Note: if you hate math, skip this post.

This is how I looked during a 12+ minute cycle on the mill:

So, what better way to entertain myself than to guess the spindle speed based on the MERRRRRP pitch??

You can play along too!

Here’s what I had to work with:

Mary Jane is working on the mill in a factory. She hears an E pitch three octaves below concert pitch A. Knowing that the pitch is created by a tool spinning at a certain speed, and knowing that concert pitch A is 440Hz, how fast is the tool spinning in rpm (rotations per minute)?

Easy peasy! But I have not taken a math class since senior year of high school, over 10 years ago. Granted, the last math class I took was multivariable calculus… so I have a decently developed conceptual grasp of math, but I’m very horribly out of practice. When you’re done solving the problem, scroll down to see how my poor brain stumbled through.

Only 9 rpm off! Enough to break a tap, sure, but still! That might have been the most gratifying use of absolute pitch in the history of MJ.