AfterMaths: Is Friday 13th really unlucky?

Happy half term to those who celebrate. In this slightly re-routed Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky lean into the fact that it is Friday the 13th and explore whether the date really deserves its unlucky reputation.

From Gregorian calendar cycles to cultural superstitions across Europe and Asia, they unpack the mathematics behind how often Friday the 13th actually occurs and what the data really says about risk and coincidence.

There is also a wonderfully elegant maths problem to enjoy. If 128 players enter a knockout tennis tournament, how many matches are played? What begins as a procedural halving exercise turns into a beautiful example of structural thinking and the idea that the best mathematicians often do the simplest maths.

To round things off, Becky brings some Winter Olympics maths of life. From moguls and big air to 360s and 720s, they explore how angles, turns and even scaled scoring systems appear in freestyle snow events and what that might mean for the way we think about comparison and ranking.

There is no interview episode next week due to half term, but Aftermaths will return as usual. If you have a mathematical mystery, historical deep dive or classroom curiosity you would like explored, email primarymathspodcast@twinkl.co.uk or send a message on social media and Jon and Becky will happily fall down the rabbit hole for you.

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