Mathematical discoveries of Futurama

Melissa: Hey Carol did you know that many of the writers on Futurama on the Simpsons have advanced math and science degrees?

Carol: That’s just stupid only funny non NERDY people write for Futurama!

Today I want to write about Futurama.

Why?

Because I do!

Did you know Futurama and the Simpsons have many mathematical references?

These animated shows contain hundreds of references to mathematics such as addition, subtraction, long division, and calculus. The Simpsons writers are former mathematicians, scientist and computer scientists. Several of the writers hold advance math degrees from some of the America’s top universities. They have written hundreds of math jokes ranging from fake equations, to jokes about mathematical literacy and mathematical cultural stereotypes. Sometimes math is theme of an episode. Many of these former mathematicians and scientists who wrote for the Simpsons also wrote for Futurama.

In the episode The Lesser of Two Evils, when the two robots Bender and Flexo meet, they make what is to them an amazing coincidence. Their serial numbers were 3370318 and 2716057. The robots then high five each other happily, only having to explain to their confused human acquaintances that both numbers are the sum of 2 cubes.

Another mathematical reference would be the number 1729, which is historically an inside joke for mathematicians. 1729 is sometimes called the Ramanujan-Hardy number. When Mathematician G.H Hardy, mathematical prodigy Srinivasa Ramanujan, in a London Hospital in 1917 he commented to Ramanujan that the taxi he was in had a boring number. However, Ramanujan responded, by saying the number is interesting because it’s the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.

This number 1729 appears in the episode X-mas Story in which Bender receives a card from the machine that built him wishing ‘Son #1729’ a Merry X-mas. It is also used on the hull of the spaceship Nimbus, which Captain Brannigan commands and the bobble head characters in the episode The Farnsworth Paradox, which is used as reference number to the number of alternate universes created.

And now for some reason I no longer hate math.
I found a story I wrote: Read here!