🃏 What are the odds of actually winning Morgan’s very specific, very fun card game?
🤯 Are people more gullible now? And what are the best ways to persuade someone they are wrong?
👻 And, appropriate to the season, there will be some Any Other Boooooooooooooosness
If you have some ingenious suggestions of what Matt can do in lunar gravity, head to www.aproblemsquared.com and submit your idea as a ‘Solution’
Head to our socials to see Matt’s graph plot and stats on the odds of winning the card game, as well as Bec’s beautifully laid out existence proof of the 52 Card Game!
Some further reading on The Gullibility Problem:
Why are people so gullible? https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20160323-why-are-people-so-incredibly-gullible
Research paper on political extremism: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797612464058
Nobel Disease: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nobel_disease
And some tetrahedron-shaped packaging - or TetraPaks, if you will:
TetraPak: https://www.tetrapak.com/solutions/packaging/packages
SunnyBoys: https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/2016-goodbye-sunnyboy/
See Matt on tour!
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
And here’s how to volunteer for Calculate Pi By Hand with Matt: https://forms.gle/w44THpNJ3jWUPqHy6
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🍌 Is there a more consistent system of measuring things (and is it ‘Banana For Scale’)?
🌋 Why and how do hexagons occur in nature?
🔔 And there will be a whole Bec of Any Other Becness
Head to our socials to see Matt and Bec playing The Metre Game, lots of bananas for scale, and Matt sporting some very fetching headwear.
Some further reading on the origins of ‘Banana For Scale’:
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/banana-for-scale
Some further reading on hexagons in basalt:
European Geoscience Union article:
https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.154301
See Matt on tour!
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
And here’s how to volunteer for Calculate Pi By Hand with Matt:
https://forms.gle/w44THpNJ3jWUPqHy6
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🎲 What are the odds of rolling snake eyes? (And does it make for good TV?)
🤹How long does it take to learn to juggle with seven balls?
🛌 And there’s some Any Other Bed’n’Boardness
Head to our socials to see Matt and Bec in action, rolling dice and juggling balls!
To find out more about our juggling expert Darryl J Carrington, head to his insta:https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17849564354111457/?hl=en
And here’s Colin Wright’s video about Sideswap: “Juggling by Numbers - Numberphile” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dwgusHjA0Y
Here are Jasper’s links (in Dutch and in English) about the Belgian family and their children’s themed names
https://vrtnws.be/p.NvjDVZw5w (Dutch)
https://www.reddit.com/r/tragedeigh/comments/17h7ka6/gwenny_32_is_pregnant_of_a_twelfth_child_a/ (English)
And here are the visualised shuffles of the card question in Episode 113
Tom - https://tehtommeh.github.io/riffle-me-this/
Bernhard - https://www.bernhard-werner.de/assets/cindy/applets/card_weave.html
Shaun - https://svermaak.github.io/VisualiseCardShuffle/
If you’re in the market for a phenomenal dwarf hamster set up, here’s Bec’s ebay link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/127379362494
See Matt on tour!
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
And here’s how to volunteer for Calculate Pi By Hand with Matt: https://forms.gle/w44THpNJ3jWUPqHy6
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
Unfortunately, Matt has been ill and lost his voice so we were unable to record the episode that should be coming out this week.
To make up for it, we are releasing an episode of the usually-Patreon-only I Am A Wizard for you to listen to. It's the one from April this year and features a magical offer from our listener who is, apparently, a wizard - USBinPRL. But we begin with a message from Bec, who can still speak.
If you want more wizarding silliness then join our Patreon at patreon.com/aproblemsquared - you'll get access to all the past episodes of I Am A Wizard, a new wizard episode every month, and early access to all episodes of A Problem Squared!
Normal Service will be resumed in Two Weeks!
👁️ How do you remember things if you can’t visualisethem in your mind’s eye?
🍭 What’s the best shape for a freeze pop?
🪣 And there’s some Any Other Beachness
Head to our socials to see freeze pop pics, Matt(not that one)’s tooth and the AOB gifts!
Here’s a link to the University of Exeter’s The Eye’s Mind project: https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/eyesmind/
And here’s a selection of freeze pops and anti-prisms…
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/del-monte-quality-pineapple-freeze-pop-8-x-62ml
https://www.vimto.co.uk/vimto-range/product/vimto-pyramids/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_antiprism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disphenoid
See Matt on tour! http://standupmaths.com/shows/
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
And here’s how to volunteer for Calculate Pi By Hand with Matt: https://forms.gle/w44THpNJ3jWUPqHy6
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
￡ What’s the optimum strategy to win The Price Is Right?
