Across video platforms and social media, you can find channels that tell anecdotes and stories from a particular field. Until recently, mathematics had largely been left out of this trend. Aware of this gap, Noëlle Krajcman, a mathematics outreach specialist at the Palais de la découverte, created the "Curious Stories of Mathematics" channel on TikTok and Instagram. Since April 2024, she has been making tightly scripted short videos that recount episodes from the lives of mathematicians. Thanks to her, viewers have discovered or rediscovered Godfrey Hardy's passion for cricket, Helda Geiringer's many exiles, Charlotte Angas Scott's competitive examinations, and Tartaglia's jaw injury. The seven-part series on the American cryptanalyst Elizebeth Friedman is especially notable.
The care taken over the videos is a mark of their reliability: information is cross-checked and sourced before it is included, and her experience in mathematics outreach ensures that they remain highly accessible.
