The question was to determine the height of a skyscraper with a barometer in Copenhagen University and a student had written as follows
"Tie a string to barometer and lower it. The total length of the string will be the height of the building"
The examiner reading the answer failed the student. In an appeal, the arbitrator judged that the answer was correct and asked the student to answer by applying some "principles of physics".
He gave him 5 minutes time and the student was in deep thought. At the near completion of the 5 minutes, the student said he couldn't select from a bunch of extremely relevant answers. The list of his answers are as follows:
1. Drop barometer from the top of the building and measure the time. Height, H=0.5g*T*T
2. Swing the barometer first at ground and then on the roof. The height is worked out by the difference in the gravitational restoring force T=2 pi sq. root(1/g).
3. If the sun is shining, compare the shadow of barometer and the building.
4. Measure air pressure with the barometer at roof and at the ground level and convert the millibars into foot.
The student who gave this answer was Neils Bohr, who is considered the "Father of Atomic Structure". This man developed atomic theory and found that electrons were revolving around the nucleus.