For the uninitiated: this is the current most - efficient method found of packing 17 unit squares inside another square. You may not like it, but this is what peak efficiency looks like.

(Of course, 16 squares has a packing coefficient of 4, compared to this arrangement’s 4.675, so this is just what peak efficiency looks like for 17 squares)

Isn’t this only true if the outer square’s size is not an integer multiple of the inner square’s size? Meaning, if you have to do this to your waffle iron, you simply chose the dimensions poorly.