"Well whistle me Dixie, the answer is Pi!"

I wanted to produce a light hearted blog for my second post, so I decided to root out some clips of Maths in movie scenes. However, this isn't an homage to the Theory of Everything or Rainman, this isn't a celebration of super geeks being uber geeky, this is simply some funny moments, mostly where the Maths is flawed or makes up part of a comical, or at least memorable movie scene. 

You may well have noticed some of these before, or perhaps forgotten you've seen them, anyway, here are some clips for you to enjoy and some interesting trivia to go with them. If you enjoy this, I'm planing on finding similar clips of Maths on the small screen in television programmes for a blog post next term.

Adams Family Values (1993)

Although a little macabre, this family have been entertaining us for generations, and in this movie the young son Pugsley revealed the extent of his mathematical ability one evening whilst standing on the roof of the family home with his sister, Wednesday.

Wednesday "Pugsley, the baby weighs ten pounds, the cannon ball weighs twenty pounds. Which will hit the stone walkway first?"
Pugsley "I'm still on fractions."

Here's the full scene;

Did you know that Thing T Thing has been played by four actors throughout his appearances in the films and TV series? Thats 40 different digits to have appeared on screen playing the same character.

The Full Monty (1997)

A classic Brit- Flick, full of humour and some fantastic comical scenes from the likes of Robert Carlyle. This scene is where they figure out how much money they might make by charging £10 a ticket for their Full Monty show.

(Warning - This clip contains strong language and references of a sexual nature.)

The Full Monty holds the record for the highest grossing British film in history, taking a record £160.5 million. (Source IMDB)

Night At The Museum 2 (2009)

"Well whistle me Dixie, the answer is Pi!"

The Einstein bobbleheads in this scene were too funny not to get a mention. Adam Sandler and Amy Adams need a little assistance from on of the greatest mathematicians of our time in order to decipher the code on an ancient tablet. 

Just to clarify, the original combination for Ahkmenrah's Tablet is actually 12351235657923

Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)

Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson almost come a cropper a few times in this action movie. If it's not water bottles, it's the classic St Ives riddle, here are two clips of both problems:

First the jug problem: 

And the St Ives riddle;

Here is a link to the St Ives Riddle and an explanation.

Back to the Future - Part 3 (1990)

I love this movie trilogy, probably giving away my 80's baby credentials by admitting that. This little clip is from the third instalment, I could have chosen from many clips in any of the three films, but I chose this one, Doc relating the magnitude of his broken heart to his Clara being one in a googolplex. 

As an aside, did you know that the official global headquarters of google in California is called the Googleplex?

Mean Girls (2004)

Possibly the most popular American teen high school movie (YUCK) since Grease, Lindsey Lohan finds herself in the school Mathletes team and ends up leading the school to victory when she remembers that the limit does not exist.

Despite being awarded several lengthy custodial sentences, Lohan has spent only 12 days in total in jail since her first sentence in 2007, although she has apparently spent 35 days under house arrest. (Source - Celebuzz.com)

For A Few Dollars More (1965)

"I thought I was having trouble with my adding..."

My Mum loves her westerns, Clint Eastwood is one of her favourites and he has to be the most recognisable cowboy in the whole Wild West. Here's Clint showing us that if there is one qualification an outlaw doesn't need it's an ability to count!

 A numerical fact about Clint; at birth he weighed in at a healthy 11lb 6oz!

Coincidentally, in Back to the Future Part 3, when Marty finds himself in the Old West and is asked for his name, he chooses to be called Clint Eastwood.

And finally, in glorious technicolour,

The Wizard of Oz  (1939)

Bless the poor Scarecrow, even when he finally gets his wish and has a brain......

Now, actually, I wanted to include this scene as a perfect link to a fab little resource, so if you have read this far then here is the buried treasure at the end. 

The Wizard of Oz: From Fractions to Formulas (2011) is a podcast by the Open University. Using drama isn't everyones cup of tea when it comes to teaching Maths, I know, but there is a lot of thought that is clearly visible in this piece, it should at least be worth a listen!

"It’s a parody of the Wizard of Oz, and is based on an Open University radio programme; but instead of a Scarecrow, talking Tin-Man and cowardly Lion, our Dorothy encounters some rather challenging mathematical concepts!"

The full track can be heard on the website, where you can also download a transcript, or you can download it from iTunesU.


I hope these clips have provided a little light relief as the summer term draws to close. 

Wishing all teachers out there a fantastic, relaxing, summer break!

Thanks for reading my blog, feel free to give me a follow @jennypeek, the door may be locked but I open it happily for members of the education profession.