I’ve written before about the mathematics of the traditional song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. For a different angle, check out PNC Bank’s “Christmas Price Index”: apparently, every year they compute the total cost of all the gifts in the song as a whimsical measurement of the economy. This year they have a really cute video along with games and activities that can be used by educators—give it a look! This year, a True Love would have to shell out $87,402.81 for all 364 gifts (up only 1.8% from last year)!
(Note, when I visit the site I get a warning about a bad security certificate—but after poking around a bit nothing fishy appears to be going on, it should be OK to tell your browser to make an exception if you get a similar warning.)
Very entertaining.