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Samuel Pepys: 2 ideas and puzzles worth knowing

2 ideas and puzzles from Samuel Pepys, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Isaac Newton once settled a dice bet a friend couldn't work out for himself

  In 1693, diarist Samuel Pepys wrote to Isaac Newton asking which is more likely: rolling at least one six with 6 dice, at least two sixes with 12 dice, or at least three sixes with…

  — Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepys, Newton-Pepys problem

• A baker's oven on Pudding Lane burned down most of medieval London

  The Great Fire of London broke out on 2 September 1666 in a bakery on Pudding Lane and burned for four days, destroying roughly 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches and old St Paul's …

  — Samuel Pepys, Diary of Samuel Pepys

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