Over the ages, people have attributed many facts to numbers.
Numerology, superstition, important dates, and so many other things cling to various numbers, which in some cases gives them great significance!
Today let’s take a look at 32 fast facts about the number 32.
Water begins to freeze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0°C) at normal atmospheric pressure.
The number 32 is divisible by numbers 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32. It also happens to be the fifth power of two (25).
Mathematically, the number 32 is pretty cool, as it can be written as 11 + 22 + 33!
If you happen to be a fan of all things Roman, here’s one for you – the number 32 in Roman Numerals can be written as XXXII, with the Xs representing 10s and the Is representing 1s.
32 is the atomic number of the chemical element germanium. Germanium belongs to group 14 of the periodic table, otherwise known as the carbon group. It’s quite a shiny-looking metalloid element and is used chiefly for fiber and infrared optics.
The Messier 32 galaxy is a magnitude nine dwarf galaxy in the Andromeda constellation, approximately 2,650,000 light-years away from the solar system. Fortunately, it’s pretty far away, as it contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of about 1.5 – 5 million suns.
32 is a pretty significant number in the timeless game of chess. There are 32 black squares, 32 white squares, and 32 pieces on the board at the beginning of the game!
There are 32 teams in total in the United States National Football League.
US sports organizations apparently like the number 32 a lot, as it’s also the number of total teams in the National Hockey League!
But wait, there’s more – from 1998 to 2022, the FIFA World Cup features 32 teams in their tournaments!
From 2023, the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament also runs with 32 teams.
OK, the last soccer fact for all you fanatics – a standard soccer ball is most typically made from 32 leather panels.
Ludwig Van Beethoven completed a total of 32 numbered piano sonatas, the most famous being number 14, the Moonlight Sonata.
American alt-rock band They Might Be Giants released a song called 32 Footsteps.
The legendary English rock band Genesis released a song called The Chamber of 32 Door in their 1974 album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
American rock band Mr. Mister’s debut album, I Wear the Face contained a track titled 32.
The Danish electronic rock band Carpark north also released a song titled 32.
They weren’t the only bands obsessed with the number 32, though, as Van Morrison too released a song, this time called Thirty Two, on his New York Sessions ’67 album.
In terms of albums, an English rock band from South Yorkshire called Reverend and the Makers’ fourth album is titled ThirtyTwo.
On the cover of American rock band Incubus’ 2006 album Light Grenades, there’s a Japanese Rising sun with 32 rays of light coming out of it.
Canadian rock band Sum41, known initially as Kaspir, released the song 32 Ways to Die on their album Half Hour of Power.
American glam metal band Warrant released a song titled 32 Pennies on their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich.
UK rapper, singer, and songwriter Jermaine Sinclaire Scott goes by the name of Wretch 32, or sometimes just 32.
The Mudgala Purana, a Hindu scripture focused solely on the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, describes Ganesha as able to take 32 different forms.
One of the Theraveda Buddhist’s central texts describes a grand total of 32 physical characteristics through which the historical Buddha could be recognized. Some of them are pretty whacky, like his mouth being full of saliva that makes any food taste delicious!
The average human adult has 32 teeth, including wisdom teeth.
A databus, as in a communications system that transfers data between computer components, is 32 bits in size.
If you want to call someone in Belgium, remember the number 32, as it’s their international dialing code.
Ireland traditionally had 32 counties, but these days, the Republic of Ireland has just 26 counties. Northern Ireland’s former six counties have now been broken into 26 parts, called single-tier districts for local government purposes.
The 32nd largest island in the world is the Canadian Axel Heiberg Island, with a total area of 16,671 square miles (43,178 square km).
In the world of Pokémon, the 32nd entry in the Pokédex is the male version of Nidoran (the female version of the same name is the 29th entry), a commonly found Poison-type Pokémon from the first generation.
In the year 32 AD, the Roman emperor Marcus Salvius Otho was born.
While the number 32 might not be the most popular of numbers, it’s definitely an interesting one!
Sure, there weren’t Thirty-Two Commandments or anything like that, but musicians and sports associations are clearly big fans of the number.
