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The science of parallel parking

By Daniel Smith on Jan 28, 10 12:09 PM

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How good are you at parallel parking?

It's the one thing many motorists fear the most but don't panic, science is here to help.

NPR has published a how-to guide using geometry formulated by mathematician Simon Blackburn with a little help from Pythagorus.

Click here for a ticket to perfect parking.

6 Comments

dtw parking said:

This whole science of parking is an invention.You'd better believe serious things like dtw parking. If you need a parking place in the city you can fast, easy use online reservation service which lets you compare and save instantly. Within 2 minutes you can book your guaranteed space for just a small deposit!

Joseph said:

Right,women can't park on regular bases and you expect geometry to help.I don't wanna sound misogynistic but really? Not to say that this is way over anyone's head. I work with cars at a car repair Manchester NH service and Pythagorus is the last thing I think about when it comes to parking. Actually I don't think about that in any other situation as a matter of fact.

Deborah said:

So this formula is going to be used in creating a parking navigation system? Otherwise I don't really see the point of it.The formula is even more "mysterious" than the enigma of why women can't park or why men are physically incapable of asking directions. And it definitely doesn't make parking more easy for me.
Deborah @ Jaguar Dealers Philadelphia

Siz said:

I have to agree with the others.I love cars,I work in a Des Moines used cars dealership and I'm a man. But I really can see how this will help one parking.Unless some amazing parking navigation system comes out of this.I learned parking the geeky way and those indications have a vague meaning,but not in a formula.

mmaria said:

I am a woman and I must admit that men know better to park. It has always been difficult for me to park my car. For all those that are in my situation you can donate car. It is a extreme solution, but you can buy new car with navigator and motion sensors. It will help you very much.

Byron said:

I remember how nervous I was when I took my drivers license because I couldn't parallel park. Thank God the policeman didn't ask me to, because I would have panicked. But that was a long time ago, in the meanwhile a good friend of mine from car repair Harrisburg took the time to explain parallel parking to me, and after a week of intensive training I finally got it.

Authors

Daniel Smith

Daniel Smith - a long time ago, in a galaxy far away just north of Watford, Daniel fancied himself as a scientist but turned out to be the worst scientist since that bloke who mapped out all those canals on Mars that turned out to be scratches on his telescope's lens. Luckily, he is now not working on the Large Hadron Collider inadvertently creating a black hole that would swallow the world but is safely behind a desk writing this blog, bringing you the fantastical underbelly of nature... weird science.

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