first, I thought that this
meant I could just divide the dimensions of a can of Coke by 3. It soon becomes obvious that
this doesnt work. I realized that my hand is not 3x smaller than Michael Jordans, its simply 3
in. smaller. (Theres a difference.) After that, I tried something different. What would happen if I
divided my height and span by those of Michael Jordans? I found two percentages: one that
described the percent by which the circumference of my new can was smaller than a regular
one, and one for the height. My new numbers were 5.95 in. for the new circumference, and 3.5
in. for the new height. I made a can that fit these dimensions, and it worked. :)