20 People From Math Problems That You Probably Never Thought You'd See In Real Life

We can’t imagine what went through somebody’s head when they decided to buy 600 bottles of soda, a bajillion bananas, or so many Cheetos that you could comfortably survive in a post-apocalyptic world for several hundred years. While thoroughly impressive (and expensive to boot), the question that pops into our minds is: Why? Were you that thirsty/hungry/bored?

While math problems about somebody named Sarah buying 300 gallons of milk might seem like a waste of time to some, learning math is actually very important. Pi Day writes that learning math helps improve your brain and might even help you make good decisions faster.

What’s more, math helps you tell time: a surprising number of kids (and adults) can’t read the hands on an analog clock, and it’s a useful skill to have, even if we are living in the digital age.

Math has some serious applications in real life when you grow up as well. It helps you balance your budget, make sound financial decisions, and avoid debt.

There’s even a place for math in the kitchen — basics like adding, subtracting, multiplication and division help modify recipes to fit the number of people you’re treating to a delicious dinner. Let’s just hope that dinner isn’t going to be a fruit salad made up of 500 apples and 400 bananas.