Mars is so far away that by the time NASA saw the rover start landing, it was already down — or dead — seven minutes earlier. So it had to land itself. #MathsDidThat #maths #space #mars #nasa
September 17, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Mars is so far away that by the time NASA saw the rover start landing, it was already down — or dead — seven minutes earlier. So it had to land itself. #MathsDidThat #maths #space #mars #nasa
Halley worked out exactly when his comet would return. He was 16 years dead when it showed up, right on time. #MathsDidThat #maths #space #astronomy #halleyscomet
September 20, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Halley worked out exactly when his comet would return. He was 16 years dead when it showed up, right on time. #MathsDidThat #maths #space #astronomy #halleyscomet
GPS runs on a 100-year-old theory of Einstein's. Turn it off and your map drifts into the next city. #MathsDidThat #maths #gps #relativity #howitworks #stem #space
September 10, 2026 at 8:43 AM
GPS runs on a 100-year-old theory of Einstein's. Turn it off and your map drifts into the next city. #MathsDidThat #maths #gps #relativity #howitworks #stem #space
Every smooth surface in a Pixar film is a formula from 1978 — written by the guy who ended up running the studio. #MathsDidThat #maths #pixar #animation #linearalgebra
September 19, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Every smooth surface in a Pixar film is a formula from 1978 — written by the guy who ended up running the studio. #MathsDidThat #maths #pixar #animation #linearalgebra
A casino doesn't gamble. Every game has a fixed edge, and over millions of bets a small edge becomes a certainty. You're playing luck. They're playing an average. #MathsDidThat #maths #probability #casino #gambling
September 18, 2026 at 12:31 PM
A casino doesn't gamble. Every game has a fixed edge, and over millions of bets a small edge becomes a certainty. You're playing luck. They're playing an average. #MathsDidThat #maths #probability #casino #gambling
Over 2,000 years ago a librarian measured the size of the entire planet using a stick, a shadow, and one angle. He got within a few percent. #MathsDidThat #maths #history #geometry #earth
September 18, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Over 2,000 years ago a librarian measured the size of the entire planet using a stick, a shadow, and one angle. He got within a few percent. #MathsDidThat #maths #history #geometry #earth
Real-world numbers start with a 1 about 30% of the time, not 11%. Fake numbers don't. That's how auditors catch fraud. #MathsDidThat #maths #benfordslaw #fraud #statistics
September 17, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Real-world numbers start with a 1 about 30% of the time, not 11%. Fake numbers don't. That's how auditors catch fraud. #MathsDidThat #maths #benfordslaw #fraud #statistics
There are insects that stay underground for exactly 13 or 17 years, then all come out at once. Not 12, not 16. The best explanation is prime numbers. #MathsDidThat #maths #primenumbers #cicadas #nature
September 16, 2026 at 1:54 PM
There are insects that stay underground for exactly 13 or 17 years, then all come out at once. Not 12, not 16. The best explanation is prime numbers. #MathsDidThat #maths #primenumbers #cicadas #nature
A planet was discovered by maths alone. Someone worked out where it had to be, mailed the coordinates, and it was there that same night. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #space
September 16, 2026 at 4:31 AM
A planet was discovered by maths alone. Someone worked out where it had to be, mailed the coordinates, and it was there that same night. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #space
It's not that the computers aren't good enough. There's a mathematical wall past about ten days, and no amount of computing power gets through it. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #weather
September 15, 2026 at 4:31 AM
It's not that the computers aren't good enough. There's a mathematical wall past about ten days, and no amount of computing power gets through it. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #weather
Shazam has never actually heard a song. It turns the sound into a picture, throws away almost all of it, and matches what's left. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #technology
September 14, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Shazam has never actually heard a song. It turns the sound into a picture, throws away almost all of it, and matches what's left. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #technology
Look at a rocket. Almost all of it is fuel — only about 4% reaches orbit. One equation from 1903 explains why there's no way around it. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #technology
September 13, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Look at a rocket. Almost all of it is fuel — only about 4% reaches orbit. One equation from 1903 explains why there's no way around it. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #technology
The Nazi war code had more settings than you can say out loud. It got broken not by trying them, but by noticing one thing the machine could never do. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #technology
September 13, 2026 at 6:40 AM
The Nazi war code had more settings than you can say out loud. It got broken not by trying them, but by noticing one thing the machine could never do. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #stem #technology
A brand new bridge opened in London and started swaying so badly they shut it two days later. Nobody was marching. The maths is the same as fireflies flashing in sync. #mathsdidthat #maths #engineering #london #stem
September 12, 2026 at 1:40 PM
A brand new bridge opened in London and started swaying so badly they shut it two days later. Nobody was marching. The maths is the same as fireflies flashing in sync. #mathsdidthat #maths #engineering #london #stem
A tired guy on a café terrace in Amsterdam, 1956, waiting for his coffee. Twenty minutes later he'd invented the maths every map app still runs on. #MathsDidThat #maths #algorithms #googlemaps #stem
September 12, 2026 at 7:57 AM
A tired guy on a café terrace in Amsterdam, 1956, waiting for his coffee. Twenty minutes later he'd invented the maths every map app still runs on. #MathsDidThat #maths #algorithms #googlemaps #stem
A scratch wipes out thousands of bits in a row and the music doesn't even skip. The reason is a maths paper written before CDs existed. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #technology #stem
September 11, 2026 at 7:57 AM
A scratch wipes out thousands of bits in a row and the music doesn't even skip. The reason is a maths paper written before CDs existed. #MathsDidThat #maths #howitworks #technology #stem
A 12-megapixel photo should be about 36 MB. The one in your camera roll is 3. The other 33 MB got thrown away, and someone did the maths on exactly what your eyes wouldn't miss.
Maths Did That, episode 1. #MathsDidThat #math #howitworks #jpeg #stem #didyouknow
Maths Did That, episode 1. #MathsDidThat #math #howitworks #jpeg #stem #didyouknow
September 8, 2026 at 10:12 AM
A 12-megapixel photo should be about 36 MB. The one in your camera roll is 3. The other 33 MB got thrown away, and someone did the maths on exactly what your eyes wouldn't miss.
Maths Did That, episode 1. #MathsDidThat #math #howitworks #jpeg #stem #didyouknow
Maths Did That, episode 1. #MathsDidThat #math #howitworks #jpeg #stem #didyouknow