The "status" on those balls is either "sold", "reserved", or "to be stitched", which suggests you can buy an unorthodox soccer ball, and also that there's only going to be one of each shape. Here is the maker posing with a few of them (and other cool math pictures). No sale information, though.
posted by madcaptenor at 5:06 AM on August 13

Sorting by status reveals that there are, fittingly for something soccer-related, eleven balls stitched and ready to buy. They all have C1 symmetry, which is math speak for 'what symmetry?'
posted by BiggerJ at 5:38 AM on August 13 [1 favorite]

In the UK, signs outside football stadiums show a ball made only of hexagons, a geometric impossibility. Mathematician Matt Parker of @standupmaths challenged us to create a real version: impossiball.
posted by BobTheScientist at 6:09 AM on August 13 [8 favorites]

this can be taken as a definition
A truncated icosahedron?
posted by St. Oops at 7:01 AM on August 13

A truncated icosahedron?
I think this is a statement that the truncated icosahedron is the only polyhedron with 12 pentagons, 20 hexagons, and no pentagons adjacent.
posted by madcaptenor at 8:26 AM on August 13 [1 favorite]

This is silly and I love it!
posted by mazola at 8:40 AM on August 13

(Clicks link) Horrible... IMO, any adjustment makes the beautiful, ugly.
posted by Rash at 1:09 PM on August 13

He describes these all as "buckyballs", but the only buckyball I’ve heard of that forms spontaneously in nature is the truncated icosahedron, which constitutes a very strong argument for a unique suitability as a shape for a soccer ball as well.
posted by jamjam at 2:49 PM on August 13

« Older R.I.P William Orbit   |   "At least the viceroy didn't fall back on traffic... Newer »

This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments