Monday, March 31, 2014

4734

If you take all of the proper factors of 4734 that have a 7 in them, they add up to 4734.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

9.2



This is the 50th anniversary of the "Good Friday Earthquake" in Alaska. At 9.2 on the richter scale, this is the 2nd largest earthquake recorded.


The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the Portage Earthquake and the Good Friday Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 139 deaths.

Lasting nearly three minutes, it was the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the second most powerful ever measured by seismograph. It had a moment magnitude of 9.2, making it the second largest earthquake in recorded history —the largest being the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile.

The powerful earthquake produced earthquake liquefaction in the region. Ground fissures and failures caused major structural damage in several communities, much damage to property and several landslides. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately earthquake engineered houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other man-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along Knik Arm. Two hundred miles southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9.1 m). Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark.

In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 30 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was reported from all over the earth.

There were thousands of aftershocks for three weeks, following the main shock. In the first day alone, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.2. Nine more occurred over the next three weeks. It was not until more than a year later that the aftershocks were no longer noticed.

for more information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Alaska_earthquake

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

56

I read a book many years ago called Ready Made Family.  The main character, Hedwig, had trouble remembering the product of 7x8.  The teacher noticed this, and confided to Hedwig that she (the teacher) was 56 years old, so now Hedwig could remember this.  Since then, I have also remembered that 7 x 8 = 56 this way.



Tuesday, March 25, 2014

218

My friend Kevin weighed himself this morning, and weighed 218 lbs.  This is the first time in many years that he has weighed less than 220.

Monday, March 24, 2014

800

There was a third Apple founder. Ronald Wayne (pictured at home in 2010) sold his 10% stake for $800 in 1976.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

1981

1981 was the year of the first known computer crime.

Ian Murphy is the king of the old-school computer hackers. In 1981, he and three accomplices broke into the AT&T phone system and changed its internal clocks so that customers would get midnight discounts in midday, while late-night callers got stuck with outrageous bills. For the incident, Murphy became the first hacker to be charged with a computer crime.



Saturday, March 22, 2014

12.52

In 1913 it was legal to mail children. With stamps attached to their clothing, children rode trains to their destinations, accompanied by letter carriers. One newspaper reported it cost fifty-three cents for parents to mail their daughter to her grandparents for a family visit. As news stories and photos popped up around the country, it didn't take long to get a law on the books making it illegal to send children through the mail.

On February 19, 1914, May Pierstorff, just short of her 6th birthday, was “mailed” from her parents’ home in Grangeville, Idaho to her grandparents’ house about 73 miles away for just 53-cents worth of stamps. May’s parents were taking advantage of parcel post service, which began just the year before.

53¢ in 1913 is worth $12.52 today.

The first child “mailed” in the U.S. was an unnamed boy in Batavia, Ohio in mid January 1913. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Beauge of Glen Este, Ohio was carried by Rural Free Delivery carrier Vernon Little to its grandmother, Mrs. Louis Beague about a mile away. The boy’s parents paid 15-cents for the stamps and even insured their son for $50. 



Friday, March 21, 2014

8

What color is the number 8?  My friend Jen thinks it is dark green.  I think it is red.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

3000

In 2006, an Australian man tried to sell New Zealand on eBay. The price rose to $3,000 before eBay shut it down.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

0 (which is even)

To deal with fuel shortages after Hurricane Sandy, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced rationing on 8 November 2012.

"Drivers in New York City who have license plates that end in an odd number or end in a letter or other character will be able to gas or diesel only on odd-numbered days such as tomorrow which happens to be the 9th," he said.  "Those with licence plates ending in an even number, or the number zero, will be able to buy gas or diesel only on even number days such as Saturday November 10th."

Saying " license plates ending in an even number, or the number zero..." makes it sound like zero is not even.  It is.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

3,628,800

6! = 720  and  7! = 5040.

720 x 5040 = 3,628,800

10! = 3,628,800

This is the only case where the product of the factorials of two consecutive integers is equal to the factorial of another integer.

Monday, March 17, 2014

11

There have been 11 lost airplanes since 2005, defining an airplane as a craft large enough to hold 14 people.  (source: Mental Floss)

Sunday, March 16, 2014

699

Sir Nicholas George Winton, (born Nicholas Wertheim; 19 May 1909) is a British humanitarian who organized the rescue of 669 mostly Jewish children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War, in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport. Winton found homes for the children and arranged for their safe passage to Britain. The UK press has dubbed him the "British Schindler".

for more information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Winton





Saturday, March 15, 2014

93

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima for work when the first A-bomb hit, made it home to Nagasaki for the second, and lived to be 93.

