Every year in October, about 11,000 athletes travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts to compete in the head of the Charles Regatta, the largest boating Regatta of its kind.

1,900 boats piloted and powered by incredibly strong, hard-working men and women

who are pushing themselves to the limits

to make their boats go, and they all head

in the same direction.

So the question is, with 11,000 people all pushing water with their oars as hard as they

can in the same direction.

Where does the water go?

Hey, it's Seth, and this is a Kimbo.

Well, if you've thought about it at all, which you probably haven't,

you've realized the water doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't matter how strong an

or's person is he or she is not able to actually move the water in the Charles River much of anywhere.

So why bother?

What is the purpose of putting your oar in the water and leaning against it if the water

itself isn't being pushed backwards? No giant waves are reaching the shore. Water weighs about 8 pounds a gallon. It's too heavy to move.

Plus you can't just move the water you're touching you have to move all the water that water is touching

You're not going to be able to push the Charles River around

What's actually happening is leverage 15 crushing the splits as low as they can go that's the way good ladies good

the water doesn't move the boat does that by putting the oar in the water we are levering the boat forward with the ore mostly

staying still. This leverage depends on friction.

And people talk about friction like it's a bad thing.

That if you're making a set of drawers,

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