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Numbers in literature and films

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Jan Merolant

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Jun 29, 2002, 9:41:41 AM6/29/02
to
Hi, this is not a puzzle but I am looking for
numbers which are an established association
(e.g. Macbeth's three witches) or a fixed concept
(e.g. 365 days in a year). In this case I am
looking for numbers which occur in world literature
(so 365 days in a year, etc. isn't what I'm looking
for now, but rather the three-witches type). In
particular, I'm looking for numbers above 30,
which are less common. I already have a few in
my Language Equations list, but I need more.


Do you know any?

Selamat siang
Jan


Carl G.

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Jun 29, 2002, 7:15:03 PM6/29/02
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"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:afkdhm$ehhht$1...@ID-102081.news.dfncis.de...
Jan,

Perhaps you could list the numbers you already have (perhaps as a puzzle).
Most of the numbers that come to my mind are already in the available
language equation lists (40, 42, 101, 451, 1001, 2001, etc.). There are
many numbers in the Bible (even a book by that name!), so using an on-line
concordance should find you several. Using an on-line search of
Shakespeare's works may also provide more.

ObPuzzle:

Here's a puzzle based on Bible numbers:

For the first part (the "warm up"), locate the number mentioned in each
verse and perform the specified arithmetic operation.

Start with I Timothy 3:2
Add Exodus 20:9
Divide by Genesis 1:16
Add Revelation 11:9 (include partial days)
Subtract Mark 13:27
Multiply by I Peter 3:20
Add I Samuel 17:40
Add Ephesians 4:6
Divide by Daniel 6:10
Add Genesis 7:17
Multiply by I Corinthians 13:13
Divide by Genesis 7:24
Add Matthew 26:15

Now that you are done with the "warm-up", it gets a bit harder. Start with
the final number obtained above, and do the following:

Add the number of people on the ship that shipwrecked on Malta.
Subtract the number of golden lampstands seen by John.
Divide by the number of sons Haman had.
Subtract the number of people that rode on Noah's ark.
Subtract the number of the bowl poured on the sun.
Divide by the number of cleansed lepers that didn't go back to thank Jesus.
Multiply by the number of men who, along with Stephen, were chosen to serve
(but not including Stephen).
Add the number spelled out in the name of Philemon's slave.

What is a Bible verse that contains the final number?

Note: I checked the puzzle using a couple of different versions (King James,
New King James, and New American Standard). If you have a different
version, it will probably still work out.

Carl G.

Jan Merolant

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Jun 29, 2002, 9:04:36 PM6/29/02
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Carl G. heeft geschreven in bericht ...

v

v

v


Genesis 17:25


Jan


Jan Merolant

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Jun 29, 2002, 9:15:57 PM6/29/02
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Carl G. heeft geschreven in bericht ...
>
>"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
>news:afkdhm$ehhht$1...@ID-102081.news.dfncis.de...
>> Hi, this is not a puzzle but I am looking for
>> numbers which are an established association
>> (e.g. Macbeth's three witches) or a fixed concept
>> (e.g. 365 days in a year). In this case I am
>> looking for numbers which occur in world literature
>> (so 365 days in a year, etc. isn't what I'm looking
>> for now, but rather the three-witches type). In
>> particular, I'm looking for numbers above 30,
>> which are less common. I already have a few in
>> my Language Equations list, but I need more.
>>
>>
>> Do you know any?
>>
>>
>>
>> Selamat siang
>> Jan
>>
>>
>Jan,
>
>Perhaps you could list the numbers you already have (perhaps as a puzzle).
>Most of the numbers that come to my mind are already in the available
>language equation lists (40, 42, 101, 451, 1001, 2001, etc.). There are
>many numbers in the Bible (even a book by that name!), so using an on-line
>concordance should find you several. Using an on-line search of
>Shakespeare's works may also provide more.
>

The bible and Shakespeare are great sources for numbers,
but I like to find many numbers from as many different
works. Also typical numbers that appeared in movies
are welcome.

Selamat tidur
Jan

Thunder9

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Jun 29, 2002, 11:27:25 PM6/29/02
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I know one. 6000000

ObPuzzle what's the largest such number?
xx_NOSPAM is antispam

Linda Franklin

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Jun 30, 2002, 5:12:29 AM6/30/02
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"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:afkdhm$ehhht$1...@ID-102081.news.dfncis.de...

how about
20 000 LUTS


v
v
v

v

v
vv
vv
vv
v

v
v
20 000 Leagues Under The Sea - by Jules Verne


Jan Merolant

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Jun 30, 2002, 1:07:50 PM6/30/02
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Thunder9 heeft geschreven in bericht ...

