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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12 number facts on 12.12.12

And yes, I'm nerd enough that I set this post to post at 12:12pm.


1. The body has 12 cranial nerves.
2. A 12 sided polygam is called a dodecagon
3. 12 is a sublime number (yes, that's a real thing-I can't believe you thought I made that up)
It means that it has a perfect number of positive divisors (6): 1,2,3,4,6, and 12 and the sum of these is also a perfect number 1+2+3+4+6+12=28
This is huge because there are only 2 known sublime numbers. The 2nd one is 6086555670238378989670371734243169622657830773351885970528324860512791691264
4. The atomic number of magnesium is 12 in the periodic table.
5. The duodenum is the first 12 inches of the small intestine.
6. The United State is divided into 12 Federal Reserve Districts (can you name them?) and all paper currency has serial numbers beginning with one of twelve different letters, A through L, representing the Federal Reserve Bank where the currency originated.
7. In ancient Greece the 12 Olympians were the principal gods of the pantheon.

8. In Arthurian legend, Arthur subdued 12 rebel princes, won 12 great battles against Saxon invaders, and had 12 knights of the round table.




9. The 12 Tribes of Israel stem from Jacobs's 12 sons and Jesus has 12 apostles.

10. 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, and the basic units of time (60 seconds, 60 minutes, 24 hours) can all be perfectly divided by 12.

11. In both soccer and American football, the number 12 can be a symbolic reference to the fans giving support to the 11 players on the field.

12. 12 Days of Christmas (most people think this is the 12 days before Christmas, but it starts from Christmas day to the eve of Epiphany or January 5)

I wanted to add more, (such as the number of function keys on most PCs, and the 12 Colonies of Kobol from Battlestar Galactica, or the fact that there are 12 basic hues in the color wheel) but then I wouldn't be listing 12, so I didn't.

 I think I may have a new favorite number.

I'd love to read your favorite number 12 knowledge in the comments. I'm curious too, how many of you realized it was 12.12.12?
*All this wonderful information (and more) is found on wikipedia here 
*Did it drive you nuts that I used 12 instead of twelve? me too, but seeing all those twelve, twelve, twelves everywhere drove me batty too.

13 comments:

  1. Love the BSG fact in there. LOL

    Twitter and Facebook have been blowing up all day with 12.12.12 things, so yeah, I was aware.

    Great post tho - learned new stuff!

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  2. those are really interesting. I had no idea there was a sublime number.

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  3. 12 colonies of Kobol. Haha. I personally like that it's sublime. :) How about a dozen donuts...I could go for that right about now. :)

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  4. Sus-so you caught the BSG reference:)
    Prerna-It being a sublime number is my favorite new fact that I learned.
    Ilima-I figured a dozen wasn't exciting enough to mention, but you're right-a dozen donuts would have been. We went to a homeschool lunch at 12:12pm and everyone brought a dozen of something (we brought pumpkin muffins)
    Dana-Looking up the facts makes me want to know even more random tidbits. #sofun

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  5. I love your post!

    12 has always been my favorite number. It was always my jersey number for all sports! Its always placed somewhere within emails, pass codes, etc.

    I feel totally sublime right now!

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  7. I'm convinced, 12 is my new favorite # too. Very cool post!

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  8. Such an awesome post! My favorite facts were the Arthur ones, of course!

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  9. I just can't look at the number 12 the same way ever again. I think you're right, 12 is an awesome number! Also, Cinderella had to be back before the 12th stroke of midnight, but that's all I could come up with, my mind is mush right now, lol!

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  10. Yep I made it a big deal day too! Last time in 100 years. Cool we got to be a part of it. 12 always makes me think of the Sesame Street song where they counted to 12 and a little pinball rolled through some groovy animation. Totally reminds me of being a kid. :)

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  11. Wow, a lot of cool stuff on 12! I always find it interesting how some numbers are used more than others or have more exposure to our culture.

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  12. Now that was Epic! And we'll never see those numbers in the same order again.

    There's still time to post for the Build Me a Blog Hop if you're still up for it today. :)

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