Solved cryptogram
Divide any circle's distance around by its width and you get the same number, every single time.
Mathematics Facts, sourced to Wolfram MathWorld.
What it means
The ratio does not depend on how big the circle is, which is a statement about flat space rather than about circles. On a curved surface it fails: draw a circle on a sphere and the ratio comes out smaller than pi, and it shrinks as the circle grows. Measuring the ratio precisely enough over a large enough region is one way to ask whether the space you live in is flat.
The claim comes from Wolfram MathWorld, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.
This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 77 letters over 19 different ones, graded medium.
- SourceWolfram MathWorld
- CollectionMathematics Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length77 letters, 19 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- Wolfram MathWorldmedium, 76 letters
- Wolfram MathWorldhard, 75 letters
- Wolfram MathWorldmedium, 72 letters
- Wolfram MathWorldhard, 65 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- Wolfram MathWorldeasy, 71 letters
- Wolfram MathWorldmedium, 74 letters
- Wolfram MathWorldmedium, 70 letters
- Wolfram MathWorldmedium, 75 letters