Friday, March 14, 2014

pi

to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree"

Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
You’re truly transcendental.
Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
You’re physical and mental.
You stretch the bounds…of all we know,
And tell our circles where to go
Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
Your digits are so gentle.

Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
Why can’t I learn you faster?
Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
You’re really hard to master.
Just when I think…I’ve got you down
I flip a 6 and 5 around
Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
Numerical disaster!

Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
Why are you so specific?
Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
Your digit growth’s terrific.
Ten years ago, you had a Mill
And now you’re at a couple Trill
Oh, number Pi, Oh, number Pi
You stretch to the Pacific!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

13

12+1 = 11+2, and "twelve plus one" is an anagram of "eleven plus two."

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

364

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?  On average, a Licking Machine made at Purdue needed 364.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

2500

Janis Joplin left $2,500 in her will for her friends to "have a ball after I’m gone."

Sunday, March 9, 2014

433,982,548

Springing forward each year doesn't just cost you sleep. It also leads to more workplace injuries, lower productivity, and even an increase in heart attacks. Chmura Economics & Analytics says it all adds up to about $433,982,548.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

1.12 million

It would take about 1.12 million mosquitoes simultaneously biting to drain your complete blood supply.

Friday, March 7, 2014

5

Rick Swenson holds the record for having won the most Iditarods, 5: 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1991

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

116

The world’s oldest person has revealed the secret behind her long and healthy life, but if you think it’s all down to diet and lots of exercise then think again.

As it turns out Misao Okawa, who turns 116 years old today, reckons it’s down to two simple things: sushi and sleep.

The Japanese woman, whose life has spanned across three centuries, eats three meals a day and ensures she always gets eight hours rest a night.

Mrs. Okawa, who has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, also credits oily fish such as mackerel for her longevity and only went into a care home 18 years ago at the age of 98.

“She insists that her favourite meal is sushi, particularly mackerel on vinegar-steamed rice, and she has it at least once every month," Tomohito Okada, the head of the Kurenai retirement home where she lives, told The Telegraph.

The mother-of-three has been a widow since her husband Yukio passed away in 1931 and has an elderly son, 94, and daughter, 92 as well as four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Mrs Okawa became the world’s oldest person following the death of 116-year-old Japanese man Jiroemon Kimura on June 12, 2013.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

-3

-3:  The amount of time, in minutes. between the time the carpet shampooer left and the time we got dirty pawprints on the stairs.

Monday, March 3, 2014

80,000

The goody bags given out to every attendee at today’s Academy Awards ceremony have an individual value of $80,000.  If Oscars’ goody bags were a prime indicator of economic progress, it would be safe to assume that things were on the up and up, as this is twice as much as last year’s.


The funny thing about the goody bags is that they are handed out to very rich people who can already afford the stuff that’s in them several times over. Any folically-challenged actor may well be thrilled by the most expensive item in the bag, a $16,000 voucher for a robotic hair restoration, but truth be told, their personal hair stylist will soon discourage them from straying off to some rival salon. If they did try it out, they may come to appreciate the cheapest item in the bag, the $6.49 Drain Wig, which prevents loose hair from clogging up the shower. Same goes for another of the least expensive items, a Mace pepper gun, worth $120. Do they need that when they have their own security detail?  What does a Hollywood superstar do with it?  The answer – give it to an assistant.  Whether so many “O-shot procedures” will be re-gifted is another question altogether. This $2,700 treatment is a vaginal stimulation intended to reawaken sex drive. Then there’s a $4,900 system to purify home water supplies, or a $2,560 home spa installation in the unlikely event star’s homes are lacking in such basic necessities already. Further afield a $6,850 train trip through the Rockies, or a $15,000 walking tour through Japan may appeal, depending on shooting schedules and outstanding invitations for vacations on yachts and private islands.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

715

NASA announced Feb. 26, the discovery of 715 exoplanets (planets outside the Solar System) using data from the Kepler telescope.

The 715 exoplanets were discovered in 305 planetary systems. Four of the planets, each twice the size of the Earth, are in a "habitable zone" where surface temperatures would allow for liquid water. 

The addition of 715 exoplanets brings the known total to around 1,700. The first exoplanet was discovered in 1996.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

134 million

The state of Colorado got  $134 million in tax revenue from legal pot in the first year they legalized it.