# How man7 arms/legs do I have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355 "2009-08-23T00:35:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/21 "2009-08-23T19:27:16Z")
> [@Rysdad](#): > > Do octopusses think of their appendages as arms or legs? > > I wonder. Tell me o octopus I begs, Is they arms or is they legs? I marvel at thee octopus: If I were thou I’d call me us. _Ogden Nash_ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/22 "2009-08-23T19:39:46Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > And testicles. Are you sure? Obviously, if you include women (in which case the number would be “slightly under one”), but for the men you have to balance monorchidism with triorchidism and other polyorchidistic individuals. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/23 "2009-08-23T20:10:59Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Are you sure? Obviously, if you include women (in which case the number would be “slightly under one”), but for the men you have to balance monorchidism with triorchidism and other polyorchidistic individuals. Pretty sure. [This source](http://www.annals.edu.sg/pdf200405/V33N3p368.pdf) (PDF), confirmed by several others, informs that a mere 100 cases have been reported in medical literature. I would bet good money that cases of monorchism exceed this number by a large factor, especially when orchidectomies are considered. However my previous post lost impact, if there was any to start with, by its failure to point out that it referred exclusively to the male element of the population. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/24 "2009-08-23T21:27:45Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Remember, the average number of arms per capita in this country is slightly under two. While the average number of heads per capita is _exactly_ one. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/25 "2009-08-24T01:18:43Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > Pretty sure. > > [This source](http://www.annals.edu.sg/pdf200405/V33N3p368.pdf) (PDF), confirmed by several others, informs that a mere 100 cases have been reported in medical literature. I would bet good money that cases of monorchism exceed this number by a large factor, especially when orchidectomies are considered. Wow. I knew a guy who was triorchidistic (we weren’t on that level of intimacy, but my housemate slept with him). I had no idea it was that rare. ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/26 "2009-08-24T01:39:07Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Is the 7 in the thread title a clue? Hit the wrong key. If a role a die, do I have a 4/8 chance of getting an even number, even though there are six sides and three even numbers? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/27 "2009-08-24T01:57:40Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Hit the wrong key. If a role a die, do I have a 4/8 chance of getting an even number, even though there are six sides and three even numbers? Could you explain your reasoning? Also, could you explain your reasoning for a 8:8 arms to legs ratio? Neither of these statements appear to have a logical basis, but perhaps I am missing something. ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/28 "2009-08-24T02:07:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Could you explain your reasoning? Also, could you explain your reasoning for a 8:8 arms to legs ratio? Neither of these statements appear to have a logical basis, but perhaps I am missing something. I have two arms and two legs. I know that is **equal** to eight : eight, but is the same? All I want to know is if it is a correct statement to say that the ratio is eight to eight. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/29 "2009-08-24T02:29:35Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Hit the wrong key. If a role a die, do I have a 4/8 chance of getting an even number, even though there are six sides and three even numbers? You would have a 3/6 chance of rolling an Even. Which is 1/2. Which means anything in that line of ratios is correct. So you have a .5 chance of rolling evens (ruling out any random outside factors like the texture, the bounce, or the die being uneven etc.) So: .5= 50% = 50/100 = 40/80= 30/60= 20/40= 10/20 = 5/10= 4/8 = 3/6= 2/4 = 1/2 Hell It’s a half Google over a Google too if you wanna continue upwards as well. For the sake of simplicity though with ratios we try to go with the lowest ones. In this case= 1/2= 50%. I guess you could go lower if you had decimals over decimals but again, that’s just pointless confusion. So yes- your chances of rolling an even number on a 6 sided dice, are 4 in 8, better know as 3 in 6 for the dice. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/30 "2009-08-24T02:40:42Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Unusual to get a spider actually posting here. > **[The New Yorker Cartoons - The Cartoon Bank](https://cartoonbank.com)** > > Browse and license thousands of original New Yorker cartoons ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/31 "2009-08-24T02:41:14Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > I guess you could go lower if you had decimals over decimals but again, that’s just pointless confusion. That’s not simplification, that oversimplification. Thank you for the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/32 "2009-08-24T02:52:50Z")
I think I see what you’re getting at: You have two arms and two legs. Two-to-two is the same as one-to-one, therefore you have a 1:1 ratio of arms to legs. But 8:8 is also equal to 1:1. Is it therefore true that you have an 8:8 ratio of arms to legs? Technically, it’s true; since 8:8 = 1:1, which can be proved by cross-multiplication. (1)(8) = (8)(1). 8 = 8. True. But the _implication_ is that either you have eight arms and eight legs, or that you are a subset of a group of four non-amputees. So while it’s true that you have an 8:8 ratio of arms to legs, it is misleading. Since by convention fractions are usually written in reduced form, you would probably be marked down (or wrong) on a test if you left the ration 8:8 instead of 1:1. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/33 "2009-08-24T03:04:23Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > I have two arms and two legs. I know that is **equal** to eight : eight, but is the same? All I want to know is if it is a correct statement to say that the ratio is eight to eight. Since you are talking about a ratio between physical, discrete objects, I would say it is wrong. There is a 2:2 ratio between your arms and your legs. (You could simply that ratio, and say that it is a 1:1 ratio.) But since I assume you do not have 8 arms and 8 legs, stating the relationship as an 8:8 ratio would be wrong, even though an 8:8 ratio also reduces to 2:2 or 1:1. The ratio is equal, but it is not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/34 "2009-08-24T03:05:31Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Hell It’s a half Google over a Google too if you wanna continue upwards as well. [nitpick] “Google” is a company, “googol” is a number. [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/35 "2009-08-24T03:11:29Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > [nitpick] > “Google” is a company… > [/nitpick] [Sometimes](http://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/columbias-barney-google.html). ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/36 "2009-08-24T14:17:48Z")
I don’t know and I am not going back into the crawl space to count them. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/37 "2009-08-24T14:58:07Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > I have two arms and two legs. I know that is **equal** to eight : eight, but is the same? All I want to know is if it is a correct statement to say that the ratio is eight to eight. Technically correct but linguistically meaningless. If you say that, you can also correctly say that your arms and legs are in a 114 to 114 ratio or 189383409832480 to 189383409832480 ratio. It drives any statement that includes that into the ground instantly. Unless you have a context in which putting arms to legs at eight to eight makes sense, then no reader will accept it as correct. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/38 "2009-08-24T15:07:52Z")
I’d accuse the poster of trying to get homework help, but it would have to be a darned odd curriculum to ask such a goofy question. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/39 "2009-08-24T15:33:00Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Perhaps **copperwindow** is relaying a question seen written in a spider web. That would be some message. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355/40 "2009-08-24T17:00:09Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Wow. I knew a guy who was triorchidistic (we weren’t on that level of intimacy, but my housemate slept with him). I had no idea it was that rare. It does make me wonder if all cases of polyorchidism are reported. On the other hand, if a boy discovers three or more testicles inhabiting his scrotum, and he poses a few circumspect questions regarding the par number for this situation, I’m reasonably certain he would visit a doctor to discuss the surplus. I would. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-man7-arms-legs-do-i-have/507355.md?page=3)