Last night I was at the launch party for Rob Eastaway's new book, How many socks make a pair? Like Rob's previous books, including Why do buses come in threes? and How long is a piece of string?, this presents interesting mathematics from everyday life. It contains a number of gems. I was pleased to learn the name of Penney Ante, which I came across as a scholboy wihtout ever knowing its origins, and to discover the Saddam Puzzle. "The Football Stadium" puzzle asks whether, if 101 metres of bunting is laid along a 100-metre touchline, pinned to each corner spot, is there enough play to allow someone to pass underneath the bunting at the centre line? The answer is surprisingly counter-intuitive (well, counter-my-intuition, anyway).
Strongly recommended!
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