IOP: People have long been fascinated by the size and shape of the universe. The current consensus among astronomers is that the universe is flat - which means that parallel lines never meet - and that it is infinite in size. Some of the strongest evidence for this view comes from measurements of the cosmic background radiation - a fuzz of microwaves known as the echo of the big bang - made by NASA's WMAP satellite. However, when the results from WMAP are compared with theory at large angles, there is a discrepancy that suggests that the universe might not be flat or infinite after all. Indeed, as Jean-Pierre Luminet of the Observatory of Paris explains, the data might be better explained by a universe that is shaped a bit like a football soccer ball - a Poincaré dodecahedron to be precise. Moreover, the universe resembles a video game in that if you disappear out through one of the "panels" that make up the football, you immediately re-appear through another panel on the opposite side.