17x01 - Math Cure

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

There.

Ha ha ha ha!

That does it.

I'm at the end
of my rope here.

I'm trying to help out
my friend paul in his warehouse,

But this place
is so disorganized,

I can't get
anything done.

You know, if these parts
were numbered,

It would be
a whole lot easier.

There's absolutely
no place to work here.

No one calculated
how much to use per box.

The scale only goes
to 5 pounds.

What am I going to do,
weigh this twice?

[Telephone rings]

[Ring]

Hello.

Oh, paul.

What do you mean,
"how's it going?"

I got to tell you,
not so good.

This place
is a disaster.

It needs organization.

It needs...it needs...
You know what this place needs?

It needs math.

I mean, everyone else
is using it all the time.

[Ding]

Girl: using math,
I determine

The length of the foot,
the width of the foot,

And the arch length
of the foot.

Man: counting
the number of garments
they bring in is math.

Adding up the invoice,
the prices.

Kids: 1, 2, 3, sh**t.

I'm trying
to match up numbers.

♪ That's what math's got to do,
got to do with it ♪

It's 11...by 14.



♪ That's what math's got to do,
got to do with it ♪

I'm going to use




♪ Innovation,
syncopation ♪

♪ Using all
the information ♪

♪ It's kinetic,
energetic ♪

♪ If you've got
the right relation ♪

The whole idea is to match up
the patterns perfectly.

♪ Put them all together ♪

♪ Add them up, and when
you're through with it ♪

♪ That's what math's got to do,
got to do with it ♪



I like to match colors.

♪ Oh, calculation,
exploration ♪

♪ Using your imagination ♪

♪ Geometric,
it's electric ♪

♪ If you've got
the right equation ♪

♪ Now put them all together ♪

♪ Add them up, and when
you're through with it ♪

♪ That's what math's got to do,
got to do with it ♪

Man: this recipe
calls for a cup of flour

And a half a cup
of sugar.

♪ Put them all together,
add them up ♪

♪ And when you're
through with it ♪

♪ That's what math's got to do,
got to do with it ♪

You see what I mean?

You do? Great.

Then I'll put math
to work here right away.

Whew.

I am determined
to use math

To help get this place
in order.

So the first thing
I'll do is

I'll take
all of these gifts,

And I'll rearrange them
into groups based on size.

Then I'll measure some paper,
wrap the gifts, pack them up,

And have them ready
by, oh...5:00,

Just in time for
the overnight-delivery pickup.

You see, math is a way
of thinking of things.

It helps us find solutions
to our problems,

Unless, of course, you're only
focusing on the problem,

And in that case, you'll
only end up going in circles,

And that's
what happens at first

The girl
in this book.

It's called...
Math curse.

Narrator: on monday
in math class,

Mrs. Fibonacci says,
"you know, you can think

Of almost everything
as a math problem."

On tuesday, I started
having problems.

[Yawn]

I wake up at 7:15.

It takes me 10 minutes
to get dressed,


To eat my breakfast,

And one minute
to brush my teeth.

Suddenly,
it's a problem!

If my bus leaves at 8:00,
will I make it on time?

How many minutes in one hour?
How many teeth in one mouth?

I look in my closet,
and the problems get worse.

I have one shirt,




And that ugly plaid shirt
my uncle zeno sent me.

How many shirts
is that altogether?

How many shirts
would I have

If I threw away
that awful plaid shirt?

When will uncle zeno quit
sending me such ugly shirts?

I'm getting
a little worried.

Everything
seems to be a problem.

I take the milk out
for my cereal and wonder,

How many quarts
in a gallon?

How many pints
in a quart?

How many inches
in a foot?

How many feet
in a yard?

How many yards
in a neighborhood?

How many inches
in a pint?

How many feet
in my shoes?

Mrs. Fibonacci has obviously put
a math curse on me.

Everything I look at
or think about

Has become
a math problem.

I tried to get on the bus
without thinking about anything,

But there are 5 kids
already on the bus.


At my stop.


At the next stop,

And 5 more get on
at the last stop.

The whole morning
is one problem after another.

There are 24 kids
in my class.

I just know someone is going to
bring in cupcakes to share.

We sit in 4 rows
with 6 desks in each row.

What if mrs. Fibonacci
rearranges the desks

To make 6 rows?




I'm about to
really lose it when...

The lunch bell rings.

Unfortunately for me,

Lunch is pizza
and apple pie.

Each pizza is cut
into 8 equal slices.

