The round wheel was invented because, you know, hauling stuff from place to place on circular things made travel a lot smoother. Imagine putting a wagon on triangles, you would be bouncing and jolting the whole time. And, really, that's the only thing I can't do with triangles. Circles are smooooth.

We know round wheels work, so why would anyone do what that oft-used cliché says you should not do and reinvent the wheel?

Because that's math, it doesn't have to be real. Math is a language so mathematicians can travel through time and make me invisible too - just like science fiction writers can. That doesn't mean they will.

But when it comes to rolling, Steve Mould at Numberphile shows you actually can use a non-round wheel.  And they can even use a triangle, showing they are far more awesome than me.



H/T Gizmodo