What's so important about 47?

Some people see 47 as a special number. It has been called the ultimate random number. There are many, many stories about 47, but let me mention these occurrences:

• Between the Summer Solstice and the Winter solstice, the sun moves 47 degrees (23 1/2 degrees North of the equator to 23 1/2 degrees South of the equator)
• People born with Down's Syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead of the more common 46
• Some people believe a flying saucer crash-landed in 1947 in New Mexico, the 47^th state (in order of admission)
• DVDs have a minimum capacity of 4.7 gigabytes

Sure, those last two are a little silly (there are sillier ones), but what about those first two -- doesn't 47 seem to have some greater significance than, say, 37?

I became aware of 47 in high school, at the same time I was becoming friends with many folks who are still my best friends. Over the years, most of us have noted 47 time and time again (for another example, the week before my birthday, a 47-mile long iceberg broke free from Antarctica). So, for 30 years, 47 has been important, special, to me (and others). That is why my 47^th birthday matters to me and many of my friends.

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Copyright © 2002 by Mark Justice Hinton.
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revised Friday December 26, 2003 2:02 PM