Potato scallops and algebra

Battered fish and potato scallops from Jamison Takeaway Gary Lum algebra

Potato scallops and algebra? Whose thought of that together?

I hadn’t until tonight. I’ve been in Melbourne today and my flight to Canberra didn’t land until nearly 7 pm. Way past my tea time. I decided I’d go to Jamison Takeaway and get some fish and potato scallops. I asked for one piece of battered fish and two potato scallops.

Battered fish and potato scallops from Jamison Takeaway Gary Lum algebra
Battered fish and potato scallops from Jamison Takeaway

Where’s the algebra come in?

What I received were one piece of battered fish and three potato scallops. This is not uncommon. In my experience in Queensland, the Northern Territory of Australia and the Australian capital Territory (Canberra), where n is the number requested and what you receive is more often than not n + 1. I’ve also noticed that when the request is n≥5, the number of potato scallops may be n + 2.

How many potato scallops can you eat in one sitting?

If you’re wondering have I have asked for 5 or more potato scallops for myself? The answer is yes. I love them.

I prefer them to chips and like them as much as potato gems (tater tots for my US friends). If it wasn’t for the fact they are deep fried I’d eat them every day, they taste so good.

Were you good at algebra?

What were you like at algebra at school? I didn’t mind it. I ended up doing mathematics but not advanced mathematics at school. That’s because I wanted to do physics, chemistry and biology. I also had to do English and Japanese. Given the choice, I would have done advanced mathematics rather than Japanese but my school wouldn’t allow it. I’ve never used any Japanese in my life.

Why do north Americans say math rather than maths?

Why do north Americans say math? It sounds really odd. In Australia, we say we’re doing maths or we’re going to maths class. It’s the science of mathematics. It ends with an s, so maths makes sense to me.