"Look Around You" - "Maths" Trivia Quiz

Answer: 45,000,000,000

The programme switches to a "Man on the Street"-style segment, in which random people are posed the question, "What is the largest number you can think of?" Their answers include 100,000, 999,000, and 1,000,000. However, they are all incorrect. As it turns out, the largest number is about 45,000,000,000, though there are theories that larger numbers may exist. (Perhaps 45,000,000,001?)

Answer: Harfatum

The word "MATHS" actually stands for "Mathematical Anti Telharsic Harfatum Septomin". Hopefully this clears up any ambiguity you may have been feeling about maths up to this point.

Answer: A man

Maths can be more easily thought of as the "language of numbers". This episode, however, takes that concept literally. According to this show, the language of numbers is as follows:

1 = A
2 = The
3 = Hello
4 = Please
5 = Thank you
6 = Goodbye
7 = What
8 = CLASSIFIED
9 = CLASSIFIED
10 = Man

The programme then gives sample equations, including "1 + 10 = A man" and "3 + 10 = Hello man".

Answer: Asking one's boss for a raise

It is explained that maths can be used to tie one's shoelaces, at which point a man is seen pulling out a complicated diagram of a shoe with each lace labeled with a different number. Maths can be used to calculate the optimal moment at which to embark upon a conversation, which is demonstrated by a man analyzing the printout from a calculator in an attempt to speak to a woman sitting near him. If one has the ability to fly, maths can be used to plan one's trajectory to work, as evidenced by one man who works out some equations in his head before tucking his briefcase under his arm and flying away to his place of business.

Answer: Invisible

This is the first of three problems in this programme that seem to defy all logic and actual mathematics. The answers are revealed at the end, but that does not seem to help in the understanding of the problems.

Answer: cDonald's Theorem

If we plot the graph of cDonald's Theorem, we find that the shape formed is a rather strange one, described as "a uniformly curved line that somehow joins up with itself". Scientists have not yet found a name for it, but if you can think of a name, you could win a fabulous prize.

Answer: April the fourth of September

The contest is held by the Royal Mathematics Society in Nottingham (note that the map on the programme gives Nottingham's location as southwest England, when it really is in the east, many miles north of London). If you satisfy the judges, you could win a "computerized toast system" for your school.

Answer: Eight pence

The ladies were each able to buy eight spiders, along with the eight spider shoes that went with each spider. However, the ladies were eight pence short when it came to taking the bus back home.

Answer: A straightedge

Besides pencils, razor blades, and a calculator, you can also store a protractor, a two-inch ruler, a pair of compasses (the directional kind), and Garry Gum. Garry Gum is a chewable form of thought accelerator and concentration enhancer. However, Anti-Garry Gum must also be chewed to prevent any possible side effects from the Garry Gum, including diarrhoea.

Answer: Biology

Your calculator can also be set to "Geography" mode, thanks to the handy switch near the top-left of your calculator that toggles between subjects.

In case you're curious, here is the final problem (Problem 3) given in the programme:

"It's the future, and Queen Elizabeth III and Queen Elizabeth IV are going to a party held by Queen Elizabeth V. They're keen to make the right impression, so it's important that they choose their outfits carefully. Queen Elizabeth III has forty dresses to choose from, where as Queen Elizabeth IV has four thousand. Queen Elizabeth V has just one dress, but it has the ability to transform itself into the shape of any dress.

The night before the party, Queen Elizabeth IV's handmaiden steals the patents to Queen Elizabeth III's dresses and, working through 'til dawn, makes forty exact replicas. Can you calculate the probability that all three queens will be wearing the same dress at the party, and how many times can Queen Elizabeth V's dress change before it overheats?"