OK, what's the dumbest idea you've heard for capping the BP gusher?

[backscatter712]

Poll question: OK, what's the dumbest idea you've heard for capping the BP gusher?

Everybody's a critic.

Everybody's a backseat driver.

Everybody knows how to cap the BP gusher!

So we've seen zillions of hare-brained ideas on how to go about capping this gusher, so we can move on to trying to clean up the mess.

So let's hear it! What's the absolute dumbest idea you've heard for capping the BP well?

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Send divers down there

Yep, I had a large and long chuckle

[tabatha]

2. They don't even have subs that can go down there.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Alvin, which is not fit to work with this

but yes, I know... why I was laughing my ass off. That has to rank up there with my favorites.

[Nailzberg]

3. My idea is to dam off the gulf and we can call it Oil Lake.

[IDemo]

7. Minus the dam, they're making progress on that one already

[dipsydoodle]

5. Nuking it without doubt.

Do that and you'd have an unholy methane problem.

[backscatter712]

19. An unholy radioactive methane problem... n/t

[stray cat]

6. Fire BP or tell them who is their daddy! (not sure how they expect that to fix the leak)

[HughMoran]

8. I think Matthews suggested an oil tanker

but it's all the same and I could be remembering wrong too.

[Lorien]

9. Leaving the incompetent criminals in charge of cleaning up after their crime. nt

[HughMoran]

10. .

[BeFree]

16. Ding! That's the best yet.

That has gotta hurt. Not hurt enough, but it should hurt.

And you watch, the BP lovers ain't gonna like it.

[Duer 157099]

11. I'm insulted that my Nerf Ball Kill wasn't included in the poll

But then, neither was my Cheese Cloth Kill.

[Ruby the Liberal]

12. Other: The 4" sippy straw in the 21" riser

[HughMoran]

13. You're going to hate the LMRP top cap then

It also uses drill pipe. If you were an engineer who took fluid dynamics, it wouldn't seem so dumb. You'd be surprised how much that pipe can flow.

[Ruby the Liberal]

14. I don't question how much the pipe can flow,

I saw with my own eyes how much was NOT being captured.

Edit to ask - is the LMRP going to act the same, with <10% going into the tube and the rest still being dumped into the Gulf? If so, you are right - I am not impressed.

[HughMoran]

18. They are going to try to clean-cut the riser pipe at top of BOP and seal tightly

They expect some leakage, but in this case I think they are looking at closer to 10% leakage (90% or more recovered.)

[Ruby the Liberal]

21. Lets hope it works.

[HughMoran]

22. Interestingly, their limited success with the 'sippy straw' gives them (and me) hope

This

1) cuts off the riser with it's many leaks at the top so all oil is coming out of one hole, and
2) gives a nice clean vertical pipe to seal up against with a custom made flange.

BP won't give a chance of success, but if they can get a clean cut and somehow get this thing into place over the leak, I think it will work quite well.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. If I remember my physics correctly

Bernouli principle at hand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli%27s_principle

And no, it is not that stupid

[HughMoran]

17. Don't forget the massive pump for the top kill pumping 3,000,000 gallons/day through 2 3" hoses

That's what I'm talking about - a big old pump sucking it up through the same drill pipe used for the top-kill (which had to have a higher flow rate than the oil coming out.)

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. I know, why I made a refernce to that principle

don't matter if this is a very specialized Oxygen Delivery Mask... or this...

Fluid dynamics are fluid dynamics.

[HughMoran]

24. I assumed I was sounding a bit like I wasn't sure what you were getting at

It would be difficult to calculate the max. flow rate for a particular pipe diameter, so a novice could misinterpret results using a basic equation.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Oh absolutely,

and neither you or I claim to be experts... but at least to me, not sleeping during my training and yes, even Physics, helps. And no, I suspect neither you or I would even want to start making the actual calculations for this.

[backscatter712]

20. That qualifies! n/t

[customerserviceguy]

25. Went for "other"

And my answer is: Everything they've tried so far, or are going to try until the relief well can get there. That's the only thing that stands a chance of working.

[tnlefty]

26. Other:

Allowing the goddamned thing to be permitted in the first place. Followed by Top Kill 1, Junk Shot !, Top Kill 2 Junk Shot 2, and all the while oil gushing into the Gulf...