Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Ten Numbers You Should Know
September 19, 2006
Larry Polyak, Scoutmaster

I have a thing for numbers. I think it stems from the fact that I majored in math for my first two years of college. Yes I know, it's kind of weird. But we all have our quirks don't we? And I can think of worse things to be hung up about. Anyway... I thought I'd share with you: Ten numbers that I thought you should know. As I name a number, raise your hand if you think you know the specific significance of the number. Ok... Ready?

10) 755 - The career baseball home run record held by Hank Aaron. Would you have known what I was talking about if I had said "714"?

9) 5,280 - The number of feet in a mile

8) 18 - The number of holes in a full round of golf.

7) 40 - Let me give you a hint. Early next year, it will be 41. It's the number of Super Bowls that have been played so far

Here is one of my favorites:
6) 62.4 - The weight in pounds of a cubic foot of water
I had a friend in college who majored in Civil Engineering. He said that if he was ever called upon for an answer when he wasn't paying attenton, he would answer "62.4". And he was right about half the time!

5) 3.14159 - Pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter

4) 121 - The current number of Boy Scout Merit Badges available. Note that only 120 pamphlets are available because the two badges "Music" and "Bugling" are covered in one pamphlet.

3) 88 - Well, there are 88 keys on a piano, but I was thinking of the fact that 88 feet per second is exactly equivalent to 60 miles per hour. For you guys with your driver's license, think about that. At 60 mph it only takes 1 second to go 88 feet. Keep enough room in front of you to give yourself time to react and stop.

2) 25.4 - The number of millimeters in an inch

1) 325 - The best Boy Scout Troop in the world. That one was too easy

Thanks for listening.