How Long Is a Piece of String?: More Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life

Why do weather forecasters get it wrong? What are the best tactics for playing "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "The Weakest Link"? And what is the link between a tin of baked beans and a men's urinal? These and many other questions are answered in this book. It is for anyone wanting to remind themselves - or discover for the first time - that maths is relevant to almost everything we do. Dating, cooking, travelling by car, gambling and ranking sportsmen all have links with intriguing mathematical problems that are explained in this book. It reveals the secrets behind some of the best con tricks and the hidden workings of the taxi meter, and explains how epidemics start and stop.

Rob Eastaway is the author of the best-selling What is a Googly? (0860518000) and Why Do Buses Come in Threes? (1861052472) He is also responsible for running the Coopers and Lybrand world ratings for cricket, one of sport's best-known mathematical models. Jeremy Wyndham is the managing director of a leading market research company. They both live in London.