Series 3, Episode 5: Twelve Pentagons

Click here for more episodes

If you’re using the player above to listen to this episode, click here to open this page in a new browser window so you can visit the links below without losing your place.

Another episode of the podcast that fears no detail, where Matt talks balls, Steve talks fiery rings and Helen sings a tortoise into space.

00:55 – Matt’s’s bit (pre-order “Love Triangle” here!)
19:30 – Steve’s bit
35:44 – Helen’s bit

Want to get in touch? We’re on Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram or email podcast@festivalofthespokennerd.com.

If you’d like inbox updates about this podcast and our plans for future live shows, join our mailing list. If you’re into merch, DVDs, downloads or books check out the Spoken Nerd Shop. If songs are your thing, Helen has created a free album on Bandcamp with tracks from (almost) every episode so far.

This series is sponsored by Brilliant.org, the place to learn maths and science through interactive online lessons. Start your free trial at Brilliant.org/apoud, and the first 200 Unnecessary Detail listeners who sign up for annual membership will get 20% off on the same link.

Corrections and clarifications:

None, so far

And here’s a load of extra Unnecessary Detail from this episode:

Images of the original UK brown street signs, and Impossiball from two different angles, and the spectacularly octagonal wedding cake are all below.
If you want to watch the Festival of the Spoken Nerd show featuring Matt’s original football stadium street sign campaign, it’s over here.
For all the latest updates, visit mathsballs.com and check out a new video landing on Matt’s YouTube channel this Thursday!
John Paul’s Balls – aka 12 Pentagons – can be found here.
Want to show your support in person? Purchase one of Matt’s exclusive campaign t-shirts here.
Matt’s hosting a live Evening Of Unnecessary Detail in New York City in August – get tickets here!
At some point, Steve will have (or already has) videos aplenty on popping hot chocolate bubbles, spinning fire in plastic half-doughnut channels, Mexican waves and more on his YouTube channel.
Download “One Small Steppe” with lyrics from Helen’s Bandcamp Page – free or pay what you want!
Brian Mackenwells can be found over here. He wrote the original poem that the space tortoise song is based on, and he writes other brilliant stuff too!
Pictures of Helen’s daughter’s space animal scrapbook, a hexagonal tortoise shell and a breed of tortoise called the Geometric Tortoise are all below.
Zond 5 wasn’t just about sending tortoises around the moon… they also took some pretty decent photos of Earth, and scared the hell out of NASA in the process. More about the mission here.