Take a two-digit base-10 number where the digits are represented by ab. This number is equal to 10a + b and the sum of its digits are a + b. The difference between the number and the sum is 9a, which is divisible by three. So a + b is divisible by three, if and only… Read More »
The only 3-digit answer is \(544_9 = 445_{10}\). However, there are answers in other bases: \(211_3 = 112_4\) \(322_5 = 223_6\) \(433_7 = 334_8\) \(544_9 = 445_{10}\) Are you seeing a pattern here? Does the pattern extended to bases higher than 10? Does \(655_{10} = 556_{11}\)? Does \(766_{11} = 667_{12}\)? Cheating a little bit by… Read More »
A tree planted in memory of George Harrison, the lead guitarist of The Beatles, died after being infested by beetles. If the sum of the digits of a number is divisible by three, the number is divisible by three. Likewise, if the sum of the digits of a number is divisible by nine, the number… Read More »
Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia is the medical term for brain freeze (ice cream headaches). Oraibi, Arizona has been continuously inhabited since sometime around 1100 CE. St. Augustine, Florida, which makes the claim it is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States, was not founded until 1565, more than 450 years later. Damascus, Syria has been… Read More »
On September 11, 2001, terrorists defeated the United States. We got our ass kicked. The September 10 United States is nothing but a memory. Since 9/11, we have created the very government the Founding Fathers feared: a government with sweeping and largely unchecked powers resting on the hope that they will be used wisely. However,… Read More »
Research on bread indicates that: 1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users. 2. Fully half of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests. 3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than… Read More »
On Thursday, November 28, 2013, the American holiday of Thanksgiving and the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah will converge (overlap). Hanukkah will begin at sundown on Wednesday, November 27 and at sundown on Thanksgiving day, the second day of Hanukkah will begin. The convergence happens because the Hebrew calendar reflects both the solar year and the… Read More »