My copy of this year’s winner of the Diagram Prize arrived on my doorstep today while I was out:

For those of you unfamiliar with the Diagram Prize, it is awarded on an annual basis to the book from the previous year determined to have the oddest title. This year’s winner, penned by Daina Taimina, beat out five other titles
(What Kind of Bean is This Chihuahua?, Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich, Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter, Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots, and The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease), and I could not be more delighted.

I first became familiar with Ms. Taimina’s work in June or July of 2004 when someone left an envelope for me at a local coffee shop I frequented. The envelope contained an article from WIRED magazine that featured an array of hyperbolic planes.

As it happened I was very interested, and as a result of reading the article in the envelope that was left for me, I got in touch with Ms. Taimina via email, and she was extremely prompt and generous in offering advice, and I was on my way.

Here are a few of my hyperbolic creations:

No doubt there is much I will learn when I actually read the book, but for tonight, I am delighted to look at the pictures.