The 33rd
I woke up this morning at 3:33 a.m. Eastern time. For reasons I’ll explain, I’d already been thinking about the number 33. Then, true story, it was the first thing that loomed in front of my very sleepy eyes—in a weird sort of prophetic double vision. So I decided to see if little old 33 had any additional significance. Now, 7, 13, 100, those are numbers that have history and get respect. But what about 33? Does it have any claims to fame? Turns out it does.
It’s rather infamous in mathematics being that 33 is a number and all. It’s the smallest sum of two positive numbers, each of which is raised to the fifth power. It’s also something known as a Blum integer and a Størmer number, which even this ex-math major is having a tough time figuring out.
33 is also the atomic number of arsenic and the number of bones the human spine when you include the bones in the coccyx. NGC 33 is a double star in the constellation Pisces.
In religion, the divine name Elohim appears 33 times in the story of creation in the opening chapters of Genesis and it was Jesus‘s age when he was crucified in 33 A.D. He also performed 33 recorded miracles. 33 is also both a numerical representation of the Star of David and the number of beads in a set of Islam prayer beads.
The world of sports has been kind to 33 . It has been the number of Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Eddie Murray and Major League Baseball’s most famous baseball likeness, the Pirates Honus Wagner. The Washington, D.C., football player Sammy Baugh, Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls all sported the number 33.
So I am going to have to give the number 33 a lot more respect. Not because today, as I write this blog on an early-morning plane to Las Vegas, I will begin my 33rd consecutive year of attendance at the industry’s largest annual trade show. But because the number deserves it in its own right.
Glassbuild America is an annual right of passage for me and I treat it as such. I hope you will come and say hello to all of us at USGlass. We are in booth 3333 …. Well, no, actually it’s booth 1446 but I couldn’t resist. On to a great show everyone!
Jersey # of Larry Bird, Cazzie Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Enjoy the show!
Wow that’s a long time. Is that a record?
Thanks Earnest it was a good show and Kevin, I believe that Dan DeGorter has been at more total shows but that, to my knowledge, I hold the consecutive record.
This is how you write a blog. I enjoyed every word from beginning to end.