How Many Socks Make a Pair?: Surprisingly Interesting Everyday Maths

Do you gaze into your washing basket and wonder how long it'll take to find a pair of socks? Behind this question is a world of maths that can be creative, surprising and sometimes even beautiful. Using playing cards, a newspaper, the back of an envelope, a Sudoku, some pennies and of course a pair of socks, Rob Eastaway shows how maths can demonstrate its secret beauties in even the most mundane of everyday objects. Among the many fascinating curiosities in these pages, you will discover the strange link between limericks and rabbits, an apparently 'fair' coin game where the odds are massively in your favour, why tourist boards can't agree on where the centre of Britain is, and how simple paper folding can lead to a Jurassic Park monster. With plenty of ideas you'll want to test out for yourself, this engaging and refreshing look at mathematics is for everyone. If you already like maths, you'll discover plenty of new surprises. And if you've never picked up a maths book in your life, this one will change your view of the subject forever. Rob Eastaway is one of the UK's leading popularisers of maths. His books include the bestselling Why do buses come in threes? and Beating the odds. He has written numerous newspaper and magazine articles, regularly appears on radio to talk about the maths of everyday life, and has given offbeat maths talks to audiences of all ages, at venues ranging from The Royal Institution to Pentonville Prison.