The Beauty of Everyday Mathematics

Book excerpt: Imagine that you’ve finally found a parking space after a long and harrowing search, but are now encountering some difficulty in trying to enter this space. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew a formula that allowed you to enter the space without difficulty? Are you annoyed because your soda can doesn’t remain upright during a picnic? Would you like to know why a mirror swaps right and left, but not top and bottom? Are you looking for a mathematical speech to toast your mother-in-law’s 85th birthday? Or do you want to give your heart away mathematically? Dr. Norbert Herrmann provides amusing and entertaining solutions to these and many other problems that we encounter in everyday situations. “A book for teachers, students of mathematics, and anybody who likes unusual and amusing calculations.”