Data Underload  /  , ,

Pizza Exchange Rate

Get the pizza that you paid for.
By Nathan Yau

This is a story about pizza and geometry. Roy Chandan ordered a 9-inch pizza, and the waiter brought him two 5-inch pizzas instead. Chandan was getting an inch for free, the waiter said, to which he replied:

The seller mistakenly assumed a linear increase in area with diameter. This is not the case.

Going by area, which is the measurement you care about when eating pizza, two 5-inch pizzas would be like getting a 9-inch pizza with 38% of it removed. After showing the math, Chandan received four small pizzas, and the world rejoiced.

Honestly, I’m more surprised that a sit-down pizza place with a waiter would run out of a certain size of pizza.

But what if the same thing, with different pizza sizes, happens to you? What would be the fair exchange? You could punch the numbers into your calculator for areas, but time is essential to get your point across to a busy, skeptical waiter who has other pies to serve.

I got you covered. Enter the pizza sizes below for the proper exchange.

How Many Pizzas You Should Get

Make sure you get a fair exchange.


May you always get the pizza that you paid for and more.

In visualization, sizing linearly instead of by area is a common mistake, except the linear sizing increases area too quickly.

For example, if you increase the radius of a circle by 10 percent, you increase the circle’s area by 21 percent (1.1 * 1.1 = 1.21). You get the same issue if you increase the side of a square instead of its area. It’s how you end up with bubbles or two-dimensional symbols that are more giant than they should be. It pays to know your encodings.

What I’m trying to say is that if you order two 5-inch pizzas, and the pizza place wants to make you a single 10-inch pizza instead, you should take the deal.

Chart Type Used

Bubble Chart

Become a member. Support an independent site. Make great charts.

See What You Get

Learn to Visualize Data See All →

How to Flatten the Curve, a Social Distancing Simulation and Tutorial

Using R, we look at how your decreased interaction with others can help slow the spread of infectious diseases.

Interactive Time Series Chart with Filters

Time series charts can easily turn to spaghetti when you have multiple categories. By highlighting the ones of interest, you can direct focus and allow comparisons.

Small Maps and Grids

Maybe you want to make spatial comparisons over time or across categories. Organized small maps might do the trick.

How to Download and Use Online Data with Arduino

Before you can do anything with data, you have to get it into the application. Working with an Arduino is no different. Although the process is changes, if you’re used to working with desktop software.

Favorites

Data, R, and a 3-D Printer

We almost always look at data through a screen. It’s quick and good for exploration. So is there value in making data physical? I played around with a 3-D printer to find out.

All the Household Types in the U.S.

No need to restrict ourselves to the most common types. There are thousands. Let’s look at all of them.

19 Maps That Will Blow Your Mind and Change the Way You See the World. Top All-time. You Won’t Believe Your Eyes. Watch.

Many lists of maps promise to change the way you see the world, but this one actually does.

How You Will Die

So far we’ve seen when you will die and how other people tend to die. Now let’s put the two together to see how and when you will die, given your sex, race, and age.