Latest news with #Spirograph
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Rare 1979 toy figure set to fetch up to £5,000 at auction
The toy is one of only 30 known examples from 1979 that are known to still exist - it will go under the hammer this month A highly sought-after stretch figure of the Marvel character the Hulk, dubbed 'one of the rarest stretch toys in existence', is set to be auctioned off. Excalibur Auctions has revealed that this toy is one of a mere 30 original Hulk stretch figures from 1979 still known to exist. Crafted by the esteemed toy maker Denys Fisher (1918-2002), it comes straight from its first owner, who, as a child, pleaded with his mother to get him one. His mother had connections with someone at Denys Fisher and managed to snag one of the earliest models straight off the production line. The coveted toy is expected to fetch up to £5,000 when it goes under the hammer later this month. It retains its original packaging, complete with a handwritten 'number one' on the box flap. The figure is also touted as being in 'mint' condition due to careful preservation away from light and stored upright throughout the years. Jonathan Torode, from Excalibur Auctions, said: "We are thrilled to be able to offer the opportunity to acquire one of the rarest stretch toys in existence. "Having never been offered on the market before and to be in such good condition and with excellent provenance, renders this the ultimate for collectors. We therefore anticipate worldwide interest." The Hulk figure was produced in Thorp Arch, Wetherby, and was only available in limited numbers in the UK, sold through select mail-order catalogues and a few shops. READ MORE: DWP to start 'monitoring' bank accounts in 2026 to combat benefit fraud Originally part of Kenner's 'Stretch Armstrong' series, it was subsequently licensed under Denys Fisher in the UK. Toy creator Fisher, famed for inventing the Spirograph, was raised in Leeds before moving to Dumfries and later Cumbria. The Hulk figure, distinguishable by its corn syrup filling that allowed it to be stretched, used the same latex and gel moulds as the iconic Stretch Armstrong toy. Yet it's the green hue, distinctive Hulk head, and Marvel branding that set this stretchy figure apart from its Stretch Armstrong counterpart. Excalibur Auctions of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, has revealed that the Hulk figure comes complete with original instructions and has remained unsold since its initial purchase back in 1979. According to the auction house, the figure has remained untouched (and unplayed with) since production. It boasts unfaded, vibrant yellow packaging and retains the original chalk dust on its surface. Remarkably, the figure remains supple, with no signs of deterioration to its latex 'skin'. Set to go under the hammer at Excalibur Auctions' Vintage Toys Diecast Models & Model Railways event on July 26, the figure carries a pre-sale estimate of £3,000-£5,000. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice here
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mathematicians Wrote a Proof for a 100-Year-Old Problem—and May Have Just Changed Geometry
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." A 125-page proof posted to arXiv may represent a huge breakthrough in geometric measure theory. This problem has implications in fields like encryption, computer science, and number theory. How much area does it take up when you rotate a line segment 360 degrees? Two mathematicians now say they've made progress on a very old unsolved math problem. The problem involves a subfield called geometric measure theory, in which sets of objects are generalized in an advanced way using properties like diameter and area. According to the duo's recent research (which is not yet peer reviewed), it turns out that examining things through the lens of geometry can shake loose other interesting qualities that objects may share, which has high value in the increasingly inter-subdisciplinary field of mathematics. In a special question in geometry called a Kakeya set, mathematicians wonder how small the area can be where a line, or needle, is rotated completely through 360 degrees. You may picture something like a spinner in a board game or a baton twirler, so the spun needle must just form a circle. But the truth is much more complicated, because space can essentially be reused by different needles, and the needle positions don't need to have the same midpoint. '[I]f you slide it in clever ways, you can do much better,' Joseph Howlett explained for Quanta. This creates shapes like the deltoid, which is a roughly triangular shape that may remind you of your old Spirograph drawing toy. The deltoid can have a much smaller area than the circle that would enclose the same needle spinning like a baton. Mathematicians who study this question are basically trying to find the smallest deltoid possible—whatever shape that ends up being—across a variety of types of spaces. The Kakeya set—named for its discoverer Sōichi Kakeya—was complicated by a subsequent mathematician named Abram Samoilovitch Besicovitch. Besicovitch introduced the idea that a Kakeya set moved into a different number of dimensions could have an area of measure zero. This is a specific definition that involves surrounding a particular item with points that can be made closer and closer together until they almost vanish, with an intuitive meaning that there is no area at all. Mathematicians can't write down and prove an intuitive meaning without an underpinning in the mathematics. As a result, this question—and others like it, all of which were tantalizing to those already immersed in similar concepts—tipped a line of dominoes that eventually helped to create the field of geometric measure theory. If you've ever seen an illustration of a Klein bottle (an iconic depiction of a four-dimensional shape crammed into a three-dimensional version that our human brains can parse), that's one example of a thought exercise from geometric measure theory. Kakeya died in 1947 and Besicovitch died in 1970, so even the newest possible versions of these questions have been open and unproven for at least 55 years. But they really date back 100 years, to when both men were in their mathematical primes... so to speak. Since then, mathematicians have banged their heads against various types of Kakeya sets in different types of spaces and with different qualities. After all, there's no limit to how many dimensions something can have. As is often the case in today's breakthroughs, the secret for these mathematicians—Hong Wang of New York University (NYU) and Joshua Zahl of the University of British Columbia (UBC)—was in reframing the thorny problem using lateral thinking. In an NYU statement, Zahl's UBC colleague Pablo Shmerkin explained that while it builds on 'recent advances in the area, this resolution combines many new insights together with remarkable technical mastery. For example, the authors were able to find a statement about tube intersections that is both more general than the Kakeya conjecture and easier to tackle with a powerful approach known as induction on scales.' By making key substitutions and clarifications to the original problem, Wang and Zahl opened it to a type of proof called induction on scale. Classic proof by induction involves showing a relationship between, say, a value of 1 and a value of 2. If you can turn those concrete values into a generalization using mathematical notation instead, like n and (n + 1), then you can simplify and solve the math so that a solution applies to all possible values for n, not just 1 and 2. Induction on scale is similar, but involves playing with... well... the scale of something. In their proof, Wang and Zahl consider tubes instead of simple lines or needle shapes. We all know what a tube is, but mathematically, it's a collection of points at a specific distance and position apart from a given line, curve, or shape outline—like a corkscrew, circle, or knot. That means it has a certain three-dimensionality unto itself when applied to a two-dimensional shape, turning a line segment into a straw. The size of those tubes can then be tuned in order to show properties about the needles they surround. Fields Medal winner Terence Tao (himself a luminary in related mathematics) analyzed this 125-page (!!) proof in a detailed blog post, where he also calls the work 'spectacular progress.' Complicated proofs like this often emerge over decades as people iterate on small portions of the same problem—a process that's one part chiseling away and one part deciphering letter by letter. In his analysis, Tao already notes several places where the work can be iterated again, now that this portion is in place. Zahl earned his bachelor's degree in 2008, meaning he was likely born in 1986. Wang's Wikipedia page says she was born in 1991. The next Fields Medal, which is limited to mathematicians under 40, will be given in 2026. The math, as the kids say, could be 'mathing' for these two mathematicians. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
