In 1876, Peter Guthrie Tait set out to measure what he called the “beknottedness” of knots. The Scottish mathematician, whose research laid the foundation for modern knot theory, was trying to find a ...

When confronted with the need to tie something off, most people resort to simply tying as many half-assed knots as they can in the vague hope that the sheer frictional complexity will stymie the ...

Tying a tie is practically a rite of passage. For many guys, it’s a skill linked to a specific memory or milestone — that first awkward attempt at prom, the nervous fumbling before a big job interview ...