How many holes does a human have

How Many Holes Does A Drinking Straw Have?

According to mathematics, a drinking straw has a single hole.

There are certain questions that seem to summon answers with very opinionated supporters on each side. Whether you’re chatting over drinks or debating in Reddit forums, these questions seem to bring out the debating fire in everyone.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Are zebras black or white? How many holes does a drinking straw have?

The answer to that last question is simpler to think through than the others, but we need to turn to mathematics for clarity.

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The Drinking Straw Debate

So… how many holes does a straw have? The question might seem confusing to some, while the answer might seem obvious to others. Even if an answer seems obvious, we need to get there scientifically.

Are there one or two holes in a straw? There are those who passionately defend both answers. Some even say that a straw has an infinite number of holes. Others have gone so far as to claim that a straw has zero holes.

The zero hole group might argue that a straw is simply a bent plane. Since the plane doesn’t have any holes, and you can bring the edges together to make a straw, the straw has no holes. However, by bringing the edges together, you are making a hole, so that argument doesn’t hold up too well, unless you’re questioning the very existence of holes themselves.

If you roll up a piece of paper, you are quite obviously making a hole. (Photo Credit : luchunyu/Shutterstock)

Assuming you believe in holes, the other variations in counting holes can mostly be traced to the basics of the argument—how one defines a hole.

What is a Hole?

Defining a hole is a “whole” other heated debate in itself. There are questions of whether a hole is a presence or an absence, or whether they are things that can be physically defined at all. However, let’s not get too deep into that today.

When we talk about holes, we could be talking about something that could be filled or something through which something else could pass. We have blind holes—a hole in the ground or the hole in a vase—and through holes. Topologically, when we talk about holes, we’re only considering the second kind.

You could say that a glass has one hole in it, which we fill with coffee or any other liquid. However, if we flatten the glass down, it would ultimately become a plate. We can all agree that an undamaged plate doesn’t have a hole. Thus, if a glass has a hole, we would have to define some point in the flattening process when the hole stops existing.

Topologically, a glass does not have a hole. (Photo Credits : Africa Studio/Shutterstock)

The topological definition of a hole is that it’s a structure that prevents an object from being shrunk to a point.

If we took a circle and shrunk it down, it would never become a point. The space inside the boundary prevents it from doing so. Hence, a circle has one hole.

A donut, similarly, would have one hole. A hollow torus, which is something like a hollow donut, will have two holes. Both the hollow space in the middle of the torus and the space inside the torus prevent it from ever being shrunk to a single point.

A torus. (Photo Credit : Evgeniy Belyaev/Shutterstock)

Let’s look at the “number of holes” debate, while staying inside this topological definition.

Counting Holes

We’ve established that a circle has one hole. From here, we can see the one-hole camp and the two-hole camp.

Does a Straw Have Two Holes?

This is the argument claiming that a drinking straw has two holes. A straw is a cylinder, in which two circles at each end can be traced. Two openings = two circles = two holes. A hole through which stuff goes in, and another through which stuff comes out.

Liquid goes in through one opening, and comes out through another. Two openings = two holes? (Photo Credit : twenty20)

Going by the topological definition of a hole, this argument is invalid, as it is treating an opening as a hole. The number of openings does not define the number of holes.

We’ve established that the hollow space inside the torus is a hole, even though it has no openings. The hole is the space enclosed in the boundary, not the boundary itself.

We’ve also said that topologically, a glass or a cup doesn’t have a hole. In order to go with the thinking that a drinking straw has two holes, we would need to negate this. If a straw has two holes, then a glass has one.

Does a Straw Have Just One Hole?

Topologically, a straw is the product of a unit circle and an interval. The interval is the length of the straw. The circle has one hole, and the interval has no holes. Therefore, a straw has a single hole.

It’s not two circles at each end of the straw, but rather, the same circle!

To envision this, imagine squishing down the straw. Its length will shrink until, at some point, it looks more like a ring or a washer. At this point, it should be clear that it only has one hole. If it had more than one, there would have to be some indescribable point where the other hole disappears, which doesn’t seem probable.

How many holes does this washer have? (Photo Credit : twenty20)

Let’s look at it a different way. According to mathematician Bernhard Riemann, the number of holes equals the number of times an object can be cut without resulting in two separate pieces. For a torus, you can cut it twice with it still remaining a single piece. For a circle or a ring, you can make just one cut along the boundary without causing separation.

Similarly, for a straw, you can make a single cut along its length. Any further cuts would separate it. Hence, a straw has a single hole.

