24,882 Ways To Tie Your Necktie
"There are far, far more knots than were previously known," said researcher Mikael Vejdemo-Johansson, a computational mathematician at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
The most commonly used tie knot, the four-in-hand , originated in late 19th-century England drivers are thought to have used it to tie their scarves around their necks in case they lost the reins of their horse-driven four-in-hand carriages . In the 1930s, the Duke of Windsor is credited with introducing what is now known as the Windsor knot , from which its smaller derivative, the half-Windsor , evolved. It took another 50 years or so until a new tie knot appeared, the Pratt , invented by Jerry Pratt , an employee at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Image credit: charobnica via shutterstock | http://shutr.bz/1cZY3y7
Then, at the turn of the 21st century, physicists Thomas Fink and Yong Mao at the University of Cambridge in England analyzed what knots could be tied with a normal-sized necktie. They found 85 knots , which included the four traditional ones as well as nine more "aesthetic knots" they dubbed nice-looking enough to wear.
However, Fink and Mao's knots all forced the front of the tie knot the "faade" to be a flat stretch of fabric. In 2003, in "The Matrix Reloaded," the second of the films making up the Matrix trilogy, the villain known as "The Merovingian" introduced fancy new knots where the faade was textured with many surfaces and edges instead, tied with the narrow end of a tie.
"In early winter 2013, my wife showed me a video tutorial demonstrating the Trinity Knot ," Vejdemo-Johansson recalled. "I then quickly found the Eldredge , and I was utterly hooked. I stopped wearing bowties, my main fashion affectation before this point, and started wearing neckties, always with one of these new style knots, with a structured and interesting faade."
After discovering these novel knots, Vejdemo-Johansson found that Fink and Mao's research intentionally excluded them. Vejdemo-Johansson and his colleagues then began investigating how many more tie knots might exist. For the sake of comfort, they focused on ties up to 13 moves, and they did not count bowtie knots.
Fink and Mao developed a system for describing any tie knot as a sequence of symbols, with each symbol representing a certain move, such as whether the part of the necktie you use to tie the knot goes to your right or left, or wraps over or under the knot. They also specified a number of rules, such as how tie knots must be completed by folding one end of the tie under the rest of it.
Vejdemo-Johansson and his colleagues discovered a way to radically simplify this language of symbols and the number of rules for tying ties . This greatly expanded the potential number of ways that neckties can be tied.
"We show that if you extend the rules to allow more recently created tie knots, there are many, many, many more knots than Fink and Mao counted," Vejdemo-Johansson said.
All in all, the researchers discovered 266,682 tie knots that seem tie-able with a normal necktie. Of these, 24,882 are singly-tucked knots like most tie knots that people know how to tie when you pull the active end of the tie knot under itself to lock it in place, you lift a single piece of cloth to push the tie underneath. The scientists have a website where one can see random knots from this list with instructions on how to tie them.
"Most lecture or lab days, I have started the day by pulling up a random knot and then wearing that," Vejdemo-Johansson said. "Many are kind of weird. Some are very close to the Trinity. And some have turned out rather nice I've tried to tweet or email myself the best ones I've ran across."
Ideally, the researchers would like to develop a computer program that can search all these knots for pleasing styles. Fink and Mao originally proposed a number of ways to measure the aesthetics of a tie knot for instance, whether the knot looks skewed or not but these "produce very bad scores for the knots that launched the new culture of tie knots, which leads me to think that those measures might not be the best ones to use for these wider classes of knots," Vejdemo-Johansson said.
The future may see even more kinds of neckties.
"Our numbers are lower bounds, but we already now know of knots that people use but that do not fit in our model," Vejdemo-Johansson said.
The scientists detailed their findings online May 27 in the journal PeerJ Computer Science.
http://www.insidescience.org/content/24882-ways-tie-your-necktie/2891
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With 24, 882 options on what the know on my tie should look like, it seems that all those years that mywindsor knotdidn't look quite right was an illusion and I was simply experimenting with one of the many variables that I knew nothing about.
Robert, I found this fascinating. Who knew there were so many knots to be knotted! The video was great and I'd venture to say if I found a tie with LRCU directions, I could fix my guy up with some new fangled knot.May try the triple for fun - unique to say the least. Guess it goes along with "it's not your Daddy's Oldsmobile" any longer
Ties, the most useless accessory in the male wardrobe. Not that we have that large of an wardrobe or choices. The only use I've found for them is to catchstuff when you dribble, flop into your soap, protect your shirt from dribble, bbq sauce, gravy and the like.
Now, if you want to get serious, and dread wearing or tying a tie.
Go with the Bolo Tie, a man's man, wears a Bolo tie, none of that sissy stuff. Slip it over your head and your done, no tying it, you can stuff it into your pocket, throw it on the car floor. You don't have to have it dry cleaned after your dribbled on it. It what real men wear.
Also, in case of emergency, it can be used as a weapon. Ever been smacked with a Bolo Tie?
Lynne
Thanks for the feedback
I am glad you found the article interesting
I was amazed and the number of different knots possible for the tie
Feronia
Well having tied and mistied many a tie and gotten "the look" from my bride on numerous occasions, I know of what I speak on the subject of poorly tied ties.
Kavika
Ties, the most useless accessory in the male wardrobe.
Gotta agree with you on that one
I wore ties to work for many years and since I retired in 2010 only four times (a wedding and three funerals).
I have a couple of bolo ties that belonged to my grandfather (he got them somewhere in Arizona when I was a kid, but I have not worn one in decades.
As accessories go now days, it is ball cap to keep the sun out of my eyes
Thanks for the feedback
Although I rarely wear a tie these days I have for most of my life used the Windsor method. There was a time in China, especially in the days of Chairman Mao Ze Dong, when western style clothes were not worn, but these days, with everyone trying to be like and look like Americans, most in a position to do so wear dark suits and ties, seemingly trying to look like successful Wall Streeters. While they do that, I prefer to wear Mao jackets. Any suit that I used to wear is back in storage in Canada.
I'm with you RIO. I use to wear a tie everyday. Fortunately I only wear them to weddings and funerals. Too many funerals and not enough weddings I might add. I really like Kavika's tie, especially the silver and turquoise work. I have a ring like that, but it isn't that nice by far. Made out of a fork.
Nearly every job I had required wearing a neck tie. I know one way to tie it and it has worked for me for years. Now that I am retired I hope to never, ever wear a necktie again and I, just like my father insisted just before he passed away, will also not be buried with a tie on. Shirt open at the neck.
M M
I am glad you have found peace with (actually without) your neck tie
One way to tie a tie is all that any of us nee in my view
Buzz
Thanks for the feedback
The company I worked for before I retired had several operations in China and when the executives and workers visited, they were always dressed to the nines even though business casual was the norm throughout the company. After a couple of days they would be in golf shirts like the rest of us, but they always showed up in jackets and ties.
Hubby rarely wears a tie, but, when he does, he just slips it over his head and doesn't have to re-tie it the next time he needs to wear one.
Nona
AN approach I have utilized once I get a know I really like as well
Thanks for the feedback