Tessellation Memes

This is what happens when mathematicians try to express gratitude. The message "Thank you for tiling the plane" is spelled out using actual geometric tiles—triangle, square, pentagon, and hexagon—followed by polygons with increasing numbers of sides that can't actually tile a plane by themselves. It's geometry humor that only gets funnier when you realize regular pentagons physically can't tessellate. The bottom row is basically the mathematical equivalent of inviting vegans to a steakhouse. Pure geometric trolling at its finest.

Someone finally did the hard science we've all been waiting for. This tier list ranks various square/diamond packing arrangements by efficiency, and frankly, I'm relieved we can finally settle the age-old debate of optimal tessellation patterns. The S-tier arrangements clearly maximize space utilization while the F-tier patterns would make any mathematician physically ill. This is the kind of research that keeps crystallographers up at night and makes materials scientists feel things. Next up: ranking hexagonal close-packing vs. cubic close-packing, but that might be too controversial for the internet.

When you accidentally solve a computational geometry problem while eating white chocolate. That arrangement is suspiciously close to the square packing problem that mathematicians have been optimizing for centuries. The irony is that some PhD student probably spent three years proving this configuration is efficient while you just wanted a snack. Nature finds a way to minimize wasted space, whether you're publishing in a journal or just fumbling with candy.

The geometry gang's all here! This meme brilliantly captures the hierarchy of regular polygons that can tessellate (completely cover a plane without gaps). The fierce hexagon and triangle dragons look down on their simple square sibling who's just happy to be included in the tiling party! 😂 What makes this extra hilarious for math nerds is that only these three regular polygons can perfectly tile a plane. Hexagons are often considered the "superior" shape in nature (just ask bees about their honeycombs), triangles are the structural MVPs, while squares are... well, just squares doing their best! The derpy square dragon is mathematical perfection!