Each pie is cut
into 6 equal slices.

And you know
what that means.

Fractions.

If I want 2 slices
of pizza,

Should I ask for 1/8, 2/8,
or 2 slices of pizza?

What is another way to say
half of an apple pie?



La moitie
d'une tarte aux pommes.

In art, we finally get to relax
with a connect-the-dot picture.

Here's my picture.

Too bad
it turns out to be

A connect-the-ancient-
mayan-numerals picture.

I stagger out of school.

I'm a math zombie now.

What if this keeps up
for a whole year?

How many minutes
of math madness would that be?

"What's your problem?"
Says my sister.

"365 Days times 24 hours
times 60 minutes!" I snarl.

I think I'd better
go to bed.

Then the problems
really begin.

I dream I'm trapped in a room
with no doors and no windows.

The room is covered
with a lifetime of problems.

I only have
one piece of chalk.

How do I get out?

I'm about
to give up and die

When the answer to my problem
comes to me.

Fractions!

I break the chalk
in half...

Then I put
the 2 halves together.

One half plus one half
equals one whole [hole].

I put the hole on the wall
and jump out.

I wake up on wednesday
morning at 7:15.

It takes me 10 minutes
to get dressed,


To eat my breakfast,

And one minute
to brush my teeth.

My bus leaves at 8:00.
What time will I be ready?



I've broken
the math curse.

I can solve
any problem,

And life
is just great!

Until science class,
when mr. Newton says,

"You know, you can think
of almost everything
as a science experiment."

Take a look at this.

I think I've got
the situation worked out.

Huh? Now, watch this.

Ha ha ha ha!

Perfect.

When you realize that math
is a way to solve problems,

You begin to see it
as a cure, not a curse.

Math guides you through
countless situations every day,

Whether you're
aware of it or not.

Well, think about it.
How have you used math today?

When you're on the elevator,
there's lots of buttons,

And you have to press a button,
and you're using math.

When I'm counting money,
I'm using math.

When I pack
my backpack,

I have to know
how much stuff will fit.

I know how tall I am
because my mom
measures me at home.

When my mom says
to clean up the living room,

It doesn't mean half;
it means the entire thing.

When I make pancakes,
I measure everything.

When I use my legos,
I use 10 on one side,

And then I use 10
on the other side
so it'll be even.

When I go buy a carpet,
before I do,

I measure the floor
so that when I get the carpet,

The carpet fits perfect.

People use math
in amazingly different ways.

Math is so much more
than just 1 + 1 = 2.

For example,
do you think

The artist
who made this or this

Used mathematical thinking
to create it?

Well, a calculated guess
would be yes.

Most artists find
that math figures into
everything they make,

And deborah golens
is no exception.

She's currently working
on several murals

For the new york subway system
at sheepshead bay.

This community
is near the ocean,

So fish is the central theme
of her murals.

Deborah golens:
usually I'll start

By making some drawings
in my sketchbook,

And when I find
one I like,

I'll make a full-blown drawing
using color,

And I'll even start
to draw in

The fish tiles
in the background from it.

To make the fish tile,
I drew 5 circles,

And the center circle
next to the other circles

Became the shape
of the tile.

The width of the tile
is the same

As the diameter
of the circle.

This mural will need
about 200 fish tile.

I'm going to use
a special cutter I had made

To cut out shapes,

And the only difference
between this and a cookie cutter

Is that it has
a wooden board on the inside

That pushes the clay out
when I push this handle.

I can cut out 15 shapes
out of 25 pounds of clay.

Now I'll put the blank
cutout piece of clay

Into my mold so it can make
the impression of the fish tile.

These are some fish tile
I've just made from wet clay.

Now, after they're
fired once,

They shrink a bit
in size.

I need to know
how much it shrinks

In order to gauge
the final size of the mural.

So I make a ruler
out of clay,

And I fire it
so I can compare

Exactly how much
the shrinkage rate is.

In this case,
it's about 11%.

Then I draw my picture,
very large,

Onto a plastic
piece of paper,

And I trace the images
from the sheet onto the clay.

When I trace the image
of the fisherman onto it,

I cut out the pieces where
the fisherman is going to go.

I remove
those fish tile pieces,

Creating
this blank space,

And then I fill
that blank space in

With tiles that I cut out
in the shape of the fisherman.

I have numbers
on the back of every tile,

And I have a chart that lets me
keep track of the numbers

So I can put them back
in their same spots.

This mural has
been fired once already

But not glazed yet.

