The
honeycomb conjecture states that a regular
hexagonal grid or
honeycomb is the best way to divide a surface into regions of equal area with the least total
perimeter. The first record of the conjecture dates back to 36BC, from
Marcus Terentius Varro, but is often attributed to
Pappus of Alexandria . The conjecture was proven in 1999 by mathematician
Thomas C. Hales, who mentions in his work that there is reason to believe that the conjecture may have been present in the minds of mathematicians before Varro.