A Problem Squared

📝 What is the perfect arrangement of black squares in a crossword? 🚣 Does weight on an aqueduct increase as a boat goes over it? 🛟 And there’s some Any Other Boardness (not ‘boredness’) Head to our BlueSky / Twitter / Instagram to see some crossword arrangements and some cross-bridge arrangements. Michael Keith’s Crossword research paper: http://www.gathering4gardner.org/g4g16gift/KeithMichael-...

👂Why do some people hate the sound of whispering? 💡 How much does an electron cost? 😎 And there’s some Any Other Bozoness On THIS episode of A Problem Squared - which comes with our special No Whisper Guarantee - we’re joined by a special guest! The clinical psychologist Dr Jane Gregory tells us all about Misophonia. You can find out about her fantastic (and very helpful) book Sounds Like Misop...

#️⃣ What’s the best way to explain the number e to an 8-year-old? 💗 How early in a relationship should you reveal that you’re a bit weird? 🤧 And there’s some any other blow-your-nose-ness Head to our socials to see The Beautiful Old Calculator and The World’s Tallest Comedian. Matt is bringing An Evening of Unnecessary Detail to New York! The Bell House, Brooklyn on Sunday 12th July. Tickets can...

🍝 Why do we put salt in pasta water? 👾 Can you put bespoke characters in to a QR Code? 🌼And Spring Has Sprung (in the UK) so there’s some Any Other Bloomsness Head to our socials to see some frankly-very-silly-but-fully-operational QR Codes. Boiling and Freezing Points of Pure and Salty Water https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/1457 Matt has extended his tour - and filming the show in...

🤘To mark the May Birthday of Dwayne 'The' 'Tooth Fairy' 'Rock' Johnson, Episode 134 is a Tooth and Rock Special! 🪨 Matt answers your rock-based queries and shares a Salt of the Perth update 🦷 Bec and Dentist Sophie answer your tooth-based queries and shares an Adult Tooth Fairy update Head to our socials to look at some incredibly detailed Salt of the Perth imagery. And...

🥣 What percentage of a box of Weet-Bix is wheat again? 🥚 What shape is an egg?  💬 What’s the most efficient way to write your name on a Pop-it Fidget Toy? 👎 And would you like some AOB? We won’t take no for an answer Head to our socials to see all the Weet-Bix Pix, lots of names efficiently spelt out on a Pop-It Fidget Toy, lots of Girl Scout cookies, and a sheep being sheared by a robot… The...

🔠 Are there any English words containing four letters in alphabetical order? 🥣 What percentage of a box of weet-bix is wheat? 🎪 And there is some any other bah-bah-bahbahbahbah-buh-buh-business Head to our socials to see Bec’s post-show photos and videos from her Adelaide run including Morgan and Morgan's mum’s tooth, Scott and the 6-7 shirt and Karn and his incredible APS Flipchart.  You’l...

👋 When microwaving food, should you place it in the centre, or off to the side? 📐 Does the longest diagonal in a 1m sided cube in 4D square equal root 4?  🐨 And there’s some Bonus Other Business. Head to our socials to see Bec’s Photographic Exhibition of Australian Wildlife, Cubie the Moon Rover, Bec’s Poppadom Experiment,  Matt’s Pythagorean Whiteboard Action, and the first glimpse of the mos...

🌈 Is it true that "No Two Packs Of Skittles Are The Same?” 🤧 Why a cold called cold? 🤫 And there’s some ASMROB Head to our socials to see Matt’s Mission Patches, Matt’s Calculator, and the Skittles Combinatorics! The Liberation Laser Software by Seb Lee-Delisle https://liberationlaser.com/   The Skittle Maths by Clare Wallace https://www.clarewallace.co.uk/skittles And some Norfolk Punch,...

🛫 How many people are flying in the air at any given moment? ⚖️ What weighs a pound and costs a pound? 🏈 And there’s some Any Other (Foot)Ballness Head to our socials to see Bec’s glasses 🤓Pat Patriot 🇺🇲and our Pound for Pound items! Here is a link to the book Flying With Confidence (which helped Producer Laura with her fear of flying and also helped her answer the problem correctly!) https://w...

❓ Have you sent in a question for our AMA episode? ❔ Have Matt and Bec answered it in this AMA episode? ⁉️ Here are your AMA questions, answered! We’ll be back solving your problems as normal in Episode 129! If you’d like to see Bec at the Adelaide Fringe in March, you can get tickets here: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/bec-hill-creates-the-perfect-show-work-in-progress-af2026   And if...

🫘 Can we come up with some fun names for common pantry items? 🔢 What's the smallest number that has never been written down in human history? 🧂 And there’s a sprinkling of Any Other Business. Numberphile’s take on a number NOBODY has thought of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdZrxkix9Mk Every Time "67" Has Been Said on Numberphile, if you dare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll...

🧊 Why doesn’t the coldest day fall on the shortest day? 🥂 If you don’t drink, what can you use fancy drinking glasses for? 🏊 And we take the plunge into some Any Other Brrrrrrrness. If you’d like to read about defibrillator testing using a turkey, here’s the paper sent in by Hans: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12879378/ If you’d like to see Matt and Bec - alongside Steve Mould and Helen Arney...

💨 How many people are needed to guarantee that there is always someone farting somewhere? 🔠 If you match each letter with the corresponding number in the alphabet and add them together, which words add up to 100. 🏁 And there is some unfinished business. Head to our socials for pictures of Matt’s Homemade Sea Salt and Bec’s Brilliant Branding, an assortment of Massive Hourglasses, the beautiful...

👼 What is the Angle of Death? 🎼 What is the best filing system for sheet music? 🎄And there’ll be some A-ho-ho-ho-B If you have any maths-studio-based-names for the Newdio, go to the Problem Posing Page at aproblemsquared.com and select ‘Solution’ and be as funny and punny as possible! If you’d like to ask Matt and Bec anything for our special 2^7 episode in February go to the Problem Posing Pag...

🍟 Why does the nutritional value of frozen chips change depending on whether they are cooked in an air fryer or in an oven? ⛰️ How large a mountain could we make from 2.2 meters of dredged sea bed (combatting sea level rise in the process)? 🃏And there’ll be some AOB, as easy as 123. Head to our socials for pics of LIVE MATHS, chip nutritional values, post-Totoro Bec, ESA Souvenirs. If you’d like...

🔥 How many quickfire problems is it possible to solve in a single episode of A Problem Squared?  🧑‍💼 Why is Matt dressed like a maths teacher? 🃏And we will deal out some Any Other Business If you’d like to ask Matt and Bec anything for our special 2^7 episode go to the Problem Posing Page at aproblemsquared.com - select ‘Problem’ and start your message with AMA! A chicken slapping machine - cl...

🗓️ Does bi-weekly mean every two weeks or twice a week? 🧊 What is the name of the line between two opposing corners of a cube? 🕑 And daylight will be saved with some Any Other Brightness. For more on Rupert and Nopert Shapes: Euler Brick: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/EulerBrick.html Tom7 - Rupert's Snub Cube and other Math Holes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH4MviUE0_s Tom7’s Print files fo...

🃏 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...

🍌 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://knowyour...

🎲 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/reel/DPTqhTwDEeb/?igsh=M...

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,...

👁️ 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 p...

￡ 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 Edi...

🍆 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....