Mathematical Modeling Problem: Just How Many Suckers Are There Right Now?

The phrase "There's a sucker born every minute." was allegedly uttered by a famous person during the 19th century. Assuming it was true and estimating the year based on the possible people to whom the phrase has been attributed, and birth and death rates at appropriate times, estimate how many suckers occupied Earth on 1 January 2015. Be sure to state all of your assumptions explicitly and clearly.

Note: Considerations could include, e.g., whether the rate of births resulting in suckers has changed over time, whether somebody who was born a sucker must necessarily remain so, etc.

Extra credit: Derive from physical principles how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop.

If you look at the Wikipedia entry, you'll see that the quote is of unknown origin and that the attribution to P. T. Barnum is apparently almost certainly wrong.

Words of Wisdom

My words of wisdom for the day: "You don't need to be in love with a problem, but you should at least be willing to have a one-night stand."

(I said this in the context of somebody working on a PhD.)

Signs That it's Late Friday Afternoon and You're Exhausted: Number $x$ in a Continuing Series

Signs that it's late Friday afternoon and that you're exhausted (number $x$ in a continuing series): When you're giving a problem class and it's 5:35 pm and you're utterly convinced that you have gone overtime on the class that ends at 6pm, because you think it's after 6pm and the fact that the clock blatantly says "5:35" (though in analog) just doesn't faze you or register in any way.

And also number $x+1$: And also when you say you're going to erase the whiteboard as a courtesy to people who are using the room tomorrow morning ... which is in fact nobody because tomorrow is Saturday.

The legend continues...

How to Solve a Physics Problem

Here is Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's recipe for how to solve a physics problem. This is so, so true. (It applies to mathematics problems, too. I know this feeling very well --- and so do my students.)

The "Wedge Entry Problem"

Yup, there is actually a problem called the "wedge entry problem". (And I bet that its solution is not unique...)