Crack the Code

Can you crack the code to open the security system without setting off the alarm?

Mind Reading?

You’re going to jot down some numbers, scramble them up a bit, and the computer program will guess one of your numbers. Try it first! Then take a look at how it works.

Is soccer really the most exciting sport?

Researchers have found that football (soccer) is more likely to produce an unexpected result than any other sport. They claim this kind of surprise makes soccer more exciting than other games. “If there are no upsets, then every game is predictable and hence boring,” said United States researcher Eli Ben-Naim.
The researchers analyzed results from more than 300,000 games over the last century from the US national hockey, football, baseball and basketball leagues and the top English football league. Their results showed the “upset frequency” was highest for soccer, followed by baseball, hockey, basketball and finally American football. An “upset” is when the underdog wins the game over the supposedly better team.

Reasons for this result may be that upsets are much more likely to occur in a low-scoring game like soccer. A soccer game will only have, on average, two goals per game, and many will only have one or none. This could make it easier for a lower-ranked team to fluke a goal and cause an upset. Another factor may be the number of players in a team. There are 11 people on the field in a soccer team. The fewer there are, the greater the contribution each one has. Therefore, it only needs one player to be injured or off their game to have a big impact, again allowing a lesser-ranked team to succeed.

Is soccer really the most exciting game in the world? At any rate, this research proves why Brazil, five-time world champion, should be worried when they play Australia. Read an article about the research.

Cool, Beautiful, Amazing, Fun

Do these look like math to you? Origami, knots, tessellalations, fractals, spirograph and more.

Fantastic Four

Can you use the numbers on four cards to make up equations that equal the number on a fifth card? In Fantastic Four, you win the game by making the most equations.

Math Puzzles and Games

Exercise your brain and have fun!

Seven Bridges Puzzle

Can you solve the famous Konigsberg puzzle? The solution to this puzzle from the 1700s led to the branch of mathematics called topology.

Smart Girls Do their Arithmetic

Be proud – you could be the next Bill Gates. Geek is chic!