🦷 Why have Tim’s baby teeth fallen apart?
🛠️ And there’s some Any Other Billy Bookcase Business
Head to our socials to play along with The Price Is Right and to see a video of Ikea Wars!
Here are the GIANT LETTERS sent in by Phillip:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/yZaofcfNPaF5HyX17
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillside_letters
If you’re in Edinburgh for the Fringe, get tickets to see Bec here:
https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
And get tickets see to Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
And here’s how to volunteer for Calculate Pi By Hand with Matt:
https://forms.gle/w44THpNJ3jWUPqHy6
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🍆 What’s the “female equivalent” of phallic?
What’s the font size of the Hollywood sign?
🦈 And we’re always open for AOBusiness
Thanks to our excellent experts appearing in voicenote form - Dr Ben Whittle, Chella Quint OBE, and Linus Boman.
Daan’s paper in the American Journal of Archaeology which cites this very podcast: doi.org/10.1086/735650
The world’s largest enlarged letter: https://www.pleasedonotbend.co.uk/categories/world-record
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
And you can get tickets see to Matt here: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
And here’s how to volunteer for Calculate Pi By Hand with Matt: https://forms.gle/w44THpNJ3jWUPqHy6
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky,Twitter,Instagram, and on Discord.
🃏 What’s the deal with cards?
🫕 What is the perfect ratio of chips to dips?
🍔 And there’s some Any Other B-B-Q-B-ness
Head to our socials to see the card shuffle and patterns, Bec’s starstruck selfie, and our chips ‘n’ dips experiment!
For all your homemade snacking needs:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tortillas
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/homemade-tortilla-chips-guacamole-charred-tomato-salsa
It’s 5 o’chop Somewhere! (Really excellent work from Eve)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKZSlCGIdCZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
And some info about Aphantasia as mentioned by Keith…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia
And synaesthesia…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here:
https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
And you can get tickets see to Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🚂 If you want a career change, how do you decide what to retrain as?
👶 What would be a good set of names for twins or triplets?
🦷 And there’s some Any Other Busi
Here’s some baby naming code from Colin Beveridge: https://github.com/icecolbeveridge/zoe_names
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
And you can get tickets see to Matt here: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
If you are in Edinburgh and fancy seeing Matt and Bec battle it out in Ikea Wars on Sunday 10th August, tickets are here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ikea-wars
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
If you are on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky,Twitter,Instagram, and on Discord.
🌞 How far away from the Sun do we have to travel before we can look at it without damaging our eyes?
📆 Is there an off by one error with anniversaries?
🍝 And AOB has been slow cooked and packed up in tupperware for safe storage
The starting point for Matt’s theory:
Astroid Mattparker:
https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=mattparker
Distance to Voyager 1: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/where-are-voyager-1-and-voyager-2-now/
Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here:
https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
And you can get tickets to see Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🎶 Why are songs easier to remember than sentences?
⚙️ Can we come up with new names (that meet strict criteria) for leader/follower motors?
🌟 And it’s a glitzy, toothy, clackety AOB
As discussed in the intro, here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter:
And here's the link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/standupmaths/moon-pi-were-going-to-calculate-on-the-moon
And head to our socials to see the Corris Railway Traverser!
For tickets to Bec Hill’s Pick ‘n’ Mix at the Museum of Comedy, London on 19/06/2025, go here: https://museumofcomedy.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873654374
For some glittery further reading, here’s that NYT article https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
And you can get tickets to see Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🎲What’s the best design for non-traditional dice?
📄 What should you call paperwork that doesn’t involve paper?
🙋And it’s more a comment than a question in AOB
Head to our socials to see Matt’s excellent Angry Man In Local Newspaper photos.
If you’d like to peruse and purchase more dice variations, head here:
https://mathsgear.co.uk/collections/dice
If you have any paperlesspaperwork suggestions, join in here!
https://www.reddit.com/r/AProblemSquared/
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
And you can get tickets see Bec here:
https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
4️⃣ What would it look like to be trapped in a 4D world?
🥰 What is the meaning of marriage?
✨Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get AOBusy
Head to our socials to see some fantastic representations of 2D meets 3D meets 4D in fiction, some magical magic, and an alphabetically perfect travel route (for 40 days in 1990).
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
And you can get tickets see Bec here:
https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🍻What’s the best way to politely tell a friend that they’ve had too much to drink?
