A Problem Squared

*/ ?>

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Comedy
**A Problem Squared**

Matt Parker and Bec Hill present: A Problem Squared.

A podcast dedicated to solving problems of all kinds, such as, “What should I listen to right now?”. A Podcast Squared. First one’s free. You’re welcome.

Episodes released twokly on Mondays.

Latest Episodes:

017 = All The Hills, Fauna Fills and Sauna Chills Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

How many Bec Hills could fit in Bexhill?

What species would make the longest queue if you put every individual in a single line?

Plus an update on Bec's coat conundrum!

If you've got a problem or a solution, hit us up on our website www.aproblemsquared.com, or on social media.

Thanks to www.higherdose.com for providing the sauna blanket for the fluffy jacket problem.

To find out more about Mileva Marić and the campaign to have her contributions recognised, visit www.inspiring-girls.com/ig-blog/marijamilevablog

016 = Biscuit Tips and Longer Trips Feb 28, 2021

Show notes

In this month's episode, Matt investigates what is the optimal way to share biscuits amongst a group, and Bec explores how you can elongate your holiday time using all manner of creative methods.

Plus updates on short shorts and how much Coronavirus is there in the world.

Send your problems at www.aproblemsquared.com

And here's the study Matt referenced about perceptions of Time: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001295

015 = Getting Plucky and Feeling Lucky Jan 31, 2021

Show notes

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

014 = Final Cheese Drama and Quick-Fire-O-Rama Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

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.

013 = Heavy Lifting and Clever Gifting Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

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

012 = Series of Teeth and Queries of Cheese Oct 31, 2020

Show notes

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".

011 = Massive Halls and Ambassadors' Balls Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

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)

010 = Heat Fighting and Typewriting Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

- 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

009 = Big Statues and Big Stack Chews Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

- 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

008 = Height Matters and Dish Splatters Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

- 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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected