Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Friday Extra
Friday is Pizza Day in the shop. You have a large pizza (with extra anchovies) delivered. You need to share it among 4 hungry woodworkers.
In one single cut (the cutter must be in contact with the pizza at all times), cut the pizza into 4 equal pieces.
Outside the box answer
Fold the pizza into quarters and slice the resulting triangle down the middle. Voila, four pieces one cut.
Lee
I like it!
Good job thinking outside the pizza box. It would probably work in New York, but maybe not so well with Chicago-style pizza.
Can anyone come up with a method that doesn't involve folding?
Large Pizzas are about 14.14", right?
My initial solution was the same as Lee's, which is right, as long as the pizza is not on extra crispy crust!
But I see another way, leaving the pizza flat. I'll defer posting an answer, except to say that the assumption in the subject line makes my solution easier to explain.
Hmmmm...
Sounds like yet another solution, or at least a different approach to deriving it.
The more the merrier. I'll just have to bake extra pizzas tonight so I can test them all.
Re: Hmmmm...
Okay, since it sounds like we may not be thinking of the same solution, I'll go ahead and post.
Start cutting along a diameter of the after cutting 2.07" or 12.07", turn your cutter 90 degrees, and cut a 10" circle in the middle. At completion of the circle, continue the cut for the rest of the diameter.
Hopefully two of you like crust, while the other two prefer crustless incides!
That works
But my pizza wheel doesn't have such a tight turning radius. Can you think of a solution with no sharp turns?
Inside teh box answer
Zorro could do this within the circle by stopping his blade exactly at the edge of the crust.
Lee
Re: Inside teh box answer
Everyone gets crust that way (although that is not a requirement)
But how does he assure that the pieces are of equal size? (which is a requirement)
This variant?
This time, use a 12" pizza. Cut to the middle, then bear right, cutting a 6" circle tangent to the original and the centerline. The bear left, cutting another 6" circle, then continue on the diameter.
"incides"?
Geez! Time for some more coffee!
Re: Inside the box answer
Start your pizza cutter at a point 2.736 above the centerline of the pizza and cut horizonatally acros the pizza tothe other side, then rotate your cutter 20 degrees and cut back to the other side of the pizza, rotate once more 20 degrees and cut to the far side of the pizza. The zee cut will yield 4 pieces that are 1/4 of the area. For a 16" pizza the total area is about 201 square inches. Each section would be 50.25 square inches. However, two of the folks would get considerably more crust than the other two.
Lee
No
That gives you 6 pieces, 2 at 1/4th the size of the original, and 4 at 1/8th
But start the figure-8 cut at the edge and you are home free.
Another good one!
I'd better start an extra batch of dough.
Yes!
That was the one I had in mind.
Looks like two pizza's apiece for Lee and Alex.
Lee gets the origami pizza for his folding solution.
Alex gets the mobius pizza for his figure-8 solution.
Re: Yes!
"Alex gets the mobius pizza for his figure-8 solution. "
Cool. Can I get pepperoni on both sides? Oh, wait, make that pepperoni on the only side!
No Anchovies
Hold the anchovies on mine!
Lee