When ordering pizza for a larger party, it can be tempting to get two medium pizzas versus one large pizza. It may cost you a little bit more, but it just seems to make more sense (at the time).
“If I order two 12-inch pizzas that should be more than enough for my party than one 18-inch pizza…”
Turns out that information is completely wrong! Fermat’s Library created an illustration to prove that it’s not the case. One large, 18-inch pie boasts a full 28 more square inches of pizza than two small 12-inch pies, making the larger pie by far the better deal.
Here's a useful counterintuitive fact: one 18 inch pizza has more 'pizza' than two 12 inch pizzas pic.twitter.com/hePSpG0pJs
— Fermat's Library (@fermatslibrary) January 7, 2019
Even though the diameter of the large pizza is smaller than the combined diameters of the two medium pies, it still has a larger total area. To get the area of the circle, you have to square the radius (which is half of the diameter) and multiply that by pi (about 3.14). The area of an 18-inch pizza is 254 square inches, while the combined area of two 12-inch pizzas is only 226 inches.
The tweet sent many people on Twitter into a geometry meltdown. Some people were had trouble wrapping their heads around it, while others were thankful that someone else did the math for them.
Yeah, but the crust is arguably the best part and two 12 inch pizzas have 33.3% more crust than a 18 inch pizza. And now I'm hungry, thanks @fermatslibrary! pic.twitter.com/ZUfGicpcWG
— Tamás Görbe (@TamasGorbe) January 7, 2019
A mathematician named Tamás Görbe pointed out that while an 18-inch pie technically gives you more food, two 12-inches pies give you 33.3 percent more crust…Which is my favorite part!