MathFiction: Paul Bunyan versus the Conveyor Belt (William Hazlett Upson)

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Paul Bunyan versus the Conveyor Belt (1949)

William Hazlett Upson
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
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A clever "twist" on the usual Mobius band story. Answers the age old question: How can you win lots of money betting against poor saps who don't understand topology?

Contributed by Anonymous

I use this story with children in mathematics classes as an enrichment activity. they have paper and create the Mobius strip as the stroy is read so they can see what is happening and make predictions. it's a great enrichment!

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Works Similar to Paul Bunyan versus the Conveyor Belt

According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:

The Sinister Researches of C.P. Ransom by Homer C. Nearing Jr.
A. Botts and the Moebius Strip by William Hazlett Upson
The Geometrics of Johnny Day by Nelson Bond
No-Sided Professor by Martin Gardner
The Gangs of New Math by Robert W. Vallin
Aleph Sub One by Margaret St. Clair
And He Built a Crooked House by Robert A. Heinlein
The Triangular House [La Casa Triangular] by Ramon Gomez de la Serna
The Heart on the Other Side by George Gamow
The Adventures of Topology Man by Alex Kasman

Ratings for Paul Bunyan versus the Conveyor Belt:

Ratings

Have you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.

Mathematical Content:
3.5/5 (4 votes)

Literary Quality:
2.5/5 (2 votes)

Categories:

Genre	Humorous,
Motif	Mobius Strip/Nonorientability,
Topic	Geometry/Topology/Trigonometry,
Medium	Short Stories,

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Exciting News: The 1,600th entry was recently added to this database of mathematical fiction! Also, for those of you interested in non-fictional math books let me (shamelessly) plug the recent release of the second edition of my soliton theory textbook .

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)