Ⓥalentine’s Day

When only vaccinated couples or lovers are allowed to dine at restaurants on singles’ “most dreaded day of the year” if they show proof of inoculation at the entrance, or had previously emailed a copy of their certificate of vaccination while making a booking.

On this Ⓥalentine’s Day, guesstimate how many unvaccinated couples worldwide were turned away because they posed a health hazard to both restaurant owners and staff and the diners.

by MathPlus February 14, 2021

Stop the TS

Short for “Stop the Trumpshit.” When thousands of Trumpists of all stripes—conservatives, Republican senators, right-wing and far-right groups, and conspiracists—descended on Washington, DC to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election—unfortunately, their president had zero time for them, who was playing golf while they were protesting for him.

As the world watches pro-Trump events like “Stop the Steal” and “Million MAGA March,” they just want to tell the noisy minority of deluded and disappointed protesters, “Stop the TS” and “Don’t let Trump’s dirty feet walk through your mind.”

by MathPlus November 15, 2020

Mask Hysteria

When some countries insist that their citizens continue to don a mask in public squares even if they have been fully vaccinated just in case they might still get infected or reinfected or infect others, although the chances of that happening are pretty low—their non-scientific decisions are often based on intuition or overcaution or irrational fear.

With vaccination in full swing in many developed countries, and with declining infection and mortality rates, isn’t it mere mask hysteria that authorities mandate that inoculated folks continue to wear masks both indoor and outdoor for the sake of those who refuse or have yet to be jabbed?

by MathPlus June 23, 2021

Bat Math

Brain-unfriendly or fiendish math questions that leverage on the public’s mixed attitude vis-à-vis the oft-feared bat, which has so far received bad publicity or negative press in the aftermath of unproven claims that it was the vector for the coronavirus pandemic.

Two examples of bat math are:
a) Today is Friday the 13th. Trump’s spiritual guide recommends that he should drink the blood of a bat 666 days from today to live a "normal” life free from nightmares and demonic attacks. What day of the week would he perform that dreaded ritual?
b) Given that 🦠 + 🦇= 76 and 🦠 × 🦇 = 19, what is the value of 1/🦠 + 1/🦇?
Answers: a) Saturday b) 4.

by MathPlus April 17, 2021

Christmask

When tens of thousands of children in developing countries are asking Santa Claus for face masks rather than toys to protect themselves and their parents (and also their teachers, doctors, nurses, and frontline workers) from the coronavirus.

Since both her parents lost their jobs due to Covid-19, Mary’s wish this Christmas is for Father Claus to deliver at least one box of Christmasks for her and her two younger siblings, who have been told to reuse their masks as often as possible to save money.

by MathPlus December 09, 2020

Pimp Up Pi

Make the number π look sexier by expressing it equivalently or approximately in an expression of numbers or/and constants—for example, π = 1 – 1/3 + 1/5 – 1/7 + 1/9 – 1/11 + ⋯, π ≈ √2 + √3, π⁴ + π⁵ ≈ e⁶, and π rad = 180°.

To get others’ attention to its numerical beauty, mathematicians never fail to pimp up pi.

by MathPlus October 14, 2021

Mathematical Sensitivity

When a math teacher decides not to hurt the feelings of their weak students, by insincerely using large numbers and symbols to grade their test paper—for example, a student receiving back their exam paper with a score of (√81)/90 or 4²/100, mistaking it for 81/100 or 42/100.

Some parents object to teachers’ “mathematical sensitivity” or fake feedback, preferring that they’d tell their child the painful truth how poorly they had performed in their math test.

by MathPlus November 30, 2020