When it's glazed,
it will look like this one--

Colorful and ready
to install.

It's like decorating
a cake.

Because of their shape,

The tiles fit together
like a jigsaw puzzle.

Since all the tiles have been
glued to a mesh background,

I can install them
in sections.

When I see my work
in the subway stations
or in another place,

It feels very nice.
I love what I do,

And math is
definitely a tool

Just as much as my ruler
or my hands.

♪ That's what math's got to do,
got to do with it ♪

♪ Put them all together,
add them up ♪

♪ And when you're
through with it ♪

♪ That's what math's got to do,
got to do with it ♪

♪ Uh-huh ♪

Whoo!

It is amazing how difficult
it is to sort things.

I've got big packages
and little packages,

Some going on the ground,
some traveling by air.

Whoo! Well, if you think this
is a mathematical achievement,

Imagine trying to ship
millions of packages

To hundreds of countries
every single day.

Behind the scenes
at a federal express
sorting center,

You'll find tens of thousands
of packages

Going this way or that,

And each is heading
to a different destination.

Patrick coleman is
a ramp agent at fed ex.

After 8 years
on the job,

He knows the system
inside and out.

Patrick coleman:
what's happening here now

Is we're sorting
packages.

Fed ex has got

The largest and biggest
sort facility that I know of.

It's just like
a gigantic video game.

A lot of companies
like to say

That they can do
the job that we can,

But no one sorts
packages like fed ex.

Levar: the process begins
when a federal express courier

Picks up a package.

Good afternoon.

Hi. How are you?

She immediately
scans the box,

Which electronically
tells fed ex

The package
is in their hands.

Then all the boxes and letters
the couriers have picked up

Are transferred
to a big rig.

The truck drives
to a huge building

Called a hub, or sorting center,
and backs right in.

The packages are unloaded
onto a conveyor belt

Which will sort
each package

And route it
to its final destination.

Coleman: the building
is approximately over


And houses,
at any given time,

Anywhere from 500-1,000
employees.

By use of levers
and belts,

We're routing packages
to destinations all
over the united states

And a lot of different
countries internationally.

Levar: the belt carries
the packages to a scanner,

Which weighs each box
and measures its size

With invisible
laser beams.

Coleman: the dimensional scanner
uses information

Such as the length,
width, and height

To produce the volume
of a package,

Of the amount
of freight or space

Contained inside
the package.

Levar: a mathematical formula
based on weight and size

Tells fed ex how much
to charge the customer

For shipping
the package.

Coleman: the packages
are now flowing

Towards
the multidirectional scanner,

Which is a group
of 14 different cameras

That read the labels
anywhere on the package

Except for the bottom.

Levar: the label
tells the scanner

Where the box
is being shipped.

Once this information
is in the computer,

The machinery knows
exactly what to do.

Coleman: the next step
in the sorting process

Is done
by the diverter,

Which is simply going to
do nothing more

Than push the package
down the appropriate slide,

Beginning the process
of sending the packages
to the outbound areas.

Levar: leading off
of the beltway,

There are 9 slides,
or chutes,

Which represent different parts
of the united states.

This box is headed
to the southwest,

And that one is heading
for new england.

Odd-sized boxes and packages
with labels that can't be read

Are sorted manually,
or by hand.

Coleman: any light
other than a green scan

Means that the packages
are going to have to go

To the manual
sorting area,

Which is where employees

Will have to sort
the packages by hand.

All the packages
that are coming down
that the scanner misses,

What I do is push it down
to the proper destination.

Every station has
a designated code

That they look at.

This one says "c-7."
"C-7" means california.

What I do
is just push it down

So that it'll go
to the proper destination.

Levar: once the package
is scanned, sorted, and routed,

It's loaded into
a large cargo container.

Coleman: we're now
in the outbound area

Of our sorting process.

What you'll see
in this area

Are containers of all different
shapes and sizes

That, once they're
loaded with freight,

We pull out
of these positions

And out onto
these really cool rollers,

Which allow us to
move the containers
around very easily.

Then we'll pull them
all the way forward

Onto this big yellow area here,
which is actually a scale,

And we do this because
we need the weight

On every container,
no matter how it travels
through our system.

Levar: every inch
of the container is filled.

Is this the model
of efficiency or what?

Coleman: each container
has a shape

Specifically designed
to allow it to fit

In the aircraft that
it's going to be on.