Building on these ideas, topologists now use Betti numbers, introduced by Henri Poincaré, to define the number of holes. All answers double down on one result—a straw has exactly one hole.

A Settled Debate

Mathematics tells us that a straw has only one hole. The supporters of the two holes theory may not be so easily appeased, as we can see in those heated debates on Reddit. It seems as if there is enough proof to disregard them, so the debate is settled!

How Many Holes Does a Human Have?

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I dont know who you are BUT YOU HAVE A MILLION SUBS IMMA SUB

It was everything I know I didn’t need

You can say that again

By watching Vsauce everyday, I realize that everything doesn’t exist.

@Pringles what about the universe?

Really, what doesn’t exist, has to come from existing things, so what exists are actually existing things that exist as non existing

@Name generic chocolate tacos

As the great yellow triangular philosopher, Bill Cipher once said, «Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold. BYE»

Vsauce: But what is a “THING”

It’s really rare that you get someone with the curiosity and intelligence of an academic and the performative skill of an actor. We are living in the best possible timeline I love you VSauce

He explained bicontinuity and bijectivity in such simple terms a middle-schooler can understand. Bravo!

He also ate a wet donut

This is the most beautiful linear algebra I’ve explored in 4 years. Thanks skool!

I would rather watch vsauce every day than go to study

Taking Topology in Uni, I gotta say, it seemed a lot cooler in this video than it actually is

Vsauce is the guy who actually tries to figure out his shower thoughts

@Unspeakablegaming GAMING UNSPEAKABLE but sometimes, your left foot is your right foot.

I have a good left foot but I can’t walk without my right foot

@Project_Worm yeah i know vsauces topics are usually a bit more practical in nature (like this video) but at least personally a nonzero amount of my philosophical thoughts come to mind when im in the shower. What i mean then by «figuring out shower thoughts» is tackling them via various perspectives and thories as you do in philosophy, which is not what im saying that Vsauce does but i am saying philosophers do. It comes down to shower thoughts being a bit different for different individuals, but i hope you understand i wasnt primarily addressing the «vsauce» part of OP’s comment.

@Teemu Aho Can’t telling you were being facetious or actually trying to inform the op. But vsauce videos aren’t philosophy. They might start off with a vague philosophical question. And may use dialects to narrow down the meanings of words. But vsauce videos only work if there is a way to answer the original question using experimentation, data and evidence. Which is antithetical to the nature of philosophy.

How Many Holes Does a Straw Have?

Maybe you’re currently enjoying a supersized beverage in a plastic cup? Maybe they just passed a new straw ban in your city or state? Or maybe you just want to further explore a topic that will instantly start arguments with your friends? Regardless, we do know that you’re here because you want to know about holes and straws–and we’re not going to disappoint. So let’s cut to the chase; how many holes does a straw have?

Knee-Jerk Responses

Your knee-jerk response to this question might differ from the person next to you. But we’ve found from the internet that people will generally settle on three arguments.

Defining a “Hole”

Okay, the zero hole argument is a little weird, since it relies on you to forget the fact that a straw is essentially a hollowed-out rod. With the power of the dictionary, however, we can pull out the relevant definitions of a “hole” to help shed a little more light on the topic. A hole is defined as either “an opening through something, an area where something is missing, or a hollowed out space”.

So the first definition presents us some issues, given that a straw can have one or two openings, depending on how you define where each opening ends. So through the power of the dictionary again, we can see that an opening is a point of entry. A straw has two points of entry, therefore two openings. So if you conflate openings and holes, a straw would have two holes.

The second and third definitions present more issues, given that they don’t return a number of “two”. If you view a straw as a once-solid rod which you then hollowed out, the straw is a single, hollow space. Therefore, it is one hole. Given that there is only one “something” missing, you can kind of throw both definitions into this camp. A straw has one hole.

If you want to pull out geometry (why would you), you may further argue a straw has zero holes. Slicing a straw down its length and unrolling it, you end up with a single, rectangular sheet. This sheet should have zero holes if you want a functioning straw. Therefore, a straw has zero holes. This level of abstraction is just weird, though.

The Zero Hole Straw

Someone out there is going to try and tell us that if you wrap a straw and make the ends meet, you get a torus. It’s all contained, and therefore has zero holes. But really, we’ve spent this whole article ragging on “straws have zero holes,” so we’ll hit this too.

A torus of this type would look like a donut. So it would have at least one hole. You could also call it a really thick straw, we guess.

Since it’s hollow, it would have the single hollowed-out space as we’ve discussed before. This would give it a second hole, though the second one wouldn’t be in the spirit of the holes we’re discussing.

So How Many Holes Does a Straw Have?

