Graham Tattersall uses his math skills to identify solutions to some of life's great questions, and deciphers the depth of someone's vocabulary, the weight of a house, whether the dead outnumber the living, the best words to use in a personal ad, and more.

Originally published: London : Fourth Estate, 2007.

Scrabbling for words -- Pumping iron -- Safe as houses -- Well connected -- Fatal attraction -- Home alone -- Beam me up, Scotty -- Hidden death -- It's for you -- War chest -- When the wind blows --You're rubbish -- The cunning fox -- Fly wheels -- Bus stop -- Stirring airs -- Dream flight -- Processing power -- Soulmates -- Idiot calculus -- The ghostly present -- Bad breath-- The final judgement -- Heavenly body -- Passing water -- The man in white.