In the city of Extremum, capital and largest city of the Mauve Empire, there lives a man named Pythagoras Euclid Pepper. "Doctor" Pepper, as his friends called him, was a bit eccentric and absent-minded, but his eclectic knowledge of a wide array of minutiae paired with his apparent complete lack of common sense seemed to give off an aura of delight that caused many with whom he had spoken to have felt a keen interest in the unique way his mind operates. Pepper did not have a terminal degree from any university in the Mauve Empire, but the people who knew him best insisted upon calling him "doctor" nevertheless. As will hopefully be shown, he was not, however, completely ignorant in terms of practical judgment.
One day when Dr. Pepper was walking to the Extremum Public Library, he noticed a team of firefighters and paramedics outside the door of what appeared to be a rather well-fortified residence. As far as Pythagoras could see, there were no windows, and only one door, which was made of solid steel.
"What's going on here?" Dr. Pepper asked a fire/rescue lieutenant who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the house. Their conversation is as follows:
Lieutenant: "We got a call from this address about a man who has fallen and broken his leg," the lieutenant said. "But he keeps his door securely locked most of the time, and he can't get to the door to let us in!"
Dr. Pepper: "If he needs medical attention, can't you just kick the door in?"
Lt.: "That's what we'd ordinarily do, but this door swings outward. We can't use axes to break the door in, either, due to its strength. We're going to have to call for some special equipment to get in there. I don't think we have anything powerful enough to get us in there in our regular equipment engines."
Dr.: "Actually, if my suspicions are correct, I have a feeling that you do have everything you need to get into that building, and it won't require destroying the whole house in the process!"
What is Pepper's idea?
