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Mathematics

Mathematicians have figured out the best sofa shape for moving around

The moving sofa problem, which involves negotiating furniture around an awkward hallway, has puzzled mathematicians for decades – but now we have an answer

By Alex Wilkins

9 December 2024

It’s harder than it looks

Inna Kot/Getty Images

What is the largest sofa that you can squeeze around the corner of a hallway? A horseshoe-shaped piece of furniture known as Gerver’s sofa has officially taken the crown, solving a mathematical question first put forward almost 60 years ago.

The difficulties of getting large furniture into your home will be familiar to many people, but mathematicians have taken a particular interest in the moving sofa problem ever since it was first posed by Leo Moser in 1966. It supposes that you are trying to navigate a two-dimensional sofa (so ignoring…

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