What If Everyone JUMPED At Once?

A better question would be, how many Saturn 5 rockets would you have to strap to the equator and ignite simultaneously to slow down or speed up the rotation of the earth?

Many years ago an electronics trade magazine published a spoof article (probably in their April issue, but I don't recall for sure), which proposed an anti-ICBM defense. The US would strap large numbers of rockets to the surface, and when a Russian missile launch was detected, the rockets would be fired, and the Earth would be rotated so that the Russian rockets would fall on Russia. They calculated the number of rockets needed, etc. The cost was calculated in a GNERD/GNP ratio (Gross National Expenditure on R&D to Gross National Product). A well done spoof.

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