How to Fold a Piece of Paper in Half

I was thinking about random topics, as I often do, and I started to wonder about the notion that a piece of paper can't be folded in half more than 8 times. It's something I learned at some point in my life and have never been able to disprove. Right now I tried it on a Post-It Note and could only get to six folds. Hence it must be impossible, right? Wrong!

A quick web search revealed that in 2001 a Pomona Valley high school junior, Britney, derived the formula for the maximum number of times paper could be folded and then proceed to fold a piece of paper in half 12 times. Way to go, small town math whiz Britney! She later used this mathematical talent to become a champion figure skater!

Seriously though: Go Britney! Way to put the long-established "paper can't be folded more than eight times" facists to shame.

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by MixedMetaphors.net published on November 9, 2005 1:41 PM.

My Ego Is Big and Fat was the previous entry in this blog.

I Am Apparently Very Scary is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.