# Strange numeric coincidences that should occur only rarely **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 1, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478 "2020-11-01T11:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/141 "2020-11-08T15:57:32Z")
Is this a theory that pertains to sorts and searches? ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/142 "2020-11-08T16:02:58Z")
Wouldn’t win today, if it were now 2016. I mean if people didn’t change. Which of course they do. More simply I meant didn’t win in 2016. The 3rd list is Benfords law with some yet to be defined criteria or parameter that gives a small number of target counties. I’d like to note that enough data is not yet available to draw any conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/143 "2020-11-08T17:57:25Z")
> [@sbright33](#): > > I’d like to note that enough data is not yet available to draw any conclusions. Enough data is available to draw the conclusion that you are providing a link to a bad analysis that lacks the details to show whether or not the differences are meaningful. See Thudlow\_Boink’s link for what happens if one digs beneath the surface of this spurious claim. “We can’t draw a conclusion yet” is what one responds to a good faith argument. For bad faith arguments the correct response is “put up, or shut up!” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/144 "2020-11-08T21:15:13Z")
**Strange Numeric Coincidences** 24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/145 "2020-11-09T03:07:46Z")
The apparent disc size of the Sun and the Moon as seen from Earth are so similar, that either of them can seem larger in normal variation. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/146 "2020-11-09T14:55:38Z")
It’s common for folks to apply Benford’s Law to areas it’s not mathematically valid for. It _sounds_ superficially plausible that results of almost anything should follow a logarithmic decay. But that’s NOT what Benford’s says. It says that the leftmost digit(s) of _totals_ of _uncorrelated_ measurements will follow a logarithmic curve. Critically, a _count_ of anything is _not_ a total of uncorrelated measurements. Each measurement has the same value: “1”. And therefore they’re totally correlated. And therefore Benford’s is not applicable. ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/147 "2020-11-09T15:29:39Z")
You may be right. It sounds good to me. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/148 "2020-11-09T18:12:06Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Write down any three digits. Write the same digits again in the same order next to the originals. Take this six-digit number and divide by 143. The result will always be a whole number - no remainder. That’s because the six-digit number is divisible by 1001, which is 7 x 11 x 13. 143 is 11 x 13, so the result you’re talking about is the original number x 7. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/149 "2020-11-09T18:46:08Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > There must be some other condition for this to be true like the temperature vary continuously. Otherwise set temperature at 20 for every point in the Northern hemisphere and on the equator from 0W \<= longitude \< 180W and at 10 for every point in the Southern hemisphere and the equator from 0E \< longitude \<= 180 E You got it; the temperature must vary continuously for the theorem to apply. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/150 "2020-12-31T08:12:46Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Write down any three digits. Write the same digits again in the same order next to the originals. Take this six-digit number and divide by 143. The result will always be a whole number - no remainder. This can be generalized to any base. P(x) = ax^5 + bx^4 + cx^3 + ax^2 + bx + c is always divisible by (x\*\*3 + 2), which is of course 1001 in decimal. I always find it interesting that many such tricks can be generalized. Divisibilty by (x - 1) is another example. I worked out a proof of that one once, but this brain is too small to contain it. 😉 Or more accurately, my “proof” was so clumsy and inelegant I’ve forgotten the details. But it did work. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/151 "2020-12-31T08:20:37Z")
Oops, missed the edit window. It should have been: P(x) as described above is always divisible by (x^3 + 1). ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/152 "2020-12-31T16:14:55Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > **Strange Numeric Coincidences** > > 24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case What makes you think that’s a _coincidence_? ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/153 "2020-12-31T17:08:58Z")
Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Because 31 OCT == 25 DEC 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/154 "2020-12-31T17:12:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The astonishing part is that (assuming that even integer is greater than 4), you can make both of those odd integers primes! Ah but 4 = 2 + 2 and 2 is the oddest prime of all. So you can say that as far as anyone knows every even number \> 2 is the sum of two odd primes. By the way, someone pointed out above that e starts out as 2.7128282828, but didn’t mention that the next six digits were 459045. AFAIK, there is no apparent regularity after that. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/155 "2021-01-01T08:49:31Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > e starts out as 2.7128282828 2.718281828 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/156 "2021-01-01T16:07:04Z")
Norwegian playwright Ibsen was born in 1828, so a Norwegian “mnemonic” for the first 16 digits of e is 2 point 7 Ibsen Ibsen 45 90 45. It requires you to remember Ibsen’s birth year though, which I rarely do. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/157 "2021-01-01T18:22:10Z")
Grr. Of course. 2.718281828459045. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/158 "2021-01-01T22:28:54Z")
> [@naita](#): > > It requires you to remember Ibsen’s birth year though, which I rarely do. Otoh, if you remember the first bit of the decimal expansion of _e_ then you have a handy mnemonic for Ibsens’ birth year! 😉 It’s commutative! Ain’t math grand? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478/159 "2021-01-02T20:01:56Z")
If you can just remember that [Charles Brewster Benedict[who?] was born on February 7, 1828](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_B._Benedict) then you have a mnemonic for 2 7 1828 (1828). ETA: Oh, and I’ve always found it helpful that knowing how to spell “arithmetic” reminds me to beware that a rat in the house may eat the ice cream. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-numeric-coincidences-that-should-occur-only-rarely/924478.md?page=7)