My recollection of the formula is
(adusted from my original post)
√1.5 X (√Ht1+√Ht2) = d (Statute Miles)(Ht=height in feet).
Plugging in your heights (46 feet each) gives d=16.61 miles. Or, if 16.6 miles is the actual distance, solving for Ht gives 45.92ft.
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I updated the formula. My original formula rounded √1.5 down to 1.22, which is too far off. Where do you get √1.5? All the way from the original Pythagoras' Theorem that forms the basis of the calculation. The formula multiplies Ht by Diameter of the earth, and to do this, we need to convert Ht from feet to Miles. Since there are 5280 feet to a statute mile, and the earth's diameter is 7912.2 statute miles, we get 7912.2/5280 = 1.4985227. Call it 1.5, plug it back into the formula above, and get a more accurate number.
Interesting to note, though. If you add Lake Winnipesaukee's height above sea level (504 feet), the adjusted conversion is 1.4985417. Using heights of 46 feet each now results in d=16.605. Or, if we use d=16.6 miles, solving for Ht gives 45.97 ft.
Much closer to Rattlesnake Guy's original statement -- and
exactly his statement after rounding!