This week's MIRL will have you avoid walking into walls, if you weren't already! How can math help us describe distances when our paths are restricted?

If you want more surface area for your salad dressing in each bite, consider kale—or other greens with negative curvature! How can math help us describe the ways that surfaces curve?

How can you assign a number to the steepness of a road? Click to learn how math can help us make big hills safer! 🚚⛰️

What does math have to say about the way apples and oranges are boxed and stacked? Click to find out about pennies, packing, and “kissing numbers”! 🍎🍊

Why is this deer in stylish earrings? Click to find out how mathematicians and ecologists work together to save wildlife!

Some might say today's MIRL is a little eccentric, but we prefer to think of it as focused! 😂 Click to learn how water fountains and comets teach us about parabolas and ellipses… (no, not those ellipses!)

How do brands make their logos look great on everything from business cards to billboards? Click to find out the math behind it all!

Have you ever felt so low-energy you formed a minimal surface?  If so, you might be a soap bubble! Click to find out why bubbles are always spheres.

How many rolls of toilet paper does it take to make a mummy? We hope your Halloween will be mostly treats, but how do you solve this trick?

If you thought a "braid group" was a hair braiding club, think again! What is braid theory, and how does this branch of math use expressions and equations to talk about braids?

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) help you find your way around by figuring out where you are. But how does it work, and how does geometry help?

Some things are as easy as pie, but fairly dividing a pie between friends might not be one of them! How can mathematics help everyone get their fair share?

While many things in factories just need to get from one place to another, some might also need to be flipped over along the way. How do factories do it, and how can math explain how this works?

Measuring our world is important for a wide variety of reasons. But how do people do it? And how do they use math to make it all work?

Have you ever seen a video of a helicopter that appears to float while its propeller stands still? Why do cameras do that, and how can math explain it?

Planning a trip with multiple stops can be tricky. The order in which you visit each stop can significantly impact your travel time. So how do you choose the best order?

Shuffling a deck of cards can be fast and fun, but how many shuffles should you perform so that the deck is random enough?