I knew that sooner or later, after I posted my little caesar's story, someone in my family would weigh in. I swear I have the mathy-est family in the world. From Steve (sorry if this embarrasses you, I didn't see any legal restrictions on reprinting your email). I've bolded my favorite parts:
"I read your article “pizza facts and factorials“. Your article may be factual in its recollection of events but the actual way this calculation is done is wrong. Simple factorials will tell you all possible combinations, allowing for repeated selections. You should treat the problem as a combination problem. This is very common problem in computer applications and does not require the services of a mathematician, a undergraduate college student will suffice. In fact, a Wikipedia article or an article from Microsoft is sufficient to explain both the problem and how to do the calculations.
Some time ago, the historical Blacksburg pub, the Cellar was redoing their menu. They wondered exactly how many combinations of calzone they offered. Much drunken intellectual debate, that closely resembles your article, ensued. Because of Tammie, they asked me do the calculation for them. My report to them is below, including a simple spreadsheet that will do the calculation for them in case they add or remove toppings. To this day their menu states, “Try one of our 6,144 calzones” on the cover.
So what’s the answer for Little Caesar’s? It’s 44,552 per pie or 89,104 for both, assuming they have 23 potential toppings (probably a bad assumption). "
Hahahahahaha...I knew I could get at least one more person obsessed with the little caesar's problem.
In closing, I can't believe those assholes didn't take the time to hire someone to provide a mathematically correct answer. And if anyone wants a copy of my brother's spreadsheet, too bad. Only I am allowed to have it.
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