Episoder
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098 = Something Blue and Diamond Birthdays Too
šWhat are the most extreme examples of something old, something blue, something borrowed, something new?
šWhatās up with diamond birthdays?
š„A new special one-time bonus section from Matt.
š¼And a look into the business briefcase.
For the Diana Spencer Tiara, look no further:https://www.sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/power-image-royal-aristocratic-tiaras/the-spencer-tiara-r-s-garrard-1930s
Hereās an image of Ezra Jack Keatsā childrenās story TheSnowy Day:
https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/galleries/childhood/item/11304.Selected from the millions of books that have been checked out of the library since 1895, Ezra Jack Keatsā childrenās story The Snowy Day, described as a ācharming, beautifully illustrated tale of a child enjoying the simple magic that snow brings to his city,ā tops the list.
And, perhaps the best suggestion from Bec, the BlueāPantheonā aka Meteor 3200:https://www.space.com/42236-weird-blue-asteroid-phaethon.html#:~:text=Asteroid%203200%20Phaethon%20is%20a,typical%20for%20comets%20than%20asteroids.
Finally, this is the Diamond Birthday Tik Tok trendmentioned in Mattās dinglett: https://www.tiktok.com/@misshaleymichelle/video/7196331969838566702?lang=en
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinnedpost!
If you want to leave us a review, show the podcast to afriend or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.
Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared youcan connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
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097 = Number of Maps & Numbered Pads
šŗ Are there enough OS maps to cover Great Britain?
0ļøā£ Why does zero come after nine on a mobile phone?
š° And, of course, some AOB!
If you want to see Becās friend Amyās summary of accessibility in Thorpe Park and theme parks more generally, head on over to her instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/longcovidrockstar/
Here is a picture of The Big Tractor: https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/oct/08/giant-red-tractor-carnamah-wa-australias-big-things
You can watch a brilliant Phone Phreaking Documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FufYSx2_6Bg&ab_channel=RCW39RJ
Hereās that Numberphile vid about Phone Buttons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCSzjExvbTQ&ab_channel=Numberphile
And the 17 Designs That Bell Almost Used for the Layout of Telephone Buttons: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/08/the-17-designs-that-bell-almost-used-for-the-layout-of-telephone-buttons/279237/
Please send your problems and solutions into the website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinned post!
And if you want (weāre not forcing anyone) to leave us a review, show the podcast to a friend or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.
Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord. -
Manglende episoder?
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š Why would competing studios release movies in the same year that have the same concept or plot?
š Why are we seeing the Aurora Borealis in the UK?
š Business of an any other nature.
If you want to have a listen to Bec on Tom Scottās podcast āLateralā you can do that here, at some point soon: https://open.spotify.com/show/1TthQOE4Fx6gBPW8l48cfN
Their book can also be brought here! Itās really good: https://lateralcast.com/book/
To see a history of solar flare data going back to 1700, follow this link here: https://www.sidc.be/SILSO/ssngraphics
Please send your problems and solutions into the website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinned post!
And if you want (weāre not forcing anyone) to leave us a review, show the podcast to a friend or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.
Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord. -
š Does the 13th really fall more frequently on Friday?
šæ How do you make a giant disco ball wearable?
š© And we have some any other doughness.
If you want to find out more about the cardboard related event (called Number City!) Matt attended on Orkney Island, have a look at this link: https://oisf.org/fest-event/number-city/.
Do send your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinned post!
And if you like, leave us a review, pass the podcast onto a friend or give us a rating! Every little helps.
If you want even more from A Problem Squared, you can find us onTwitter,Instagram, and on Discord.
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šæ What did the first ever podcast sound like?
š³ How do you REALLY lose an election in the US?
š° Business will be closed, and opened.
Thank you to Emily for the Maths mittens! To see pictures of those, head over to APS socials.
You can see the incredible Agree to Disagree podcast pages from 1999 here:
https://web.archive.org/web/19990914040650/http://www.thealph.com/agree/
https://web.archive.org/web/19991004035401/http://thealph.com/agree/about.shtml
There is also a file, but we donāt think it contains any data. Can someone help find an original review?
https://web.archive.org/web/19991103231714/http://thealph.com/agree/episodes/6x02.shtml
Do send your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinned post!
And if you like, leave us a review, pass the podcast onto a friend or give us a rating! Every little helps.
If you want even more from A Problem Squared, you can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord -
ā Circle Can Tic-Tac-Toe ever be fun?
š¤What is the smallest Neil called?
