Abstract: For the last 60 years, ever since the census of 1940, seats in the US House of Representatives have been allocated using a simple algorithm for maximization. In my talk, I'll explain what quantity is to be maximized, and why the algorithm works. The mathematics is by no means deep, but the fact that the algorithm does its job is far from obvious, and the proof that it works involves a simple but "cute" way of writing certain fractions.