Unique mathematics costume for Brussels icon designed by VUB mathematicians
Belgiumās most famous statue is today dressed as āManneken Pisthagorasā, in honour of Pi Day, celebrated each year on 14 March or 3.14. His costume is the creation of postdoctoral researchers Dr Ann Kiefer and Dr Leo Margolis of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel Mathematics Department: āWith āManneken Pisthagorasā we hope to put mathematics on the map at home and abroad.ā
Dr Kiefer: āManneken Pis has more than 1,000 costumes that refer to the most diverse themes. But thereās not a single costume about mathematics, which occupies an important place in our daily lives. Mathematics is the basis of the sciences and pioneering technologies such as AI. To increase interest in this field of study, we created the very first maths suit for Manneken Pis. With designer Julie Dekezel, we created a costume that symbolises a cross between Pythagoras and Brussels student life. All this with a nod to VUB and to Belgium. The result is Manneken Pisthagoras.ā
An ode to maths and Brussels
The initiators drew inspiration for the outfit from the Greek mathematician Pythagoras, known as the father of geometry, whose theorem is part of the curriculum. The costume consists of a white-purple toga, and the choice of purple as an accent colour next to white ā typical for Antiquity ā is not accidental: it is the colour of VUBās faculty of sciences. A turban was chosen for the headgear, referring to Pythagorasā frequent trips to Babylon. The turban rests on a āklakā, the typical student cap, often decorated with buttons and slogans. The klak in front of Manneken Pis will feature buttons about Brussels and mathematics.
As a final part of the outfit, the mathematicians developed, with Nicolas De Coster of FabLab ULB, an accessory illustrating the Pythagorean theorem: a plane with a triangle on it. On each side of the triangle is a square. The squares on the two short sides are filled with water. The construction regularly turns 180Ā°, causing the water to overflow from the two squares and completely fill the third, and largest, square.