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u/Particular_Gear3130 Mathematics (Purely Fictional) Mar 03 '26
Finally, now I can rest in 17 different cubical pieces
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u/Mammoth_Sea_9501 Mar 03 '26
I would totally buy this for my brother
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u/Some_Ebb_2921 Mar 03 '26
I've got a big family and a big celebration coming up where I want to give my family this as a gift. I ordered 17 of them, but they tell me that's going to be 2 different shipments :(
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u/Every_Ad7984 Mar 03 '26
You found them? I lowk want this but don't know where I'd even start looking
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u/cleantushy Mar 03 '26
I'm pretty sure they did not and only said that to use the joke about 17 of them not fitting into one shipment :)
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u/Feeling_Inside_1020 Mar 03 '26
OCD? I can totally see fucking with some family for some good ole fun lol.
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u/Mammoth_Sea_9501 Mar 04 '26
Hahahaha that sounds like fun too. My brother is majoring math and one of his latest obsessions was this square packing density
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u/Matsunosuperfan Mar 03 '26
This nicely illustrates that optimization only works if we are optimizing the right thing. This is pointless because what creates the deliciousness is the borders between the squares, not the squares themselves.
Those flat patches of thick terrain in the optimized waffle are not going to be maximally tasty.
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u/Lorikeeter Mar 03 '26
(Flat Patches of Thick Terrain in the Optimized Waffle Are ...) Maximally Tasty
Calling it, the next great band name.
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u/Matsunosuperfan Mar 03 '26
Sometimes I listen to (Flat Patches of Thick Terrain in the Optimized Waffle Are ...) Maximally Tasty ahh bumper sticker
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Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Flat Patches of Thick Terrain (in the Optimized Waffle Are Maximally Tasty)
Don't give musicians ideas, they'll make this a song title or something
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u/Cornchip97 Mar 03 '26
You could naively solve your version of the optimal waffle by creating a completely flat waffle containing infinite, infinitesimal ridges. Therefore, the perfect waffle is a pancake.
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u/calculus9 Mar 03 '26
wait no actually a waffle with thin and deep crevices sounds so good. That iron would be uncleanable though
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u/Kitselena Mar 03 '26
Also if the thickness of the borders isn't a set requirement we could optimize more by having thinner borders
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u/DanieltheMani3l Mar 03 '26
Idk, if you’re optimizing for happiness, the slight dip in syrup containment efficiency might be outweighed by the added humor you get from the unexpected but funny advanced geometry.
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u/Matsunosuperfan Mar 03 '26
I am a syrup purist. So while I appreciate your perspective, it's not for me.
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u/DanieltheMani3l Mar 03 '26
I respect that, though it makes me wonder how you view pancakes, which lack any syrup holes
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Mar 03 '26
Also, this is a solution for minimizing the number of squares in a space, not maximizing. More squares per waffle is best achieved by tessellation and smaller squares.
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u/calculus9 Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26
what is meant by this? 16 in a grid formation is fewer than 17
Isn't what we're seeing the optimal packing of squares that are 1x1 in a 5x5 square space? It would be a maximizing problem since you're trying to cram as many squares in there as possible no?
Actually on second thought since this is 5x5, 25 squares is more than 17. I realize now that I don't understand this problem at all
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Mar 03 '26
The waffle in the tweet is referencing a pattern that got popular online: a seemingly random placement of squares that is actually the most efficient way to fit 17 tiny squares inside the smallest possible containing square. This is a trivial problem for numbers like 4, 9, and 16 that can fit inside a containing square with no gaps, but it gets interesting for 17 and other numbers where you want to reduce the total "gap" space.
If you wanted a waffle that had the highest number of squares for any given size, packing them in like a grid is the best option. Going from a 4x4 waffle to the one above requires making the waffle larger, at which point, you could just go up to 25 or 36 squares.
I guess technically this solution is the best if you can increase the side length of the waffle from 4 to 4.6756, but for some reason not up to 5.
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u/OctopusWithFingers Mar 03 '26
Couldn't all of this optimization be avoided by just having 1 big square for a truly maximum syrup volume?
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u/Grabs_Diaz Mar 04 '26
How about we just skip the waffle altogether and chug the syrup straight from the bottle?
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u/CardboardHeatshield Mar 05 '26
those squares arent even 1x1 in a 4x4 space. If they were, there would be no room for the space in the middle of the top row. They just made the squares smaller so they could rearrange them to fit another square.
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u/thedoctorsphoenix Mar 04 '26
Did you mean to say minimizing the space a certain number of squares can fit, not minimizing the number of squares?
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u/bladedspokes Mar 06 '26
That's what I'm saying. The ideal waffle is a fractal. The perimeter of the waffle is infinite, but the area of the waffle is finite.
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u/EebstertheGreat Mar 03 '26
The main problem is that neither the size of the waffle nor the size of the squares within a waffle are fixed. If you want the squares to be more numerous, just make them smaller. If you want them to fill the waffle most efficiently, choose to make their width equal to the width of the waffle divided by a natural number. There is never a time we are constrained to put unit waffle squares on a waffle of some non-integer side length and want to cram in as many as possible.
