I don't always wear T-shirts, but when I do . . .

. . . they have a lot of useful information on them.

Take, for example:

1. My calculus T-shirt.

I considered ironing this, but who irons T-shirts? Plus, the wrinkledness adds to the charm.

I love it.

This shirt was designed by Ben Allred back when we were all juniors in AP Calc together. Although I was initially hesitant to spend $6 on a T-shirt, it turned out to be a wise investment. For example, when it came time for Nerd Day during homecoming week my senior year, I had no trouble deciding what to wear.

Kevin was on his mission at the time. We concluded he must not have been working very hard that day.

I have to admit, I really felt like I was in my natural element dressed like that. (And lest you think me woefully socially maladjusted, I want to remind you that I was voted senior ball royalty less than 2 months later. I mean, it couldn't have been a pity vote, right? . . . ) It was an easy and fun Halloween costume for several years of college. (But that's another story.)

Besides its aesthetic value, it's even come in handy. Once or twice it was faster for me to grab the shirt than it was for Kevin to look up an integration table online. You can't beat that.

So, thank you, Ben, for making such a great T-shirt. And congratulations for landing a job back at Mountain Crest. I hope you make many math T-shirts for your students.

2. My geography bowl shirt.

Yes. I still own this. I wore it as recently as Joseph's birthday, even.

And this is how it used to fit:

Why have I held onto this shirt? Although our team did pretty well, it's not the memories that make me keep it. It's the awesome border.


I dunno. I just like it. It makes me feel cultured. And since I only wear it every other year or so, it's still in remarkably good condition.

3. The math love shirt.

This is a newer addition to my wardrobe, but I think it's going to stay for a while. Last summer, Kaylie and I went shopping at DI. At one point when my back was turned, I heard her laughing at a shirt. She showed it to me:

I took a good long look at it and then said, "I think I need to own this."

And I've worn it ever since. Regularly.

Why do I bring all of these up? Well, besides, general narcissism, I've decided that it's high time that this blog has a contest!

Amazing Nerdy T-Shirt Contest!!!

There are two parts to this contest.

1. Can you identify each of the 26 landmarks on my geography bowl shirt?

2. Can you identify or describe each of the 30 expressions/figures on my math heart shirt?

Instructions:
1. Compose an email to staplestacosandlove@gmail.com.
2. Number from 1 to 26 for the first T-shirt and 1 to 30 for the second.
3. For the first shirt, label the landmarks from left to right in the order given. For the second shirt, begin with the upper right equation (since it looks like it's in its own row) and then continue moving left to right, row by row. I figure that adjacent equations are different enough that if you have them right, I'll be able to tell. If this is not the case, I might add labels to the image to remove any ambiguity. Of course, the more descriptive you are, the less likely it is that problems will arise.
4. Send the email.

Rules:
1. No internet. None.
2. You can use books. But only books made with paper. No electronic copies, even if those books have once existed as paper. (See 1.)
3. No collaboration. It'll make the prize too complicated.

Prize:
Whoever has the most right for the first T-shirt will win a $5 Amazon gift card. Whoever has the most right for the second T-shirt will also win a $5 Amazon gift card. Whoever has the most right overall will win a $5 Amazon gift card. So if you do this in less than half an hour and win, it's better than minimum wage.
(Oh, and if several people have it correct, the prize will go to the person who was first.)

This contest ends on July 1st, 8 am, Eastern time.

Good luck!