015 = Getting Plucky and Feeling Lucky
This month Matt and Bec are problem-solving thusly: Can you cast shadow puppets on the Moon? Why do champion cyclists wear such short shorts? Is there such a thing as a lucky person? Here's a useful graphic of how the Moon orbits Earth https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth And this is the article referenced by Bec in the show about body hair: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/the-casualties-of-womens-war-on-body-hair/514983/ Send your problems to our new improved website! www.aproblemsquared.com
31 Jan 202154min
014 = Final Cheese Drama and Quick-Fire-O-Rama
It's the end of year special! We have an update on the Cheese Cover Up, the results of the listener survey, and a selection of quick-fire new problems to round off 2020. Plus, what on Earth has Matt been doing to his Christmas tree? Head to @aproblemsquared on Twitter and Instagram to see images of listeners' cheese packaging recommendations, Matt's pie charts, and Bec's framed Christmas card.
31 Des 202052min
013 = Heavy Lifting and Clever Gifting
What's the most cunning way to move furniture on your own? Thoughtful ideas for Christmas presents Answers to the riddle of Pudding's Wheel, including a brilliant piece of maths by a listener. Recipe for microwave fudge: 3 cups of milk or dark chocolate bits (roughly 500g) 1 tin condensed milk 1/4 cup of butter Step 1. Microwave all ingredients for 3-5mins, stopping to stir occasionally. Step 2. Grease or line a deep tray/dish with baking paper and pour in the mix. Step 3. Refrigerate. Step 4. Once firm, cut into squares. (Note from Bec: in Step 2, I like to dust the baking paper with cacao powder and then dust the squares again once cut in Step 4. It helps stop them from immediately melting back into each other. You can also add nuts and dried fruit or spices if you want to get experimental. Make sure you store this in the fridge whenever possible, as it has a low melting point!) Pudding's instagram: instagram.com/hamsterpud
30 Nov 202055min
012 = Series of Teeth and Queries of Cheese
To celebrate 12 episodes we're collecting some data! If you can, fill in the listener survey: http://thatsurvey.ilikeit.aproblemsquared.com Does this cheese look like it has 41% less packaging? https://www.dropbox.com/s/kuj16lmkgrx8w7i/41cheese.jpeg?dl=0 Here's the wikipedia page we used to make sense of shark teeth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_tooth#/media/File:How_to_count_shark_teeth.png The Weaire-Phelan structure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaire%E2%80%93Phelan_structure What a truncated octahedron looks like: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truncated_octahedron And a spinning one! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Truncatedoctahedron.gif MATT'S CALCULATIONS A 140mm × 60mm × 46mm block of cheese has a volume of 386.4 cm^3 and a surface area of 352 cm^2. To give a 41% reduction the original needs to have the same volume of cheese but an area of 596.6 cm^2. Matt assumed there are 4,200,000 current infections and each person has 400,000 virus particles per mL across 2L of fluid. If the SARS-CoV-2 particle has a diameter of 150nm and stacks like spheres with 74% efficiency: those 3,360,000,000,000,000 current virus particles would fill only 8mL, aka "about a teaspoon".
31 Okt 202059min
011 = Massive Halls and Ambassadors' Balls
How long is a year of A Problem Squared podcasts? What's the qualification for a room being a room? Is the famous Ferrero Rocher advert mathematically possible? You can visit the Crafts Council campaign here: https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/support-us/appeals-and-projects/lets-craft-packs-children Delve into luxury with the original Ferrero Rocher ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P-nZZkQqTc The best-known packings of equal circles in a circle http://hydra.nat.uni-magdeburg.de/packing/cci/d1.html Correction: Bec's episode of Jonathan Ross's Comedy Club aired on 19th September (Series 1 Episode 2)
30 Sep 202048min
010 = Heat Fighting and Typewriting
- How can you keep cool when there's no air conditioning? - What's the best thing to do with a spare room? (If you're lucky enough to have one, that is.) - How much would the Big Macadamia Nut be worth if it was an actual nut? - Why are typewriters mysterious? Matt's long-awaited topography video, inspired by a problem in the show, is here at last! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtKhbbcc1Rc You can see the typewriter patent here: https://patents.google.com/patent/US207559A/en And for Bec's 5KTS t-shirt, head here: www.bechillcomedian.com/5kts/square
31 Aug 202044min
009 = Big Statues and Big Stack Chews
- Could pennies make a girlfriend for the Statue of Liberty? - What's the optimum burger size for your mouth? - Where is Matt's topography video? Here's Bec's burger video analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAc2ukZVtdk And for Bec's 5KTS t-shirt, head here: www.bechillcomedian.com/5kts/square
31 Jul 202049min
008 = Height Matters and Dish Splatters
- Why are kitchen counters one-size-fits-all? - Are the recorded surface areas of countries 3D? - Why don't plastic things dry in the dishwasher? Special thanks to: Gareth and Kiruna (@garethandkiruna on TikTok and PIrate & Parrot TV on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHX3-ZTmi60fYtcnO4VOPSQ) Ed Warner from Motionspot (https://www.motionspot.co.uk/, www.fineandable.co.uk and @themotionspot on social media) Check out www.podcastsincolor.com for an exhaustive and excellent list of podcast recommendations. And for Bec's 5KTS t-shirt, head here: www.bechillcomedian.com/5kts/square
30 Jun 202052min