If you notice, they're not all
perfectly square,

Like this one here,
this big boy has a slant,

And what that allows
the container to do

Is to fit
into the aircraft,

Which is rounded
or oval-shaped.

Levar: now that
the packages

Have been routed
in the right direction,

The fed ex air fleet
must be, too.

This happens at the fed ex
control center.

Man: this is global
operations control.

Woman: fed ex 2000,
go ahead.

What the people in this room
are responsible for

Are all the flights
that are coming into

And leaving the newark airport
that belong to federal express.

We change-over our fleet
probably about 5 times a day.

We're looking at
the weather parameters.

Is the flight going to be able
to make it in?

We're monitoring what's going on
at this airport

As far as delays--
inbound delays, outbound.

We're monitoring the trucks
that are feeding the sorts

And taking freight away
from the sorts.

Levar: and just as the planes
are being monitored,

So are the packages.

This screen is showing how much
was put into the system.

We have a primary sort,
and we have a secondary sort.

At this time, there are
about 18,000 packages

Being put
through the system.

We also have
a flow rate

Showing how much
each primary is processing.

Levar: right on time,

The packages
take to the air.

When the fed ex jet lands
at its destination,

The packages go to a sorting
center just like before,

Except now they're
in a different city.

Once on a truck, fed ex couriers
drive each package

To the exact location
specified on the label.

[Knocking]

It's delivered
right to your door

Right on schedule.

Thank you very much.
Enjoy your day.

Thank you. You, too.

Wow! Now that's what I call
mathematizing to the max.

So, if you would like
to multiply your pleasure,

Here are 3 additions
to your reading list

That are greater
than the sum of their parts,

But you don't have to
take my word for it.

Did you ever have
the kind of day

Where you wanted to go someplace
but you ran out of time?

Well, I have, and so did
a family of pigs

In this book called
pigs on a blanket.

One hot day,
the pigs decided

To drive to the beach
for a swim.

"Ready, set, go,"
said mrs. Pig.

At 1:45, the pigs
hit the road.

Boy, were they late.

Uh-oh. Mr. Pig is getting
a speeding ticket.

Finally, they made it
to the beach,

But wouldn't you know it?

[Whistles]

Beach closed, 5:30.

Even though everybody
in the book was
wearing a watch,

No one kept track
of the time.

I'm eric toby,
and before your day is over,

Go read
pigs on a blanket.

How would you measure a river
if you didn't have a ruler?

I'm sharif ali,
and in this book,

Twelve snails to one lizard,
I found out.

Milo is a beaver
trying to fix a hole in the dam.

He asks his friend bubba
to help him out.

They need to find a log


How long is an inch?

Bubba says an inch
is about the size of a snail.

So they get 36 snails.

The illustrations
are colorful and funny.

I recommend
twelve snails to one lizard

For the math
and for the fun.

Hey, kids,
did you know that math

Is everywhere you go?

Yikes! Math is even
in the poems in this book.

It's called
marvelous math.

These poems
show you neat stuff,

Like how you need math
to build a house

Or to count birds

Or to even do things
called fractions.

My favorite poem in the book
is called "take a number."

It's about life
without numbers or math.

Math is in our cities,
towns, and nature, too.

These poems have cool words
that are fun to say,

Like this cool math thing
called algebra

And the value of "x"

And even this guy
named pythagoras.

My name is kaitland,
and take it from me,

Go to the library and check out
this book, marvelous math.

Levar: yeah, paul.
That's right. It's done.

The boxes are packed
and stacked

And all ready
to be shipped out.

Ha ha ha! You bet.

You're welcome.

Well, we did it.

I used math
to tackle every problem,

And I managed
to solve every one.

You know,
when you think about it,

There are about
a million different ways

You can put math
to work for you.

It's like
I've always said--

Math is something
you can really count on.

Ha ha ha!

I'll see you next time.

Well, now, let's see...

If I turn right
instead of left

And cut diagonally
across the factory,

I can shave about 13 minutes
off of my time.

That means...

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go
twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

Today's reading rainbow
books are...

Math curse by jon scieszka,
illustrated by lane smith,

Published by viking, a division
of penguin books, usa, inc.;

Marvelous math
by lee bennett hopkins,

Illustrated
by karen barbour,

Published by
simon & schuster, inc.;

Twelve snails to one lizard
by susan hightower,

Illustrated
by matt novak,

Published by
simon & schuster, inc.;

Pigs on a blanket
by amy axelrod,

Illustrated by
sharon mcginley-nally,

Published by
simon & schuster, inc.