[HN Gopher] Rabbit Ear "Origami": programmable origami in the br...
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       Rabbit Ear "Origami": programmable origami in the browser
        
       Author : molszanski
       Score  : 112 points
       Date   : 2026-02-04 14:57 UTC (4 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (rabbitear.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (rabbitear.org)
        
       | molszanski wrote:
       | This is a genuinely beautifully written book chapter on origami
       | math/geometry, with interactive graphics and playgrounds.
        
       | nianiam wrote:
       | This is the coolest thing i've seen in a while. Thanks for
       | sharing.
        
       | vee-kay wrote:
       | Nice site, with apt illustrations and mathematical explanations.
       | 
       | This reminds me of an interesting trivia: For centuries, it was
       | believed that paper could not be folded in half more than 8
       | times. Until one high school student broke that seemingly
       | impossible limit. And she did so with a giant sheet of paper, and
       | some interesting mathematics.
       | 
       | She won the Guiness World Record for that feat.
       | 
       | "It was an accepted belief that folding a piece of paper in half
       | more than 8 times was impossible. On 27 January 2002, high school
       | student, * _Britney Gallivan*_ , of Pomona, California, USA,
       | folded a single piece of paper in half 12 times and was the first
       | person to fold a single piece paper in half 9, 10, 11, and 12
       | times. The tissue paper used was 4,000 ft (1,219 m; 0.75 miles)
       | long.
       | 
       | In preparation for the challenge, Gallivan identified criteria
       | for folding and the phenomenon that ultimately limits the
       | geometric folding progression. She derived mathematical equations
       | for single direction - L=pt/6(2n+4)(2n-1) - and alternate
       | direction - W=pt23(n-1)/2 - folding. The equations establish the
       | relationship between the length of paper required (L), the
       | thickness of the paper (t), the minimum possible width of square
       | material (W), and the number of possible folds (n). It is
       | documented in her book * _How to Fold Paper in Half Twelve
       | Times*_. "
        
         | capitainenemo wrote:
         | And for those who object that a long piece of tissue paper
         | wasn't the intent of the original claim, Mythbusters got 11
         | folds out of an aircraft hanger sized square piece of regular
         | paper.
         | 
         | https://scoop.upworthy.com/when-mythbusters-tried-to-fold-a-...
        
       | t0dorakis wrote:
       | Great peace of art!
        
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       (page generated 2026-02-08 23:01 UTC)