Monday, September 25 Is Math Storytelling Day!

Do you know how many spokes are on the crown of the Statue of Liberty and what that number represents? There are seven, representing the seven seas and seven continents. The single torch represents unity – just like the Olympic flame symbolizes that same global oneness. Collectively, these numbers tell the story of people from around the world coming together to the United States – immigration!

The four-color theorem states that all maps can be colored with only 4 colors so that no two adjacent pieces are the same color – but it’s more fun when you rhyme it, like this:

How many colors must you take

For any map you wanna’ make

How many colors

So in your sight

No two neighbors are alike?

...4!

What’s up with the importance given to the number 9? It is likely that, since it is the largest single digit number, 9 has historically been used to say that something is “the most” – which is usually something great – and magical! For example – If you “dress to the 9s” and “go the whole 9 yards,” you will probably end up feeling like you’re “on Cloud 9!” And maybe while you’re up on Cloud 9 you’ll see your cat, who has 9 lives, and ask that wise old cat why “a stitch in time saves 9”?

Contemporary numerals we use today are often known as Arabic numerals. Do you know why we use these rather than other ancient systems such as Roman numerals? Most historians believe the current global number system, which has become known as the Hindu-Arabic number system, and the origin of a place-value zero (0), came from India and were brought to Europe by Arab traders.

Did you watch the meetings of world leaders at the United Nations this week? Do you know how many official languages are represented at the UN? There are 6. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. These languages represent the five languages of the original member nations. Arabic was added later by popular request.

From Dr. Rebecca Klemm, “The Numbers Lady”

After receiving her Ph.D. in Statistics and after more than thirty years of working with and teaching about numbers, Dr. Rebecca Klemm, The Numbers Lady, founded NumbersAlive! as an innovative framework for demystifying numbers and math. Students of all ages join the inquisitive numeric characters – plush toys, puppets, and animated characters – as they explore the relevance of mathematical concepts worldwide.