From which book and in what context is 6000000 used?
I like that information too, otherwise what good is
such info. ;-)


Jan


Jan Merolant

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Jun 30, 2002, 1:14:54 PM6/30/02
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Linda Franklin heeft geschreven in bericht ...

>
>
>"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
>news:afkdhm$ehhht$1...@ID-102081.news.dfncis.de...
>> Hi, this is not a puzzle but I am looking for
>> numbers which are an established association
>> (e.g. Macbeth's three witches) or a fixed concept
>> (e.g. 365 days in a year). In this case I am
>> looking for numbers which occur in world literature
>> (so 365 days in a year, etc. isn't what I'm looking
>> for now, but rather the three-witches type). In
>> particular, I'm looking for numbers above 30,
>> which are less common. I already have a few in
>> my Language Equations list, but I need more.
>>
>>

80 Days around the world - by Jules Verne
40 Thieves with Ali Baba
20000 Leagues Under The Sea - by Jules Verne
1001 Arabian Nights
Fahrenheit 451 (Science fiction story by Ray Bradbury)
39 Steps (Novel)
42 Answer to the Ultimate Question (Hitch Hiker's
Guide to the Galaxy
77 Favorite Drink of Tony Manero in Saterday Night Fever
101 Dalmatians in the Disney Movie
2001 A Space Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke)
100 years of solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Who can add to the list?


Jan


Paul Bennington

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Jun 30, 2002, 1:22:16 PM6/30/02
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"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:1UGT8.66341$38.90...@zwoll1.home.nl...
1066 and all that (humorous history book)


ray?

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Jun 30, 2002, 3:52:19 PM6/30/02
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"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:1UGT8.66341$38.90...@zwoll1.home.nl...

2010 and 2061 are follow up books to 2001 by arthur clarke
farenheit 451 is a film and a book
1 million years bc is a film
1984 is a book and film
--
---<--<< ray >>-->---


Thunder9

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Jun 30, 2002, 4:18:49 PM6/30/02
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On Sun, 30 Jun 2002 19:07:50 +0200, "Jan Merolant"
<nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote:

Good enough for a brain teaser. :P

Thunder9
xx_NOSPAM is antispam

Jan Merolant

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Jun 30, 2002, 4:21:57 PM6/30/02
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ray? heeft geschreven in bericht ...

Most of these are titles of books or films. But I really rather wants things
which are in the story.

Like three balls used in Quidditch
or how many buffalo were shot by buffalo bill.

Jan

Richard Heathfield

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Jun 30, 2002, 4:50:54 PM6/30/02
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9000000000000

("The Nine Billion Names of God" - Arthur C Clarke)

Usanians adjust to taste. :-)


--
Richard Heathfield : bin...@eton.powernet.co.uk
"Usenet is a strange place." - Dennis M Ritchie, 29 July 1999.
C FAQ: http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html
K&R answers, C books, etc: http://users.powernet.co.uk/eton

ray?

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Jun 30, 2002, 4:48:59 PM6/30/02
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"Thunder9" <Thunder9...@dsemail.net> wrote in message
news:j8quhugfr5dpia6g5...@4ax.com...

six million dollar man 1970's TV series

Thunder9

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Jun 30, 2002, 5:59:17 PM6/30/02
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>> >>I know one. 6000000
>> >
>> >From which book and in what context is 6000000 used?
>> >I like that information too, otherwise what good is
>> >such info. ;-)
>> >
>>
>> Good enough for a brain teaser. :P
>>
>
>six million dollar man 1970's TV series

Yup! Ok now anyone know "well-known" number in literature or
performing arts that's bigger?

Thunder9

xx_NOSPAM is antispam

Mark Brader

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Jun 30, 2002, 6:09:47 PM6/30/02
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Jan Merolant:
> ...three balls used in Quidditch...

Which one did you forget?
--
Mark Brader | "[These] articles should be self-explanatory.
Toronto | If they *don't* explain themselves,
m...@vex.net | you'll have to read them." -- Michael Wares

Jan Merolant

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Jun 30, 2002, 6:04:34 PM6/30/02
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Mark Brader heeft geschreven in bericht ...

>Jan Merolant:
>> ...three balls used in Quidditch...
>
>Which one did you forget?

Oops, there were four.

Jan

Glenn C. Rhoads

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Jun 30, 2002, 8:46:31 PM6/30/02
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"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message news:<mXsT8.63885$38.85...@zwoll1.home.nl>...