🗞️ Is there a way to prove that something existed before a certain date?
❌And AOB brings us some friendly corrections…
A useful menu of alcoholic choices…
A hash of a DING!
1f2b352be3c09872b3e38083ec6f0d2b22615a99c5a446a03abf24430187c484
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can see Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
And Bec’s show will be onsale soon!
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.
Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared - including the pictures mentioned herein! - you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🧱How many megabytes are actually in a gigabyte?
🌕There have been some Moon Developments…
😎And AOB will bring a little sunshine into your life
Here is NASA’s Press Release about navigation on the moon:
And some further reading from Matt:
https://www.gpsworld.com/lugre-receiver-captures-gnss-signals-in-lunar-orbit/
https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/icg/2024/WG-B_Lunar_PNT_Jun24/LunarPNT_Jun24_01_03.pdf
The Biggest Bike!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG4Gbrys3NL/?igsh=dTBqeG0wZGVpcXhs
Prawn News!
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can see Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
And Bec’s show will be onsale soon!
Make sure you look after your teeth, kids...
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🗺️ Is there an alphabetically perfect travel route?
🪵 What can be done with karate chopped wood?
🤙 And we ride the crest of the Any Other Business wave
You can find the data-basis for the alphabetically perfect travel route here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_number_of_land_borders
Here are some of Bec’s aesthetically pleasing solutions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=JubeLHRYl80
https://www.myveryeducatedmother.com/2015/12/turn-broken-karate-boards-into-coat-rack.html
https://www.ellemariehome.com/upcycle-karate-break-boards-into-wood-signs/#google_vignette
And you can find Brendan’s magical web app here:
https://bren.app/podcasteveryday/
If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can see Matt here:
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths
And Bec’s show will be onsale soon!
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
📆 When is the next Prime Number Day?
🤣 What is the oldest joke?
🪨 And we get to the rock bottom of Any Other Business
You can find Matt’s Divisibility Rules video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pLz8wEQYkA
You can read more about the world’s oldest joke here:
https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2022/08/05/sumerian-joke-one
And you can get your Philogelols right here:
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
📃 Is a sheet of A-45 paper big enough to wrap the earth?
✏️ Why do we still call pencil graphite lead?
👔 There’s business to attend to.
You can find Matt and Hannah’s protractor up the shard video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckcdqlo3pYc&ab_channel=Stand-upMaths
Here’s Matt’s Truncatable Prime Pencil: https://mathsgear.co.uk/products/truncatable-prime-pencil?srsltid=AfmBOorhZ6qk_IAhKnCjtjoVM3wM-GXMTaFporL13aTjdOokjGG_hkxY
And the oldest known pencil in the world: https://www.penciltalk.org/2021/02/worlds-oldest-pencil
If you want to know more about that 1889 World Fair and that luxury yellow pencil you can do that here: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-little-known-reason-pencils-yellow
Here is the link to David’s MIT Maze turned Sudoku, Go check it out, it’s very cool: https://sudokupad.app/arbp91du01
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the ‘Sup ‘Zards’ pinned post!
If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
🤫 Which synonyms are Caesar ciphers of each other?
🎨 Bec and Matt attempt to help a listener decorate their home.
💼 The tax business briefcase is wide open.
⚔️ And battleships heats up.
It’s time to go see ‘Bec Hill: Guess Who's Bec, Bec Again?’ at The Adelaide Fringe! https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/bec-hill-guess-who-s-bec-bec-again-bec-hill-s-bec-tell-a-friend-af2025
You can see Matt Live! https://festivalofthespokennerd.com/tickets/
Here are just some of the sources that inspired Bec’s answer to Paul’s problem:
And The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things: http://www.worldslargestthings.com/mobilemuseum.htm
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the ‘Sup ‘Zards’ pinned post!
If you want (we’re 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
✅ What’s the best way to leave your mark?
🗓️ Can Saturday Night Live be on Every Day?
📍 And there are some big locations in AOB
Top Marks: https://neatnik.net/steganographr/#results
SNL Spreadsheet: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i9leqlafx0orjfp6l8a6t/weekend_whatdate.xlsx?rlkey=vetpi2qg9etbb35jq0zculjt1&e=1&st=q5vl7052&dl=0
Big Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8kf2XcYPXWnqGqn88
See Matt Live! https://festivalofthespokennerd.com/tickets/
If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on the ‘Sup ‘Zards’ pinned post!
And if you want (we’re 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 BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.
