Episode 011 = Massive Halls and Ambassador's Balls

2020-09-30
00:48:09

Note: Matt doesn't watch his own videos
00:02:07–00:06:27

Matt and Lucie use a different account to watch videos than to create videos, and YouTube suggests Matt to said account. Matt, however, doesn't like to watch his own videos, making its statistics slightly works. Matt and Bec discuss thumbnail clicking statistics.

News: Bec on the Jonathan Ross Comedy Club
00:06:27–00:07:27

Bec did the Jonathan Ross Comedy Club recording, which will come out in a couple of days right after Britain's Got Talent. Matt explains that this is a big deal.

Correction from the show notes: Bec's episode of Jonathan Ross's Comedy Club aired on 10th September (Series 1 Episode 2).

News: Matt on Seth Myers (kinda)
00:07:27–00:10:36

Matt got a shoutout from the Seth Myers show, after a video he made about the quality of talkshow hosts filming from home. Colbert didn't reply, but Seth thanked Matt for the tips and Matt continued assisting Seth. Bec was frustrated that he mention this earlier.

Problem 011-1 = How long is a year of A Problem Squared podcasts
00:10:40–00:16:50

Problem poser: Albert Hickey, on Twitter [Editor's note: Spelling likely incorrect]
Problem solver: Matt

Problem statement

Since episode 1 is when the podcast starts, is this an n-out-of-n+1 thing as 12 months ends at the 13th episode as there is a month between each episode?

Solution attempt

Does the goal of 100 patrons after one year from episode 003 (note) apply in episode 012 or 013? Matt counts the month leading up to an episode as the month of the episode (the producers' perspective), while Bec counts the month after the episode (the audience's perspective). Taking both perspectives into account, there's 13 months in a year. Matt proposes a linear fade-in during the preceding month and a linear fade-out during the succeeding month, keeping the total amount at 1 the entire time. Awaiting ding from author.

Problem 011-2 = Is the famous Ferrero Rocher advert mathematically possible?
00:16:53–00:40:07

Problem poser: Matt
Problem solver: Matt

Problem statement

Previously, Bec and Matt talked about a Ferrero Rocher pyramid from a classic commercial. How many Ferrero Rochers do you require to assemble a platter of the proportions as seen in the commercial?

Solution attempt

@setalyas on Twitter used a circle-packing website to work out the amount of Ferrero Rochers. Packing smaller circles into a big circle is a really hard problem. Matt bought almost hundreds of Ferrero Rochers with his Seth Myers consultancy money to verify the results experimentally. After a lot of trial and error, Matt has successfully stacked the balls, though he has not counted them. Matt promises to lend Bec his sweets after counting, so she can have a go (and definitely not just eat them all).

"The outer layers are a manifestation of what's going on inside" — Matt Parker, 2020

Follow-up problem: Is 216 chocolates spoiling the people? Bec used her new ambassador powers to guess that there are about 200 people. Matt notes that having exactly as many sweets as guests is top-tier ambassadoring. Bec suggests that only one sweet per person is spoiling their fun.

Matt calculates that the maximum number of Ferrero Rochers in a pile before it collapses under its own weight, based on his own measurements, is 68'814'850 Ferrero Rochers in 650 layers, costing just over £26.25 million.

Problem 011-3 = What's the qualification for a room being a room?
00:40:10–00:45:15

Problem poser: Simon, on Patreon
Problem solver: Bec

Problem statement

How do we determine when an area changes name based on volume? At what point does a room become a great room? At what point does a great room become a ballroom? When does a ballroom become a great hall? And in the other direction: What about a hallway? At what point does a hallway become a room? And when does a closet become a room? Is it number of doors?

Solution attempt

Number one: What makes a room a room is whether it can fit the thing that the room is named after. A closet can't fit a bed, so it's not a bedroom.

Number two: The word "hallway" comes from "hall", which was a large building. It is also a room, but with lots of doorways to other rooms going off it. Its name doesn't change based on its volume.

Number three: A room becomes a great room when Bec Hill is in there.

Ding

A "problem solved, ding, bye" from Bec

Update for problem 006-1
00:45:18–00:46:38

The T-shirt is finished and Bec wore it on the Jonathan Ross Comedy Club. She will post info about the money going to WaterAid on her socials.