> Carl G. heeft geschreven in bericht ...
>
> The bible and Shakespeare are great sources for numbers,
> but I like to find many numbers from as many different
> works. Also typical numbers that appeared in movies
> are welcome.

41 -- Ben Hur
666 -- The Omen (and sequels). And the Bible of course.
50 -- Cool Hand Luke
42 -- The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Mike

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Jul 1, 2002, 8:23:52 AM7/1/02
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In message <310vhus07m7o43fci...@4ax.com>, Thunder9
<Thunder9...@dsemail.net> writes

S P O I L E R
_______ ____ ______ _______
/ __/ _ \/ __ \/ _/ / / __/ _ \
_\ \/ ___/ /_/ // // /__/ _// , _/
/___/_/ \____/___/____/___/_/|_|

___
/ _ \
/ ___/
/_/

____
/ __ \
/ /_/ /
\____/

____
/ _/
_/ /
/___/

__
/ /
/ /__
/____/

____
/ __/
/ _/
/___/

___
/ _ \
/ , _/
/_/|_|


Not sure whether these qualify as 'well-known', but there are bigger
numbers than 6,000,000 in some movies (from the IMDB):

8 Million Ways To Die
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0090568

Also, the word 'Billion' gives numerous matches:
Adventure: Billion Dollar Heist (1978) (TV)
Two Billion Hearts (1995)
Five Billion Years (1981)
Mr. Billion (1977)
Billion Dollar Boner (1960) (No, probably not what you're thinking, as
it's listed under 'Family Comedy' :-)
Billion Dollar Brain (1967)
Billion Dollar Bubble, The (1976)
Billion Dollar Hobo, The (1978)
Billion Dollar Limited (1942)
Billion Dollar Scandal (1933)


--
Mike
(Reply-to address will normally be valid for at least a month)

Mike

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Jul 1, 2002, 8:24:58 AM7/1/02
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In message <afnnpi$jfn$1...@news7.svr.pol.co.uk>, ray?
<r...@NOJUNKlakesabout.freeserve.co.uk> writes

>1 million years bc is a film

Does this count as +1,000,000 or -1,000,000? :-|

Duncan Smith

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Jul 1, 2002, 10:03:40 AM7/1/02
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"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:1DJT8.66951$38.91...@zwoll1.home.nl...

Like Room 101 perhaps.

Or Nos 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc. in The Prisoner (do TV series count?).

10 Rillington Place (film).

Duncan

Mark Brader

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Jul 1, 2002, 1:52:26 PM7/1/02
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> > 1 million years bc is a film
>
> Does this count as +1,000,000 or -1,000,000? :-|

-999,999 of course. :-)
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "GUALITY IS FIRST"
m...@vex.net | --slogan of "Dongda electron CO.,LTD"

Mike

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Jul 1, 2002, 2:33:26 PM7/1/02
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In message <uF0U8.140$Yc.93...@news.tht.net>, Mark Brader
<m...@vex.net> writes

>> > 1 million years bc is a film
>>
>> Does this count as +1,000,000 or -1,000,000? :-|
>
>-999,999 of course. :-)

You're right. I should have seen that!

jan merolant

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Jul 1, 2002, 5:23:52 PM7/1/02
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Jan Merolant heeft geschreven in bericht ...
>13
>
>Genesis 17:25


Did I got the right answer?


Jan


Carl G.

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Jul 1, 2002, 8:31:47 PM7/1/02
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"jan merolant" <mero...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:6D3U8.74453$38.97...@zwoll1.home.nl...

>
> Jan Merolant heeft geschreven in bericht ...
> >
> >Carl G. heeft geschreven in bericht ...
> >>Here's a puzzle based on Bible numbers:
...

> >>What is a Bible verse that contains the final number?
> >>
...

> Did I got the right answer?
>
>
> Jan

Yes. Well done.

Carl G.


gerson

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Jul 2, 2002, 8:41:13 AM7/2/02
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"Jan Merolant" wrote

> Like three balls used ...
> or how many buffalo ...

!

12 children/people in the tontine in the wrong box

There must be lots more - I'm still thinking - I mean
pondering

Jan Merolant

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Jul 2, 2002, 10:53:09 AM7/2/02
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gerson heeft geschreven in bericht ...
>
>"Jan Merolant" wrote
>
>> Like four balls used ...

>> or how many buffalo ...
>
>!
>
>12 children/people in the tontine in the wrong box
>
>There must be lots more - I'm still thinking - I mean
>pondering


There _are_ lot's more, but it's hard to remember
what you once read. That's why I asked the puzzlers
for some help. Together we should be able to come up with
a nice set of frases. If you do remember some I appreciate
if you could also tell me the work (book/film) the frase is coming from.