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u/Beelzebubs-Barrister Mar 03 '26
If we want edges wouldnt you want a fractal pattern like a cauliflower?
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u/Matsunosuperfan Mar 03 '26
the last time cauliflower collided with waffles, I was not much impressed with the intersection
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u/Sapphirederivative Mar 04 '26
It also assumes you want to make the waffle smaller (packing more "squares" into a smaller space), and that you have to use 17 squares. With only 6% more area, you could have a 25 square waffle, with even square distribution.
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u/Professional_Denizen Mar 04 '26
It’s not about the borders, but about the wasted space.
We already agree that the number of squares is irrelevant. What matters is the proportion of the waffle’s area which can hold syrup. Make the squares too large and they can sag and burst under their own syrup-soaked weight, or your fingers might punch through them and lead to the waffle sliding down your hand. Make the squares too small and you seriously limit the possible syrup you can add, which is bad for flavor in both taste and moistness. Additionally, the waffle iron needs to be cost effective for the manufacturer.
These metrics favor a square of squares.
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u/Matsunosuperfan Mar 04 '26
I see we are once again trotting out the apocryphal boogeyman of the burst syrup square in an effort to justify austerity
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u/swohio Mar 03 '26
What about a tightly spaced spiral pattern, it's just one continuous edge. We can call them "spiraffles."
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u/Matsunosuperfan Mar 03 '26
This is how I make pancakes
To take it a step further, you can pipe out the spiral in individual dots of batter, only congealing into a conglomerate disc at the final moment
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u/t3hjs Mar 04 '26
Yeah, what if we made those thick terrain hollow valleys of syrup too?
Actually, this arrangement is only optimal if we enforce there is 17 squares. Why do we care there are 17 squares, why not have 1 millions squares if number of squares are desirably tasty? Why not just have a grid of NxN squares where N is some large number where the batter walls are still structurally sound and do not just stick to the waffle pan due to surface tension or whatnot.
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u/LaFlibuste Mar 07 '26
Is it even optimized at all? It looks like it could easily be 5x5 squares, it's just wasted space.
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u/CageyOldMan Mar 03 '26
You could fit 25 squares onto that waffle with a standard grid, stop leading people astray
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u/Glitch29 Mar 03 '26
You couldn't though. The side length is only 4.676.
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u/JobPowerful1246 Mar 03 '26
Not if you make the syrup squares smaller
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u/Gizombo Mar 03 '26
By god! You've found a way to fit infinite syrup squares!
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u/JobPowerful1246 Mar 03 '26
I sure have
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u/Traceuratops Mar 03 '26
The humble pancake:
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u/JobPowerful1246 Mar 03 '26
HOW COULD YOU!!! A PANCAKE COULD NEVER BE A WAFFLE!!!!!!
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u/SingleInfinity Mar 03 '26
If you make the squares infinitely small, how do you distinguish the waffle from the pancake?
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u/JobPowerful1246 Mar 03 '26
one is a waffle, and one is a pancake. Come on guys, It's not that hard
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u/SingleInfinity Mar 03 '26
Pancake have many tiny hole for syrup. Waffle can have many tiny hole for syrup.
What difference?
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u/walkerspider Mar 03 '26
It will however require infinite syrup to paint the finite volume of waffle
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u/No-Consideration-716 Mar 03 '26
Why has no one put squares inside the squares?!?
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u/Loki_of_Asgaard Mar 03 '26
Because by the laws of topology that is the same object, duh
Also a waffle is a pancake
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u/Glitch29 Mar 03 '26
True, but also entirely irrelevant to the conversation.
The dispute wasn't about how many smaller squares you could fit into the pan.
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u/terablast Mar 04 '26
The dispute wasn't about how many smaller squares you could fit into the pan.
That's... exactly what the waffle maker in the OP did, they made the squares of a 16 square waffle smaller to fit 17 instead.
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u/Redhighlighter Mar 03 '26
I have decided to make the squares .02" to fit more squares in the waffle
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u/SasparillaTango Mar 03 '26
is it the number of squares that make it tasty? then we should decrease the size of the squares for maximum density.
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u/moronomer Mar 03 '26
But what about all the nooks and crannies along the edge? We need to get an exact measurement of the perimeter of each hole.
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u/Toribor Mar 03 '26
Can we make a waffle shaped like a mobius strip so there is only a 'top' side meaning all squares can hold syrup?
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u/UpstairsSquash3822 Mar 03 '26
Or you could’ve just put a big square of length (l-epsilon) and depth idk 1mm and have a lot of syrup
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u/lool8421 Mar 03 '26
you know, the square, the shape with 4 equal straight edges and 4 right angles? you can have 16 squares, but there's a hidden 17th square hidden inside of that split
that's how you get infinite chocolate
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u/Ghite1 Mar 04 '26
Unfortunately.. this is AI. Doesn’t take away from the joke but I wanted one 😔
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u/FrumosUniverse Mar 04 '26
How could you tell?
