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 ten interesting facts about the number eight.
The number eight can be found naturally all over the world, as it’s a Fibonacci number. The sixth number in the Fibonacci sequence, eight, is the only number in this sequence (other than the number one) that is a perfect cube (2³). The following number in the Fibonacci sequence is thirteen, while the previous number is five.
A gallon is the equivalent of eight pints within both the US and imperial measurement systems. That being said, there’s a difference between eight US pints and eight imperial pints. This is because a US pint is 473 ml, while an imperial pint is 568 ml, which makes a US gallon 3785 ml, while an imperial gallon is 4546 ml.
A two-dimensional shape with eight sides is called an octagon, while a three-dimensional shape with eight faces is called an octahedron. They are named as such because the prefix oct- is used to denote the number eight, which can be found in many English words such as octopus (which has eight arms).
The element with the atomic number eight on the periodic table of elements is something that life wouldn’t be able to continue without. We’re talking about oxygen, one of the critical elements that make planets habitable for life as we know it. Oxygen, denoted as “O,” is the third most common element in the known universe, ranking just behind hydrogen and helium.
Pirates spent their lives sailing the seven seas, searching for the number eight or pieces of eight anyway. Formally known as a piastre, pieces of eight were Spanish coins made out of silver that had the number eight stamped on them.
The Lagoon Nebula is commonly referred to as M8 or Messier 8, as French astronomer Charles Messier cataloged it in 1774. Messier 8 lies within the Sagittarius constellation and is an interstellar cloud made up of various gases, dust, and plasma. A bonus fact for the sci-fi nerds out there is that M8 is a guide back to Earth in Battlestar Galactica!
In the game of pool, the eight-ball is best avoided for the first part of the game. The eight-ball is the black ball with the number eight inscribed upon it, which, if sunk into a pocket at the incorrect time, will lose you the game. The expression “behind the eight-ball” comes from pool, and describes a particularly difficult or tricky situation.
The number eight is an incredibly lucky number in China as it sounds similar to the word that translates into “to generate wealth.” Numerology is quite commonly accepted in China, and because of this, anything with the number eight has increased value – whether that’s a license plate with the number eight on it or the eighth apartment on the eighth floor. Even the 2008 summer Beijing Olympic Games were affected by it, as they commenced at eight minutes and eight seconds after eight pm, on the eighth of August 2008!
A popular candy from the UK is marketed to be eaten in the evening, specifically after 8 pm. Nestlé’s After Eight Mint Chocolate Thins (or simply After Eight) have a minty center covered with chocolate. More than a billion After Eights are sold worldwide each year.
If for some reason, you’ve ever looked up at the sky and wanted to know how you could possibly measure just how cloudy it is, then you’re in luck! The amount of clouds in the sky is calculated in oktas, ranging from zero oktas to eight oktas. So, for example, on a day with zero oktas, the sky is completely clear of clouds, while a six okta day would be mostly cloudy.
For some people, the number eight is the most important number in the world, and considering it’s connected with gaining wealth as well as oxygen, we’d probably have to agree.
We could go on infinitely about the number eight, but instead, we might just go and eat an After Eight!
