A Problem Squared3 Jun 2024

086 = Emoji Editions and Birthday Billions

🙏 Is this emoji praying hands or a high five?

🍚 What's the best present for celebrating a billion seconds?

💼 For the first time we have Any Other Business WITH SPECIAL GUESTS!

If you want a collectable (and mistake-ridden) copy of ‘Love Triangle’, 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

Here’s some background on the ‘Folded Hands’ emoji mentioned in Bec’s 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

Here’s the KDDI emoji from 2003, where someone is literally praying: https://emojipedia.org/au-kddi/type-d-1/folded-hands

You can find the ‘glowing’ 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 ‘yellow hearts’ sent by iOS users would show up as ‘hairy hearts’ 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 you’ve 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 you’ve 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.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(144)

140 = ABBABAAB and AI-Bah!

⚽ What’s the fairest way to pick teams?🤖 How do you discourage colleagues from using AI to write everything?🚗 And this road trip is jeopardised by playing ‘Accelerator or Break?’Thanks to all of you...

10 Aug 1h 10min

A Problem... Delayed

There's no new episode of A Problem Squared this week - sorry everyone - but we will be back with your scheduled Episode 140 on MONDAY 10TH AUGUST 2026, and our normal twokly service will be resumed f...

3 Aug 50s

139 = Music Down Where It’s Wetter and Throwing Darts Better

🎺 What would standard instruments sound like if they were played under water?🎯 What would be the average score of one randomly thrown dart?📂 And there’s some Any Other Business.AOB.zipOn THIS episo...

20 Jul 56min

138 = Crossword Panels and Crossing Channels

📝 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 Bl...

6 Jul 59min

137 = Sound Advice and Electron Price

👂Why do some people hate the sound of whispering?💡 How much does an electron cost?😎 And there’s some Any Other BozonessOn THIS episode of A Problem Squared - which comes with our special No Whisper...

22 Jun 1h 11min

136 = How to Discuss The Number e and When to Disclose the "Real Me"

#️⃣ 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-nessHead to our s...

8 Jun 1h 1min

135 = Pasta Water Solution and QR Code Substitution

🍝 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 BloomsnessHead to our socials to see some frankly-v...

25 Mai 51min

134 = Tooth and Rock Day 2026

🤘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...

11 Mai 1h 21min