Have you ever wondered how a taxi meter works? Or why it takes so long for an elevator to respond to your call? Or what makes a hit single? In How Long Is a Piece of String?, you’ll find the answers to these and many other everyday questions.

Dip into this intriguing book and discover the astonishing "37% rule" for blind dates, the avoidance tactic of the gentleman’s urinal, and some extraordinary scams that have been devised to get rich quick. Here you will also uncover the origins of the seven-day week and the seven-note scale; an explanation of why underdogs win; some clever techniques for detecting fraud; and the reason why epidemics sweep across a nation, then disappear. How Long Is a Piece of String? is the perfect book for anyone curious about the way in which math underlies our everyday lives.