How Many Pikachus Would It Take to Power a Lightbulb

How many daily calories would you need to feed a Charizard? Could the Death Star's laser actually blow up a planet? What is the half-life of the Incredible Hulk? And is the meaning of life really ‘42’?Join Dr Tom Crawford on a tour through the real-world maths of the most absurd fantasy universes. Drawing on a decade's research at some of the world's leading universities, he answers all the most bamboozling maths questions raised by Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars and more: from calculating Frodo Baggins' life insurance premium for his journey to Mordor, to what it would take to make the Weasley family car fly, to how rich Super Mario would be after he'd gobbled up all those coins. The result is both a dizzying compendium of fantastical ‘did you know?’ facts and a guide to the mathematics of life, the universe and everything.