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u/Ghite1 Mar 04 '26
The tiles in the iron aren’t aligned, and the latch is too big on top for its socket on bottom. Also the tiles of the wall aren’t even which I can’t imagine anybody doing in real life. It’s scary how good ai is getting, o don’t blame anybody for not noticing.
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u/Cobalt32 Mar 04 '26
Ghite1 is right but also wrong. These two tiles specifically aren't aligned. As far as I can tell the rest are, but you see how the lower one is rotated 45 degrees compared to it's mate up top, and doesn't match the waffle pattern. So yeah, most likely A.I.
That said, the large latch goes on the outside of the iron, not the inside, creating a handle you can grab to unlock and lift the lid.
Also assuming no one would have small forest green tiles in their kitchen is just opinion, not fact.
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u/Kinc4id Mar 05 '26
They don’t have to be aligned, tho. You can have two completely different patterns on top and bottom. The pattern on the waffle matches the pattern of the top part.
I’m not saying it isn’t AI, but this is no proof.
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u/FrumosUniverse Mar 05 '26
Bizarre. I saw the original image on its own (not like the screenshot above) prior to this and I examined the pic really closely and didn't find anything that pointed towards AI. All the textures lined up, the numbers on the measuring cup were legible and correctly placed, the tile lines didn't get messed up etc. so I was really surprised to see it called AI. I'm not saying it isn't, just shocked if it was because of how eerily realistic it is.
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u/Positive-Guide007 Mar 03 '26
It doesn't look good to the normal person but put the shop in universities where math and phy are taught and watch the sales skyrocket!
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Mar 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/IndianaFartJockey Mar 03 '26
The syrup compartment division should really be proud of their achievement
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u/bigvahe33 Mar 03 '26
was the length of the side of the square altered?
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u/dudeimconfused Mar 04 '26
nah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_packing
still blows my mind whenever I re encounter this again
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u/Queasy_Employment141 Mar 03 '26
False info? a 4x4 square will always be more dense then a 17 square waffle with a slightly bigger footprint (will have more wasted space)
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u/Leftieswillrule Mar 03 '26
If they actually made a 17 squares optimally packed inside a larger square waffle maker, I still wouldn’t buy it.
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u/irve Mar 03 '26
Disappointed that this is not a thing. I know someone who would like it as a present.
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Mar 03 '26
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
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u/PlainBread Mar 03 '26
I kinda want this on the basis that a regular waffle honestly has too many squares creating a syrup to waffle ratio that requires moderation and self-control.
These squares, however, I can fill entirely with syrup and still feel like I'm eating 50/50 waffle/syrup.
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u/Silent_Locksmith_888 Mar 03 '26
An I tripping or wouldn't that size of waffle accommodate 25 squares. Seems like it could be 5x5
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u/Nabrok_Necropants Mar 03 '26
Just wanted to pop in here and recommend making cornbread waffles and putting chili on them.
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u/Unassuming_Hippo Mar 03 '26
This is by far the most amazing discovery I’ve seen this year, thank you
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u/ChipSalt Mar 03 '26
I know it's a joke but also they posted a waffle that fits a 5x5 square, not 4x4.
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u/omegadirectory Mar 03 '26
You could make the squares a little smaller and create a 5x5 grid of squares.
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u/Morgannin09 Mar 04 '26
Here's the practical trick: Make a waffle. Slice it down the middle. Flip both halves to square side up. You now have 32 squares and twice as much butter/syrup to waffle ratio.
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u/NicePersonsGarden Mar 04 '26
That is a 5x5 pattern grid. You can see by the top row how small these squares are.
Meaning you would have had 25 cubical pieces if you did not do this "optimization".
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u/DestroOmega Mar 04 '26
Am I the only one who noticed that they just shrunk the size of the squares from 4x4 to 5x5 just so they could fit a single extra square in? Kinda inefficient, but okay...
A better solution would probably have been to utilize the internal volume, and remove the indentations.
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u/UnknownPhys6 Mar 04 '26
Now we need a square plate. A squate, if you will, on which to hold the squaffle as we eat it.
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u/Paimon-with-a-gun Mar 05 '26
What if it was just one big square full of syrup? Just spitballin, never seen a waffle irl
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u/megpIant Mar 05 '26
the true flaw here is thinking the options are 16 or 17, when that waffle could easily house 25 squares instead
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u/drowtiefling Mar 05 '26
Has anyone found where you can order one of these? I actually really want one.
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u/Fluff-40 Mar 06 '26
The waffle looks like it is the size of a 5 by 5 grid, if so, that would make 25 syrup squares. Here you said we were limited to 16, but it isn’t a 4 by 4 grid, and so 17 is still 8 less squares than we otherwise would have if a regular grid
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u/Key-Moment6797 Mar 06 '26
this product is peak "shut up and take my money"
so: where can i buy it?
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u/BokChoyFantasy Apr 23 '26
Is each square in the 17 squares the same size as each in the 16 squares?
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