šThereās some Any Other Business!
āļøBattleships continues.
If you want to read the works referenced by Matt in his tic-tac-toe / naughts and crosses problem, take a look below:
Solo Noughts and Crosses, James Grime: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10724117.2023.2168434 Tic-tac-tome, Willy Yoners: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tic-Tac-Autonomous-Playing-Book/dp/1594746877 A Knowledge-based Approach of Connect-Four The Game is Solved: White Wins, Victor Alis: https://disi.unitn.it/~montreso/asd/docs/connect4.pdf Is ultimate tic-tac-toe solved? https://www.joachim-breitner.de/blog/604-Ultimate_Tic_Tac_Toe_is_always_won_by_XPlease send your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinned post!
And if you like, leave us a review, pass the podcast onto a friend or give us a rating! Every little helps.
If you want even more from A Problem Squared, you can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord
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š How many colours are really in a rainbow?
š° How often is a broken clock is right?
š¼ The Any Other Business briefcase is open. Briefly.
š“ā And we have a NEW POST CREDITS easter egg.
To hear more about the brilliant and terrible Emily In Paris premier, listen to this episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/point-break-pt-1-season-04-episode-01/id1720149980?i=1000666164553
If you want to see where the Mattparker asteroid / minor planet is in the universe, you can locate it on this NASA database: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=314159&view=VOP
A full circle rainbow was captured by aerial photographer Colin Leonhardt while flying through a rain shower just above Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia: https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/cn_round_rainbow_australia_jc_141010_16x9_992.jpg?w=1600
And if you want to be even more wowed, you can see a reflective rainbow (or six!) in Norway: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0709/sixrainbows_nordvik_big.jpg
Finally, send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinned post!
And if you like, leave us a review, pass the podcast onto a friend or give us a rating! Every little helps.
If you want even more from A Problem Squared, you can find us onTwitter,Instagram, and on Discord
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šÆ What is the optimal layout for a dart board?
š¦ How soon after a cut does a shark smell your blood?
š And thereās some AYE-YOOO-BEEEE.
To see the Percy Arrangement mentioned by Matt follow this link: https://www.globaldarts.de/globalDartsEN/sport/Percysboard.html
And for the āOptimal Dartboard Designā reveal, see here! https://journals.indexcopernicus.com/api/file/viewByFileId/1980058
If you want to learn more about shark senses, check out Sensory Biologist Dr. Lauren Eve Simonitisās Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oceanexplauren/?hl=enAnd if you like, leave us a review, pass the podcast onto a friend or give us a rating! Every little helps.
Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared, you can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord
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š§ŗ Why is the cycle time on my washing machines always wrong?
šŖ How long will it take to sell 400 Lincoln memorial pennies for $20,000?
š We have DINGS!
š§³ And the business briefcase is open!
Disclaimer: You may hear a slight change in tone on Matt's audio at points throughout, that's back up audio which sounds different.
If you want to find out more about the IMO, or International Mathematics Olympics, you can do that here: https://www.imo-official.org/
And if youāre in London and you want to experience the janky eclipse, why not visit Novelty Automation! You can find details about this gem of a place here: https://www.novelty-automation.com/10_current-machines.htm"
Finally, send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If youāre on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the āSup āZardsā pinned post!
And if you like, leave us a review, pass the podcast onto a friend or give us a rating! Every little helps.
Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared, you can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord
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On this episode...
šIf you pooled up all the snake venom in the world would it be enough to kill all the non-immune mammals?
š¢Do dogs have 2 arms? Or do we have 4 legs?
šAnd we open the business briefcase.
If you want to know more about lizard sampling, do that here: āHierarchical distance sampling to estimate population sizes of common lizards across a desert ecoregionā: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.4780
Thereās a great video by Technology Connections to turn signals and specifically syncing them up, you can find that here: https://youtu.be/2z5A-COlDPk?si=SWSE_FX3fuyLH1X0
You can find the rude praying hands here: https://www.reddit.com/r/teams/comments/xvpefh/can_we_please_talk_about_the_praying_emoji_on/
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/hand-gestures-in-microsoft-teams-free-ff2354cd-17fa-44fc-80c9-3d88c577a1ad
As always, send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
And, if you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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š What happens when tires get tired?
š§ What is the equation for the curve on a spinning Ruibikās cube?
š And thereās some pin related AOB!
