91av

Skip to content

Number of wonders

26 February 2000

Gallimaufry is the word for Imaginary Numbers, edited by William
Frucht. Everything in it, whether poem, story, puzzle, fantasy or idle thought,
is connected with mathematics. The range is extensive, from Andrew Marvell to J.
G. Ballard by way of Lewis Carroll. Fitful entertainment to take on a journey
and pick up during the intervals between sleep. Published by Wiley,
£22.50/$27.95, ISBN 0471332445.

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with 91av events and special offers.

Sign up

or

Existing subscribers

More from 91av

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Archaeopteryx. Artwork of the prehistoric feathered reptile Archaeopteryx which lived around 150 million years ago. Discovered in 1861 in southern Germany, it was the first feathered fossil specimen ever found. Despite possessing bird-like feathers, wings and a wishbone, Archaeopteryx also had sharp teeth, finger digits and a bony tail similar to non-bird predatory dinosaurs. This species and numerous other feathered fossils support the theory that modern day birds evolved from prehistoric theropod dinosaurs.

Life

91av recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds

Culture

Aerial view of an oasis on the edge of the desert town of Mao, known as the 'White City' for the limestone used to build local homes. For centuries, oases have enabled humans to survive, and even to thrive, in some of the harshest environments on earth. Now they are under threat from climate change.

Environment

Striking photos show how sands are encroaching on oases in the Sahara

Regulars

Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…

Comment

Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…

Regulars

Backrooms A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.

Comment

Sci-fi horror film Backrooms is a triumph for its 20-year-old director

Culture

1

Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time

2

Mysterious ‘cold blob’ in the Atlantic suggests the AMOC is weakening

3

Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally

4

Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’

5

A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could destroy the ozone layer

6

Hundreds of new moons are revealing our solar system's violent history

7

Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead

8

Robots are about to overtake armed soldiers as the deciders of war

9

Explore the mind-bending and paradoxical art of M C. Escher

10

Solar farm on the ocean outperforms land-based solar in Taiwan