square milk : circle can

For those who might dither in the dairy aisle of the grocery store, one hand idly gripping the fridge door, the other tenuously considering the rigid corners of a waxed-cardboard carton of bovine goodness. 'Why is this nutrition delivery device angular,' you might ask, then--turning your attention to the towering pyramid of Pepsi One six-packs to your right, 'while these aluminum soda-pop receptacles are forged into cylinders?'

Ho! here are the long awaited answers... elementary geometry, my dear Watson!

I think I remember this example from an econ book in college.

art: 99 Cent, Andreas Gursky, 1999