How much fuel would it take to tow a large enough iceberg to Los Angeles to provide fresh water for the city for an entire year? (Thanks to John Adam of Old Dominion University and co-author of Guesstimation for suggesting the question.)
U.S.-based airlines lost 1.7 million pieces of luggage in 2016. How tall a mountain will this make? What is the probability an airline will lose our luggage on our next flight? (Thanks to John Adam of Old Dominion University and co-author of Guesstimation for suggesting the question.)
Look for the answers online at tpt.aapt.org. Question suggestions are always welcome! For more Fermi questions and answers, see Guesstimation 2.0: Solving Today’s Problems on the Back of a Napkin, by Lawrence Weinstein (Princeton University Press, 2012).