This math quiz mixes quick mental arithmetic with the stories behind famous numbers. You'll tackle percentages, Roman numerals and number sequences, then meet a boy who named a giant number and a child prodigy who became a star professor at UCLA. No calculator needed, just a clear head and maybe a pencil, and you'll pick up number facts that are handy for showing off at trivia night.
Math has a long and surprisingly human history. Even the humble equals sign had to be invented. Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde introduced it in his 1557 book The Whetstone of Witte, choosing two parallel lines because he felt no two things could be more equal. Before that, writers had to spell out the phrase is equal to again and again.
Math even has its own holiday. Physicist Larry Shaw started Pi Day at San Francisco's Exploratorium science museum in 1988, picking March 14 because 3/14 matches the first digits of pi. In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing it, and many classrooms now mark the day with a slice of pie.
This quiz mixes quick arithmetic with famous numbers and the people behind them. For calculation questions, try estimating first, then see which answer choice is closest. For history questions, think about which era a discovery belongs to. Above all, have fun with it, since math puzzles reward curiosity as much as speed.