this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2026
466 points (96.8% liked)

Science Memes

19630 readers
2169 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] gressen@lemmy.zip 70 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Except the 17 square version holds less syrup than the 16 square version because you need to reduce the size of the squares to fit more of them.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 55 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

If you take the original 16 squares and reduce them each in half, you can have 32 squares. Doctorate now, please.

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 37 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If the squares are half the size, you get 4x the number of squares, assuming you're measuring side length and not area.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 35 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Oh hey sorry I didn't know you went to school for this shit. Fine. you make the waffles.

[–] deranger@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 days ago (2 children)

One square is the optimal waffle if you’re optimizing for syrup volume alone.

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 6 points 2 days ago

I will put you to work testing this theory.

Proceed with waffle preparation and delivery, I'll be waiting, and will provide my own syrup. Please note all waffles are to be gluten-free, as my body hates me and the things I enjoy.

[–] moody@lemmings.world 4 points 2 days ago (3 children)

If you serve the syrup in a cup, then the syrup to waffle ratio is infinite.

[–] bumblefumble@mander.xyz 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I post this comment quite often, but a number divided by zero is not infinity, so the syrup to waffle ratio would actually be undefined.

[–] TheTetrapod@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Fine, as the quantity of waffle approaches zero, the syrup to waffle ratio approaches infinity.

This tracks because I'm always left with syrup on my plate after finishing the waffle. So I've independently verified your hypothesis.

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Why even have a waffle at all, let's drink the syrup!

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 13 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I should put "Bachelor's in Waffleology" on my resume

[–] OpenStars@piefed.social 3 points 2 days ago

Dr. Waffleologist!

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] arcine@jlai.lu 3 points 1 day ago

You can take this to the limit and make a waffle with infinitely many holes, each infinitely small !

It's just crepes.

[–] WhyIHateTheInternet@lemmy.world 42 points 2 days ago

For those who didn't know you can just pour as much syrup as you like, regardless of the square count.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Why would do this?

[–] stan_stanminson@lemmy.dbzer0.com 53 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Why we don't make one giant square to hold even more syrup?

[–] ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org 8 points 2 days ago

This goes to 17 sqares!

[–] yuriRO@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 2 days ago
[–] Redjard@reddthat.com 8 points 2 days ago

can make it round so the syrup spreads more evenly from the center.

Oops you made pancakes

[–] nightofmichelinstars@sopuli.xyz 17 points 2 days ago

Because then it gets too soggy in the middle. The magic of the waffle is that the tops of the square dividers stay mostly dry until you start cutting into them. So you get freshly syruped waffle throughout the eating process.

Or - here's a radical idea -

EAT A SECOND FUCKING WAFFLE

[–] robyn@lemmy.org 9 points 2 days ago

The evil waffle

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 16 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I keep telling people that you can make nice, even months if you just have 13 of them but nooooo, 13 is a prime number, you can't divide it by 2, 3, 4, or 6! Boo fucking hoo, I want every month in the year to start on the same day of the week.

[–] thessnake03@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Found Henry Ford's account

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 2 points 1 day ago

Hey, fuck that racist bastard. I just hate trying to remember his many days are in a month because the current system is stupid.

[–] ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Doesn't add up, either. Plus, you still have leap years and seconds.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

yes it does. 13 even months with one extra day for new years

[–] ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] Etterra@discuss.online 2 points 1 day ago

You tack the extra time on the end, shifting what day of the week the 1st falls on for the rest of the year. Instead of the end of February, which is just the most random fucking choice that I can only figure was determined because the calendar was set centuries before we had lightbulbs.

you haven't looked at the calendar. it works.

[–] apotheotic@beehaw.org 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

365/13 is 28.07 - what are you doing with the extra day? + leap years too

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The last month is 1 day longer (or 2 on a leap year) which resets the sequence. So exactly 4 weeks per month until the end, then new years has a buffer day.

[–] apotheotic@beehaw.org 3 points 1 day ago

Lol, you've got my vote

[–] palmtrees2309@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Aren't Hexagons the bestagon for tiling a plane for most holding capacity while reducing the "walls" than any shape?

[–] Zwiebel@feddit.org 21 points 2 days ago

This here is just the best known solution to packing 17 squares specifically

[–] FishFace@piefed.social 4 points 2 days ago

The honeycomb theorem is actually better than that: there isn't any way to divide up the plane with equal-area shapes (even if it's not a tiling in the sense of having any pattern) it won't be better than hexagons.

But that video can die in a fire!

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] elbucho@lemmy.world 24 points 2 days ago

I wonder if John Bidwell is haunted by his discovery. I know I would be. That shit is cursed as fuck.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

How about 25?

 _ _ _ _ _
|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|
[–] shane@feddit.nl 3 points 1 day ago

If you look at the image on the left you'll see that 5 of the smaller squares won't fit in the big one.

[–] Furbag@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

This image is cropped so poorly. I've seen the uncropped version recently too...

[–] unnamedau@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

on one hand, i want a 17-square waffle maker. on the other hand i think i would get brutally murdered by anyone i ever tried to make waffles for

[–] GreenCrunch@piefed.blahaj.zone 13 points 2 days ago

If they don't appreciate the 17-square waffle, they don't deserve it.

I need to find this waffle iron!

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I don't think waffle enjoyers want one more square in the same waffle, they want a specific shape and syrup/butter ratio per square. This waffle bricks that with its thick sections.

[–] enbiousenvy@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

TIL the shape in waffle is to hold syrup.

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It holds blueberries very well too!

[–] enbiousenvy@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

if the bottom part of the waffle is the inverted shape of the top one, it should fit another waffle. To properly stack them

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

But it's not, so you need blueberries to be able to stack waffles reliably.

[–] kozy138@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 days ago

Shapes are dumb.

load more comments
view more: next ›