facts about numbers

People often are spellbound by numbers, basically used for counting, measuring and ranking. They are not just symbols. They hold some sort of uniqueness. It is in fact interesting to know some interesting facts about numbers from 0 to 10. Check out the article below and know how fascinating and funny are these numbers.

ZERO

An American actor and comedian of the stage as well as screen, Samuel Joel Mostel who lived from February 28, 1915, to September 8, 1977, is widely known as “Zero” Mostel.

facts about numbers

Born in Brooklyn, Mostel is also a singer. He has done several comic characters and his lectures were full of jokes as Mostel personally was a clown, and subsequently, he was hired to perform at private parties.

Another amazing fact is that in the world-famous tennis game, score zero is referred to as using the word ‘love’.

Here’s another interesting quote from Ellen DeGeneres, an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer.

“Beauty isn’t between a size zero and a size eight, it is not a number at all. It is not physical.”

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ONE

This is a common word in English, right?

Various terms are used to refer things that feature only one of something, just like – Cyclops that refers to a creature with one eye. The prefix “uni” is used to represent one or at the beginning – just like a uniform or unicycle.

facts about numbers

In numerology, number one also stands for many different things – unity, the beginning as well as God.

In a deck of playing cards, the Ace card represents the value of number one.

In ancient Greeks, one is not even considered as a number. Instead, the number system began at Two.

Do you know that our hair grows one centimeter a month?

In a Google book, named “An Introduction to Corpus Linguistics”, according to Carroll et al. “One” is the 35th most commonly used word in the English language, to which schoolchildren are exposed in their reading.

TWO

While “Two” is considered a lucky number in China, it is the most unlucky number for the Pythagoreans.

Do you know the shortest verse in the Bible? It is just two words – “Jesus wept”.

Considered to be the number of Eve, the first woman, number two is the card of High Priestess in the Tarot.

In the racial religion of the Jewish people, each Sabbath meal begins with two loaves of bread.

Phobos and Deimos are the two moons of Mars, named after mythological characters.

THREE

Considered as a divine number that represents harmony, wisdom, and understanding, 3 is the first odd-numbered prime number.

Three angles form a triangle, which is a geometrical figure. Also, primary colors are three – red, yellow and blue.

In Vietnam, three is considered an unlucky number. Based on this belief, three people are not allowed to be photographed together. People here believe that the person in the middle will die soon.

Also Read: 10 Reasons Why Students Fail in Mathematics

Borromean rings refer to three links interlinked. If one ring is removed, the other two will go unconnected. In the same way, valknut is a symbol in archaeological records, consisting of three interlocked triangles.

Have you noticed the Nobel Peace prize medal? Designed by Gustav Vigeland, it represents a group of three men forming a fraternal bond.

FOUR

In Chinese culture, the word “four” sounds like that of “death”. This may be the reason that most hospitals in China do not have the fourth floor.

According to the four-color theorem, four colors can be used to color any map in a plane, but regions that are sharing a common boundary do not share the same color.

On the spiritual side, 4 is considered as a number of ‘being’ which connects the mind, spirit, and body with the physical world.

It is the number of the square, and there are 4 directions – North, South, West and East and 4 seasons – Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Spring.

The fear for this number is known as tetraphobia mainly in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and Korea.

Independence Day in the United States is on July 4.

Hope you have read a poem of three lines in your school life. This sort of poem is known as a quatrain.

FIVE

In Thai language, number 5 is pronounced “ha”. So if you write 555, they will read it as “hahaha”.  In Mandarin Chinese 5 is read as “wu” making 555 a “wuwuwu”.

The Olympic symbol is five interlocking rings – blue, yellow, black, green, and red colors on a white field.

“Penta” refers to five – pentagon, pentagram, and pentacle.

Bible highlights Jesus sharing just five loaves of bread for five thousand people.

In the human body, five represent the four limbs and the head and five senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

SIX

In a Mobius Strip, any set of regions can be colored using only six colors.

This is the maximum number in a dice. Did you notice that no country has issued the currency of number 6?

Also named as motherhood number, six also indicate for caring and protecting nature.

facts about numbers

The number of players in Ice hockey, as well as Volleyball, is six. A fathom is equal to six feet.

“Hex” also indicates six – hexagon, hexapod, and hexahedron.

An interesting quote from Abraham Lincoln is –

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.”

SEVEN

There are 7 deadly sins in Christian teaching. Those sins are – greed, pride, lust, gluttony, envy, wrath and sloth.

There are 7 colors in a rainbow, 7 continents in the universe, 7 layers in Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and 7 musical notes.

A formation of exactly seven members is referred to as septet – like musical groups or seven-line poetry.

EIGHT

While Chinese symbols refer to number 8 as lucky as refers to as the intelligent totality of the universe, for the Japanese 8 means multiplicity.

A chessboard comes with an 8X8 unit. The term “octa” refers to number eight – octagon (eight-sided polygon), octatonic scale (with eight scales), the octahedron (eight faces) and octopus (with eight tentacles).

Octave is the interval in music between two notes.

The element oxygen has atomic number eight. Also on the computer, 8 bits make a byte.

NINE

While the Bible indicates number 9 as a symbol of fruits of the Holy Spirit of God, numerology refers to this number 9 as the symbol of wisdom and beginning.

Also Read: Why do Students Fail? (Faculties Perspective)

Based on its properties, 9 is a significant number for scholars as well as numerologists.

The word “neun” in French refers to nine and new. At the same time in German, ‘neun ‘ is nine.

World Trade Center terrorist attack in New York, which killed almost 3,000 people happened on 9/11.

In geometry, a nine-sided polygon or 9-gon is also referred to as a nonagon or enneagon.

TEN

Korean alphabet has 10 vowels

Decadactylous refers to those with 10 fingers, while decemdentate indicates 10 teeth.

In the boxing game, when a boxer is knocked down, his ‘knockout’ will be determined in 10 counts or seconds.

Number 10 Downing Street, is the headquarters of the Government of the United Kingdom and the official residence.

Ten Commandments are the key set of principles indicated in the Bible, which include “I am the LORD thy God”, “No graven images or likenesses” and “Thou shalt not kill”.

ELEVEN

The natural number 11

There are 11 players in games such as soccer, hockey, cricket, and football.

facts about numbers

“The eleventh hour” refers to the last hour to get certain things done in urgency.

An interesting fact is that the First World War ended on the eleventh hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

In the Canadian flag, the maple leaf comes with 11 points.

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