When I want to suggest the largest possible number of things, I reach for my trusty largest number---72. You might wonder how I picked 72 to be the largest number possible. Well, having watched the "I Got Six" song in Multiplication Rock countless times, I noticed the following:
In the middle of the song is a "prince" dressed in a dishdasha and sporting a huge afro hairstyle. The prince has 6 diamonds rings on every finger---making 60 diamonds.
The prince goes out to check on his camels who are parked at parking meters. Each of his eleven camels is loaded down with 6 casks of oil and spice (for 66 casks). This yields to him a "princely" sum of money. In the next scene, we see that the prince has twelve wives (dressed in middle eastern garb). The singer mentions in an aside that "He better be rich" to have so many wives. Each of the wives has six kids---making 72 kids. Daddy will sometimes ask whether it would be good to have 72 Aidans in the house. I don't think this would be a good idea at all---it would be too crowded---and I tell him so.
Anyway, the idea of having to share space with 72 guys led me to think that 72 is an awfully large number, and, subsequently, I've use the number 72 as a kind of shorthand for "a lot."
To hear a clip from the "I got six" song as well as to see the complete lyrics, click here.
1 comment:
Gotta love Schoolhouse Rock!
Who can forget, "I'm just a bill/ I'm only a bill/Sitting here on Capitol Hill..."
Love,
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