We would tend to argue that a straw has one hole. Or rather, a straw is basically one long hole. But at that point, why are we spending so much time debating the technicalities of what a straw is? Just call the darn thing a tube if you’re really averse to using the word “straw”.

Or you could just fight over this one instead–snakes are just glorified straws. Discuss.

Like holes? Have fun picking out the plot holes in movies here.

How Many Holes Does a Human Have?

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NHẬN XÉT • 57 823

That intro is everything I didn’t know I needed

I dont know who you are BUT YOU HAVE A MILLION SUBS IMMA SUB

It was everything I know I didn’t need

You can say that again

By watching Vsauce everyday, I realize that everything doesn’t exist.

@Pringles what about the universe?

Really, what doesn’t exist, has to come from existing things, so what exists are actually existing things that exist as non existing

@Name generic chocolate tacos

As the great yellow triangular philosopher, Bill Cipher once said, «Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold. BYE»

Vsauce: But what is a “THING”

It’s really rare that you get someone with the curiosity and intelligence of an academic and the performative skill of an actor. We are living in the best possible timeline I love you VSauce

He explained bicontinuity and bijectivity in such simple terms a middle-schooler can understand. Bravo!

He also ate a wet donut

This is the most beautiful linear algebra I’ve explored in 4 years. Thanks skool!

I would rather watch vsauce every day than go to study

Taking Topology in Uni, I gotta say, it seemed a lot cooler in this video than it actually is

Vsauce is the guy who actually tries to figure out his shower thoughts

@Unspeakablegaming GAMING UNSPEAKABLE but sometimes, your left foot is your right foot.

I have a good left foot but I can’t walk without my right foot

@Project_Worm yeah i know vsauces topics are usually a bit more practical in nature (like this video) but at least personally a nonzero amount of my philosophical thoughts come to mind when im in the shower. What i mean then by «figuring out shower thoughts» is tackling them via various perspectives and thories as you do in philosophy, which is not what im saying that Vsauce does but i am saying philosophers do. It comes down to shower thoughts being a bit different for different individuals, but i hope you understand i wasnt primarily addressing the «vsauce» part of OP’s comment.

@Teemu Aho Can’t telling you were being facetious or actually trying to inform the op. But vsauce videos aren’t philosophy. They might start off with a vague philosophical question. And may use dialects to narrow down the meanings of words. But vsauce videos only work if there is a way to answer the original question using experimentation, data and evidence. Which is antithetical to the nature of philosophy.

How Many Holes Does a Human Have?

Показать панель управления

Комментарии • 57 823

That intro is everything I didn’t know I needed

I dont know who you are BUT YOU HAVE A MILLION SUBS IMMA SUB

It was everything I know I didn’t need

You can say that again

By watching Vsauce everyday, I realize that everything doesn’t exist.

@Pringles what about the universe?

Really, what doesn’t exist, has to come from existing things, so what exists are actually existing things that exist as non existing

@Name generic chocolate tacos

As the great yellow triangular philosopher, Bill Cipher once said, «Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold. BYE»

Vsauce: But what is a “THING”

It’s really rare that you get someone with the curiosity and intelligence of an academic and the performative skill of an actor. We are living in the best possible timeline I love you VSauce

He explained bicontinuity and bijectivity in such simple terms a middle-schooler can understand. Bravo!

He also ate a wet donut

This is the most beautiful linear algebra I’ve explored in 4 years. Thanks skool!

I would rather watch vsauce every day than go to study

Taking Topology in Uni, I gotta say, it seemed a lot cooler in this video than it actually is

Vsauce is the guy who actually tries to figure out his shower thoughts

@Unspeakablegaming GAMING UNSPEAKABLE but sometimes, your left foot is your right foot.

I have a good left foot but I can’t walk without my right foot

@Project_Worm yeah i know vsauces topics are usually a bit more practical in nature (like this video) but at least personally a nonzero amount of my philosophical thoughts come to mind when im in the shower. What i mean then by «figuring out shower thoughts» is tackling them via various perspectives and thories as you do in philosophy, which is not what im saying that Vsauce does but i am saying philosophers do. It comes down to shower thoughts being a bit different for different individuals, but i hope you understand i wasnt primarily addressing the «vsauce» part of OP’s comment.

@Teemu Aho Can’t telling you were being facetious or actually trying to inform the op. But vsauce videos aren’t philosophy. They might start off with a vague philosophical question. And may use dialects to narrow down the meanings of words. But vsauce videos only work if there is a way to answer the original question using experimentation, data and evidence. Which is antithetical to the nature of philosophy.