Find out more about the counting crows here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl0984
You can hear Bec on Ali Plumbās podcast āScreen Timeā here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02r4zfx/episodes/downloads
If you want to learn more about the EMF Festival, follow this link: https://www.emfcamp.org/
To read āWhere the tire meets the road: Emerging environmental impacts of tire wear particles and their chemical cocktailsā, go here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171153
For more information on the cones, ruled surfaces, hyperbolic paraboloids and more, have a look at the links below!
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Hyperboloid.html
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/RuledSurface.html
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/HyperbolicParaboloid.html
You can see some nice hyperboloid structures here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperboloid#Hyperboloid_structures
As always, send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
And, if you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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š§ Is it possible to climb every mountain?
š Can you simulate an eclipse if you miss the real thing?
š And some loose ends (and change), in AOB!
If youād like to enter the very same gravel race as Matt Parker, you can find out more details here: https://sevengravelrace.com/the-race/
You can listen to āClimb Any Mountainā from the Sound of Music soundtrack here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKuqySkqhHw&ab_channel=COSMOTOPPER777
And to watch the 1991 The Shamen hit āMove Any Mountainā referenced by Matt (which we later discovered was made by our very own Producer Laurenās dad!) Follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpjnzxtZ6Qg&ab_channel=Vesanorabonah
You can find details for Mattās Peak data here: https://peakvisor.com/
https://peakvisor.com/en/news/how_many_mountains_on_earth.html
https://peakvisor.com/en/news/unnamed-mountains.html
In our Dinglett this week Matt referenced JHelioviewer, where you can access real time solar image data. Do that here: https://www.jhelioviewer.org/
And Becās very sensible suggestion for Problem Poser Aaron, to watch the Oculusā broadcast of the 2024 total eclipse: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/event/1074832456934803/
SFX for Becās victory can be found at Fresound.org, āVICTORY CRY Reverb 1ā was made by chripei and āMusic: Orchestral Victory Fanfareā was made by Sheyvan.
As always, send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
And, if you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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š Is this emoji praying hands or a high five?
š What's the best present for celebrating a billion seconds?
š¼ For the first time we have Any Other Business WITH SPECIAL GUESTS!
If you want a collectable (and mistake-ridden) copy of āLove Triangleā, with a special, limited edition book cover designed by print-artist Paul Catherall. You'll get one free while stocks last. Head over to MathsGear! https://mathsgear.co.uk/products/love-triangle-by-matt-parker-signed
Hereās some background on the āFolded Handsā emoji mentioned in Becās problem: https://blog.emojipedia.org/emojiology-folded-hands/
This is the pixelated 2001 Softbank version of the Folded Hands emoji: https://emojipedia.org/softbank/2001/folded-hands
Hereās the KDDI emoji from 2003, where someone is literally praying: https://emojipedia.org/au-kddi/type-d-1/folded-hands
You can find the āglowingā folded hands emoji put out by Apple in 2008 here: https://emojipedia.org/apple/iphone-os-2.2/folded-hands
You can find some more variations of the folded hand emoji (including with faces) here: https://b1681952.smushcdn.com/1681952/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Early-Versions-Folded-Hands-Emojipedia-1.jpg?lossy=0&strip=1&webp=1
There were some fascinating early issues with Unicode (which made emojis universal), where āyellow heartsā sent by iOS users would show up as āhairy heartsā on Android phones. You can read about that here: https://web.archive.org/web/20140502051433/http://www.tuaw.com/2014/04/30/you-may-be-accidentally-sending-friends-a-hairy-heart-emoji/
You can find the Unicode emoji design guidelines here: https://unicode.org/reports/tr51/#Design_Guidelines
And if you want to find out whether youāve already passed your 1 Billionth Second, you can do that here: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=10%5E9+seconds+in+years+and+days
If you want to find out whether youāve already passed your 1 Billionth Second, you can do that here: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=10%5E9+seconds+in+years+and+days
As always, send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com. And, if you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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šŖ How many coins would you need to sort through to collect all commemorative ā¬2 coins in circulation?
šHow do you display enamel pins?!
š¼ The Any Other Business briefcase isā¦mostly open.
Hereās the Coupon Collectorās problem video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BstloCx8KDk
You can see more on the āNumber of banknotes/coins returned from circulation in Euro Area, Euro area (changing composition), Monthlyā here: https://data.ecb.europa.eu/data/datasets/BKN/BKN.M.U2.RE10.C.20P0.AS.F.E
And, Wiki Sources: ā2 euro commemorative coinsā on good old Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_euro_commemorative_coins
As always, send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
And, if you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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In this episode...
