Living Mathematics. Entertaining Algebra

Why is December called December, meaning "tenth", even though it is actually the twelfth month? How can we calculate how much hair grows on a person's head on average before it falls out? Do we really know how to count, or does it just seem that way? Answers to these and many other questions can be found in the fascinating book by Y. Perelman, "Living Mathematics", where the author has gathered various mathematical puzzles and riddles, presenting them in the form of curious short stories. This edition also includes the work "Entertaining Algebra", whose aim is to "foster in the reader a taste for engaging with algebra" and to offer them "a variety of problems with unusual plots that stimulate curiosity, entertaining excursions into the history of mathematics, unexpected applications of algebra to practical life".