3 Exciting And Funny Facts About Math

Believe it or not, but math facts can be really entertaining and surprising. Have you heard about the birthday paradox or do you know which number is the people’s favorite? If not, read on to find out more about these and other interesting math facts. 

Born on the same day – the birthday paradox

We often think that meeting people born on the same day is unlikely and therefore exciting. However, mathematicians specializing in the probability theory know that you do not need to gather 367 people in one room to make sure that there is at least one couple born on the same day. Why 367 people will give you a 100% chance of meeting two people born on the same day?

Because there is 366 days in a year, including February 29th, and one extra person is added to the group to make sure that at least two people were born on the same day. Surprisingly, it takes only 23 people to reach the 50% probability of meeting a person born on the same day. And if there are 70 people in the same room, they have 99,9% chance of sharing a birthday. The explanation has nothing to do with a notion that some days or months of the year are more probable for a birthday, but it involves complex math operations related to the probability theory.

What’s your favorite number?

When asked this question, 10% of people respond by choosing 7. The second most popular number is 3. Why so many people choose the same digits, when they can pick any number they like? It probably has a lot to do with the symbolic meaning of those numbers. Since the ancient times seven was a number signifying perfection and completion. In ancient Egypt seven was a divine number, the Greeks had their seven wonders of the ancient world and in Bible seven is the number of days required for the God to create the world (with the seventh day being the day of rest). The number three has a similar meaning to seven, especially for Christians (e.g. The Holy Trinity). Regardless of the reason behind it, you can use this fun math fact during your Singapore Math kindergarten lessons and try to guess your students’ favorite numbers. Chances are that in a class of 20 students 2 people will choose 7. 

The unlucky numbers

In the Western world number 13 is considered as a sign of bad luck. However, in Asia the unlucky number is four. For example, in China many streets do not have number 4 and there is no fourth floor in buildings. The reason for the superstition is the fact that in some Asian languages the word “four” and “death” are homonyms. Tracing back the roots of our own superstitions is more difficult and there are at least a few explanations why 13 is an unlucky number. For example, together with Jesus, there were 13 people during the Last Supper with the thirteenth one being Judas. Other religions also provide possible explanations: according to a Norse legend, Loki was the thirteenth god, who appeared at a banquet uninvited and whose actions eventually led to Ragnarok. 

Marta Gromadzka is a writer and editor with a wide variety of experience, including writing for websites internationally and editing books on many different subjects and in a variety of formats.