Monday, March 11, 2013

38

The number 38 has figured prominently in mythology and in other aspects of the world. Below you will find a list of what this number has meant:

The number of slots on an American Roulette wheel (0, 00, and 1 through 36; European roulette does not use the 00 slot and has only 37 slots)

The number of games that each team in the current English Premiership, the top division in English Association Football, plays in a season

Bill C-38 legalized same-sex marriage in Canada

The number of years it took the Israelites to travel from Kadesh Barnea to the Zered valley in Deuteronomy.

A "38" is often the name for a snub nose .38 caliber revolver

Name of the southern rock band 38 Special The 38 class is the most famous class of steam locomotive used in New South Wales

The number of the French department Isère

The gate of the sci-fi TV series Stargate SG-1 can stay open a maximum of 38 minutes.

The number 38 was especially prominent in Norse mythology. The number was said to represent unnatural bravery, characteristic of the legendary heroes of Norse sagas. Most legendary sagas were divided into 38 chapters, and the number often recurred throughout stories, with the heroes combating giants or other beasts in groups of 38.

The number was also significant in Egyptian mythology, as it was the characteristic number of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death and mummification. Egyptian pharaohs were often buried with 38 statues of cat guardians, and their sarcophagi were adorned with 38 ankhs.

All this useless trivia was provided by Wikipedia, which strangely does not mention that the number 38 is what I turned on my birthday that is today. I might have to complain about this.

7 comments:

  1. Happy birthday. I started thinking about it, and in spite of the importance of the number as you have so aptly demonstrated, I can't remember a single thing that happened when I was 38. In fact about fifteen years in there were sort of a blur...

    ReplyDelete
  2. MWDGF:

    That stands for My WONDERFUL Darker Grey Friend. I am a slug. Here it is, ten days after your birthday, and I am just getting around to wishing you a Happy Birthday. I should be flayed, ostracized, and have my membership in the human race disallowed. You have been a much better friend to me than I have to you.

    (Of course, that should have been expected. You're a better human being than I am, overall, so why would anyone expect me to be a better friend?)

    Anyway, I still picture you as the young and sprightly 37-year-old you were two weeks ago, and not the decrepit and disassembling 38-year-old you have become. That's not worth much, but it's the best I have. Feel free to picture me any way you want, but it probably won't help. I'm 18 years older than you, though, so maybe you can get some fun out of imagining me as a bald, toothless old git with a pot belly and hair growing in places I never knew hair could grow until a couple of weeks ago. Then again, yuck!

    So, Happy Birthday, you sweet young thang. I will be jealous of your youth for the remainder of my days on this planet (which are about three or four, if how I feel lately is any indication.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, and whenever My Grandfather (on My Father's side) went to the racetrack, he always played 3 and 8 for the Daily Double. Don't let the fact that he died penniless dissuade you from doing the same. It is fate!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, Michelle. I don't remember whether I wished you a happy birthday on FB or elsewhere. (I'm just getting caught up on a huge backlog of blogs.) If I forgot, I apologize and hope you had a wonderful birthday anyhow. :)

    -TimK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tim! Sorry for the late reply. I just haven't been blogging much.

      Delete

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