Bracket #29 — the answers

The five questions from October 28, 2026, with their answers, the track each ran on, and the bracket that would have scored 90 on it.

The answers

Question by question

A question scores 100 minus the bracket’s width as a percentage of the track, if the answer is inside it, and nothing if it is outside. The tenth-of-the-track bracket below is the one a confident player was aiming for.

1. How fast does light travel? 186,000 miles per second — near the middle of its track (a logarithmic track, so a tenth of it is a tenth of the powers of ten it spans). A bracket from 100,000 to 330,000 is a tenth of the track and scores 90; the whole track scores 0.
2. How tall is the Leaning Tower of Pisa? 186 feet — in the lower third of its track. A bracket from 165 to 210 is a tenth of the track and scores 90; the whole track scores 0.
3. How much does a blue whale’s heart weigh, roughly? 400 pounds — near the middle of its track (a logarithmic track, so a tenth of it is a tenth of the powers of ten it spans). A bracket from 280 to 570 is a tenth of the track and scores 90; the whole track scores 0.
4. How many seconds are in 41 hours? 147,600 — in the upper third of its track (a logarithmic track, so a tenth of it is a tenth of the powers of ten it spans). A bracket from 100,000 to 210,000 is a tenth of the track and scores 90; the whole track scores 0.
5. How many people live in the United States? 335M — near the middle of its track (a logarithmic track, so a tenth of it is a tenth of the powers of ten it spans). A bracket from 240M to 470M is a tenth of the track and scores 90; the whole track scores 0.

Previous: Bracket #28 (Tue, Oct 27) · Next: Bracket #30 (Thu, Oct 29) · All Bracket solutions

About Bracket

Bracket is Noggin’s estimation puzzle, on the second shelf: five questions a day with a number for an answer, bracketed rather than named, outside the daily line-up. How to play Bracket, or play today’s.