Category: Special Numbers

Who said that numbers can’t be fun? Numbers aren’t only fun to deal with, but they often lead to many fun facts that you didn’t know before.

Such a number is 42, and there are many mysteries revolving around this number. In this article, we’ll look at 42 facts about 42 that’ll leave you surprised. So, let’s get started, shall we?

1. 42 is a pronic number, and this has been attracting mathematicians towards it for a long time. It means that 42 is the product of two consecutive integers. There aren’t many pronic numbers in the universe, and this makes 42 one of the rarest ones.
2. Then again, 42 is a sphenic number as well. It means that 42 is the product of three prime numbers. The three prime numbers are distinct. Sphenic numbers aren’t as rare as Pronic numbers, but these are quite rare.
3. 42 is also an abundant number. It means that the number itself is smaller than the sum of its proper divisors.
4. In the book called “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, the number 42 is stated to be the answer to the ultimate question of life. Give this book a read to know and understand more about this context.
5. Most wolves and adult dogs end up with 42 teeth.
6. A marathon is 42,195 meters long. However, it was 42 kilometers originally. The extra 195 meters were added later on so that the race could finish right in front of the royal box. This change was made in the 1908 Olympics.
7. If you’re a fan of paintings, probably you’ve heard of the “Cheese Shop” painting by Monty Python. In this picture, many cheese wheels come with the number 42.
8. Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player, used to wear a jersey labeled 42.
9. The movie that’s been made on the life of Jackie Robinson is named ‘42’.
10. The element ‘Molybdenum’ has an atomic number of 42.
11. The standard oil barrels of the US contains 42 gallons of oil. Each gallon is usually defined as 3.8 liters.
12. The band known as ‘Level 42’ was initially known as ‘42’ only. However, after the release of the book “The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy”, the management team of this band decided to add ‘Level’ to the name.
13. In an episode of The Simpsons, Wiggum the police chief replies to a question with ‘42’.
14. The number of dots on a pair of dice always sums up to ‘42’.
15. Roman emperor Claudius took the throne at an age of 50 years, following the assassination of his nephew Caligula. Caligula was assassinated in the year 42 AD.
16. The TIFF-file format is important as it helps store image files. Every TIFF file starts with the number ‘42’. What’s more interesting is that this number was chosen due to its philosophical significance.
17. A rainbow can only be seen if the observer is at an angle of 42 degrees opposite to the light source.
18. There are a total of 42 illustrations in the book “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.
19. The real 42nd president of the USA is George W. Bush.
20. The favorite number of Dr. House from the House MD series is 42.
21. Apartment 42 is the apartment of Fox Mulders from The X-Files.
22. In Toy Story, you’ll find that the shipping number of Buzz Lightyear is also 42.
23. Coldplay has a song called ‘42’.
24. If you ask for the answer to life, the universe, and everything else on Wolfram Alpha, it’ll reply with ‘42’.
25. The Gutenberg bible comes with 42 lines on each page.
26. The episode of Dr. Who titled ‘42’ runs exactly for 42 minutes.
27. The souls of the dead in ancient Egypt had to face 42 judges.
28. There are exactly 42 laws of cricket!
29. The country calling code of Czechoslovakia was +42. As this country got split back in 1993, the calling codes used are +420 and +421.
30. In Romeo and Juliet were written by the famous Shakespeare, Juliet had fallen asleep for 42 hours.
31. The new building built to house the growing number of scientists at CERN was named Building 42.
32. In the book of revelation, it’s said that a beast will rule all the human beings on earth for 42 months.
33. The three best selling albums of all time are Back in Black by AC/DC, The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, and Thriller by Michael Jackson, all have a playtime of 42 minutes.
34. There’s a 183-meter long building in London made back in the 1980s which was the tallest building in London back then, and it’s called Tower 42.
35. Harry finds out that he’s a Wizard on the 42nd page of the philosopher’s stone book.
36. The board game ‘Risk’ comes with 42 territories in total.
37. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, passed away when he was 42 years old, leaving a total of 42 grandchildren.
38. The Birdman of Alcatraz was imprisoned in cell number 42.
39. There’s a red dwarf with a 42 in its name, and it’s called Kepler-42.
40. Elvis Presley had passed away only at an age of 42.
41. You’ll find tons of references to the number ‘42’ on the TV show Lost. You’ll find planes with 42 rows of seats and much more.
42. 42nd Street is where you’ll find one of the most important buildings in New York.

As you can see, the number 42 is much more interesting than you ever thought it could be. You can find more mathematical properties of 42 here. Now that you know 42 amazing facts about the number ‘42’, you’ll be able to surprise your friends with these!

Math is particularly special because of the array of significant numbers. There are certain numbers and formulas that has likely stuck with you since high school math class – and they always will. Some of these significant numbers are necessary in certain computations. Some of these numbers are used in physics to help explain natural things, such as speed, and depth. 

Computations like the ration of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is universally recognized as pi. The significance of pi is that it is always approximately equal to 3.14159. For example, for any circle, when dividing that circle’s circumference by its diameter, it will give you the answer of 3.14159. Pi is an irrational number, meaning that its value cannot be precise, like a simple fraction. Pi is widely known in mathematical studies including geometry and algebraic equations. 

Sounds cool, right? To checkout more about the significance of Pi, visit https://math.tools/api/numbers/ and get lost in the meanings and significance of numbers! 

The power in numbers and how some have meaning should be recognized. For example, the speed of light, better known as C, computes at exactly 299792458 meters per second. The C stands for celeritas, which comes from the Latin word speed. The number is a universal constant in physics. The precise value is what makes it significant and has been studied for centuries. Understand that some of these numbers break down exact and were discovered by early day mathematicians who paved the way for an understanding of how to use numbers to measure.

Ever heard of the number to everything, also known as the number of the Universe? 42 is said to be the number of the universe, later known to the number of everything. It gets its significance from a famous radio show that eventually was turned into a novel then a movie “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams delved into in the book, he wrote that the number 42 is “The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”. It is said that the answer was determined by the supercomputer Deep Thought after 7.5 million years of calculations. The number is considered a perfect number, which means a number that is a positive integer that is equal to the sum of the number’s suitable divisors.  The number 42 became a staple in math culture after the movie appeared in 2005. However, buzzfeed reported that Adams went on record to say it was all centered around a joke and he just randomly chose the number 42. The answer remains unknown. However, people still hold a great belief that there is some truth to the number 42 being the number and the answer to the universe. 

Some numbers are like household names, you’ll know its significance the moment you hear it. It becomes a natural knowing. In fact, pi is such a special thing in the math culture that it has its own day – March 14^th (3.14) of every year is considered “Pi Day”. To learn more about significant numbers, checkout out https://math.tools/ . The website has built in calculators, math tables, information on formulas, flashcards and more! Math Tools is your virtual math tutor, right at the palm of your hands!