The color patterns on the stickers are actually some of the solutions to a mathematical problem: How can we cover a flat surface with tiles of the exact same shape and size where each tile has five sides and is “convex”
15 different solutions to this problem have been found.
This one is called the Cairo pentagonal tiling because its design is found paving the streets of cairo.
This one was discovered in 2015 by mathematicians Casey Mann, Jennifer McLoud, and David Von Derau of the University of Washington Bothell using a computer program.
Michaël Rao of the École normale supérieure de Lyon (France) proved on May 1 2017 that these 15 are the only possible ways to tile a surface.
They were mathematical Pokemon and we caught them all.
Take a picture of where you found our pentagonal tiling stickers and share it with
#welovemath!
Want to decorate your own town with our tiling stickers? You can download the designs and print the files on sticker paper.
If you want to know more about the pentagonal tiling problem you can read this more extensive explanation.
IMAGINARY is a travelling exhibition that shows mathematics can be beautiful, interactive, something you can touch, or even stick to a wall.
It has visited 55 countries since 2007 and is now celebrating its 10th birthday.
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