š Where did birthday cake come from?
š How come my indicator is never in sync with other cars waiting to turn?
š¼ And, as always, some business from the business briefcase.
Nina, hereās that recipe for Greek Honey Cake: https://www.food.com/recipe/greek-honey-cake-428671
And for more cake from around the world, look no further than this infographic: https://i.imgur.com/lhhotIE.png
Hereās the Ben Eater video referenced by Matt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRlSFm519Bo
And the fascinating paper about time perception and its illusions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866156/
Please do send us your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com
If you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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š Whatās the best place to see the next solar eclipse?
š¤ Do animals dream?
š¼ The Any Other Business briefcase isā¦half open.
Send your problems and solutions to our website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
For a detailed look at the path of the 2026 eclipse, hereās the website referenced by Matt: https://eclipsophile.com/future-eclipses-2024-2028/
If you want to hear the full interview with David Pena Guzman about animal consciousness referenced by Bec, you can do that here: https://news.uchicago.edu/do-animals-dream-david-m-pena-guzman.
Videos of Sky potentially dreaming will be on social media. Tell us what you think? Do dogs dream?
And, if you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon. -
ššØThis is an emergency broadcastšØš
Unfortunately a bout of sudden food poisoning has got in the way of our latest recording session. Everyone's safe (now) but as you may have noticed, we're missing an episode.
We've now got a new date in the diary but the podcast won't be back for two weeks - sorry about that everyone!
SO in this episode, A Problem Squared presents...
š§āāļø The first EVER episode of bonus podcast I'm A Wizard.
šŖA latter and very silly episode of I'm A Wizard.
We HOPE this is a good solution to our emergency problem, but only you, the listener, can give us that ding.
And if you'd like to hear more from the Wizards, you can join up on Patreon and give as little or as much as you like.
Thanks everyone!
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In this episode...
š§ŗ What is lint?
š When does zero count?
š¼ And, as always, some business from the business briefcase.
Please do send us your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com.
Becās got loads of gigs coming up! If you wanna go see her check out dates on her website: https://www.bechillcomedian.com/tour-gigs.
Mattās also got an Evening of Unnecessary Detail every two weeks at the Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone, London.
Thereās going to be a mathssive (get it) Evening of Unnecessary Detail Extravaganza show at the Bristol Beacon on the 12th March.Find details for those here: https://festivalofthespokennerd.com/tickets/.
If you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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In this episodeā¦
š„§ Can Pi ever repeat itself?
šŖ Is it impossible for cube-based stairs to be identical?
š And some Business of an Any Other Nature.
If you want to see the biggest hand calculation in HISTORY, you can! Just head over to Mattās YouTube channel on the 14th of March: https://www.youtube.com/@standupmaths
An Evening of Unnecessary Detail is BACK IN NEW YORK! On the 14th of April, at The Bell House in Brooklyn from 7:30pm!
You can get tickets for that here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/matt-parker-an-evening-of-unnecessary-detail-tickets-847453715877?aff=oddtdtcreator
Ever wanted to know the answer to whether ALL Japanese snacks scale with the packaging imagery? Well now you can, on Becās YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-roi6FdISY&ab_channel=BecHill
GO SEE BEC! Sheās playing in Reading and Louth in April. You can find the dates for that, here: https://www.bechillcomedian.com/tour-gigs
YOU CAN PRE-ORDER MATTāS NEW BOOK āLove Triangleā NOW!
For a signed, but full priced copy with a special dust jacket follow this link: https://mathsgear.co.uk/products/love-triangle-by-matt-parker-signed
Or for 21% off your pre-order, follow this link to Waterstones: https://tinyurl.com/2fdjnwwz
As always, please send your problems and solutions to the Problem Solving Page, here: www.aproblemsquared.com.
If you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon. -
In this episodeā¦
š¼ Whatās the best method for naming a human child?
š How do you turn 45^2=2025 into a birthday celebration?
š AYE-YOOO-BEEEE.
Please do send us your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com
Becās got loads of gigs coming up! If you wanna go see her check out dates on her website: https://www.bechillcomedian.com/tour-gigs
Mattās also got an Evening of Unnecessary Detail every two weeks at the Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone, London.
Thereās going to be a mathssive (get it) Evening of Unnecessary Detail Extravaganza show at the Bristol Beacon on the 12th March.
Find details for those here: https://festivalofthespokennerd.com/tickets/
If you want more from A Problem Squared, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and on Patreon.
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