Thanks

Jan


Mark Brader

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Jul 2, 2002, 1:23:52 PM7/2/02
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John Gerson:

> 12 children/people in the tontine in the wrong box
>
> There must be lots more ...

Lots more children in the tontine? :-) Just so. I've never read$
Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, but a quick check at Project Gutenberg
shows that there were 37. I think the number is smaller in the movie,
but there are still at least 20 of them -- think of them all around
that big table in the opening scene. (You may only see about 10-12
people in the "untimely ends" sequence, but there's no implication
that those are all of them.)

$ I did try the first few pages once. Here is the first sentence,
which is representative of the style...

| How very little does the amateur, dwelling at home at ease,
| comprehend the labours and perils of the author, and, when he
| smilingly skims the surface of a work of fiction, how little does
| he consider the hours of toil, consultation of authorities,
| researches in the Bodleian, correspondence with learned and
| illegible Germans -- in one word, the vast scaffolding that was
| first built up and then knocked down, to while away an hour for
| him in a railway train!
--
Mark Brader, Toronto But that's what all the other
m...@vex.net individualists are doing!

My text in this article is in the public domain.

ray?

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Jul 2, 2002, 1:57:47 PM7/2/02
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"Jan Merolant" <nojan.m...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:afkdhm$ehhht$1...@ID-102081.news.dfncis.de...
> Hi, this is not a puzzle but I am looking for
> numbers which are an established association
> (e.g. Macbeth's three witches) or a fixed concept
> (e.g. 365 days in a year). In this case I am
> looking for numbers which occur in world literature
> (so 365 days in a year, etc. isn't what I'm looking
> for now, but rather the three-witches type). In
> particular, I'm looking for numbers above 30,
> which are less common. I already have a few in
> my Language Equations list, but I need more.
>
>
> Do you know any?
>
>
>
> Selamat siang
> Jan
>
>
The film "drowning by numbers"(1988)
contains, in order, the numbers 1 to 100
somewhere on display through the film

ray


Jan Merolant

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Jul 2, 2002, 4:14:34 PM7/2/02
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ray? heeft geschreven in bericht ...


No no, I need a number and the thing/fact that
belongs to that number. Also I needs the book
or film in which the frase can be found.

Like the number of dwarfs in Snowwhite.


Jan


Mike

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Jul 2, 2002, 4:24:10 PM7/2/02
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In message <fInU8.81730$38.10...@zwoll1.home.nl>, Jan Merolant
<mero...@home.nl> writes

>Like the number of dwarfs in Snowwhite.

Funny: I thought of that one, but I rejected it because it appears in
the title. It's actually very hard to think of numbers that don't
appear in the title, as they are not nearly so memorable -- which, I
suppose, is the whole point of the exercise!

What about the number of Kittens in "The Aristocats?" (3)

Chris Thompson

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Jul 10, 2002, 11:14:52 AM7/10/02
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[rec.arts.sf.written added to newsgroups, and followups set to that]

Richard Heathfield (bin...@eton.powernet.co.uk) wrote:
[... much snipped ...]


>
> 9000000000000
>
> ("The Nine Billion Names of God" - Arthur C Clarke)
>
> Usanians adjust to taste. :-)

I don't think there's much doubt that the Billion there was an "American"
billion, i.e. 10^9 not 10^12.

a. It is true that "billion" still tended to mean 10^12 in the UK in 1953
(the 10^9 meaning didn't really become the common one here until the
1960's). But according to the notes in _The Collected Stories_, the
story was first published in "Star Science Fiction Stories #1", edited
by Fred Pohl.

b. The only time "nine billion" is mentioned in the text is by Chuck, one
of the two engineers. We do know that George, the other one, was brought
up in Louisiana, and that the offices of the manufacturers of the "Mark V
Automatic Sequence Computer" are in Manhattan.

c. The background is that the list would have taken 15000 years to write
out by hand, but only 100 days using the computer. For 9 * 10^9 that
translates to 1650 per day by hand, and 1000 per second for the computer
(and bear in mind that they are actually meant to have been printed out).
I don't think rates 1000 times as large are plausible. [Clarke, of course,
unlike so many SF authors, is actually numerate.]

d. The description of the list as consisting of names of not more than
nine letters, subject to various (unspecified) restrictions, doesn't
really help as we are not told the size of the alphabet that the monks
have "devised".

Chris Thompson
Email: cet1 [at] cam.ac.uk

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