On number of circles intersected by a line (Q1601443)

The authors consider the following problem: Consider a set \({\mathcal U}\) of circles in the plane with the property that every line of the plane intersects at least one of the circles. Let \(m\) be a positive integer. Is there a line in the plane intersecting at least \(m\) circles of the set \({\mathcal U}\)? The authors answer this question in the affirmative. In fact, they prove something stronger. They show that for every positive integer \(m\) and every point \(P\) of the plane, there exists a line through \(P\) which intersects at least \(m\) circles in \({\mathcal U}\). Furthermore, the authors generalize this result to a set consisting of compact convex subsets of the plane with the property that their rectangular ratios have a uniform upper bound \(L> 0\).