Fun Friday Update and Prep List for October 4

Hello mathematicians, puzzlers, and other curious people!

The Day Job eating my lunch is the closest I have to an excuse for how late this is going out on top of missing last week. What I do have is a plan for making Fun Fridays sustainable.

• No more Tacos \’n\’ Tangents until further notice. Please let me know if you want this to change.
• Problem of the Week and Crafts and Projects sessions will be every other week for the rest of the year. I hope to bring them back to weekly in 2020.
• I\’m working on a suggestion box process for incorporating problem suggestions and crafts from other mathematicians, puzzlers, and other curious people. For now this post\’s comments thread will do.

Elementary Problem of the Week

How much does the water in a swimming pool weigh?

Secondary Problem of the Week

A rock is catapulted with an initial vertical speed of 5 feet per second. How long will it take to land? What happens if you change the initial vertical speed?

Math Crafts and Projects

We will build and decorate Platonic Solids (a type of 3D shapes with some interesting properties) using the following supplies:

• Straws or other easily-cut tubing
• Scissors
• String that fits into the straws (assorted colors if possible)

Alternatives such as toothpicks and fun-tack may be possible but string and straws have (I believe) maximal durability among easily-available materials

If you are \”planning the craft\” on paper, you will need to cut out shapes and put them together using glue or tape.