Brainloose Press

BRAINLOOSE AMONG THE NUMBERS

PART OF THE INTRODUCTION

Sources.

I owe a lot to the Guinness books of records, to Isaac Asimov's and Martin Gardner's writings, to the Wikipedia free encyclopedia, and to gleaning from books, papers, magazines, travels, and conversations.

In General.

For years I have collected facts about numbers, and as a teenager began a book of superlatives, but Guinness beat me to it. These number facts and cartoons may interest you for their own sake, and can help you learn number-related facts. For example, to recall the date 1532, think of being chased by the X-15 experimental plane with 32 t teeth (a complete adult set) on its nose.

Some of my cartoon conventions may be self-evident -- a baby represents a birth, a person blissfully sitting on a cloud represents a death. Venus might be shown by a scallop shell (as in famous paintings), and a sprinting light bulb indicates the speed of light . Numerous little speaking faces give voice to dumb objects such as bridges or molecules.

Cartoons.

I present four main items for each number from 0 to 999, with a cartoon involving these four items. Early in my collecting, I often had trouble finding four good items. Now, with computer encyclopedias, the problem is what to do with the wealth of items. Beneath the heading ITEMS NOT IN CARTOON are other items I thought worth including.

About word mnemonics.

The mnemonic words, which appear to the right of each number heading, are alphabetical, from abhor for 0 (you can think, "I abhor Japan's World War Two Zero bomber"), to zoo for 999, because of Australia's Emu wine, called "999" (think, "The zoo has an emu.") When I try to memorize bunches of number facts, the words help. I go on memorizing binges every few months , but soon forget a lot of what I just learned. Don't ask my why I do this! It impresses only my youngest descendants. But there are worse hobbies.

Color code used in the book

THE FIFTY-SIX YEAR FITNESS PLAN

CHAPTER  1 .......... INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER  2 .......... PHYSICAL FITNESS
CHAPTER  3 .......... WALKING, RUNNING
CHAPTER  4 .......... SWIM, BIKE, SKI, CANOE, KAYAK
CHAPTER  5 .......... WEIGHTS, NOVELTY
CHAPTER  6 .......... HEALTH, DIET, MEDICINE
CHAPTER  7 .......... ATHLETES, YOUNG AND OLD
CHAPTER  8 .......... MENTAL FITNESS
CHAPTER  9 .......... EMOTIONAL FITNESS
CHAPTER 10 .......... AESTHETICS AND CREATIVITY 
CHAPTER 11 .......... ETHICAL FITNESS
CHAPTER 12 .......... ECOLOGICAL FITNESS 
CHAPTER 13 .......... EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY OF LIFE
CHAPTER 14 .......... ODDS AND ENDS

TALES TOLD TO THE CROWS

PROLOGUE ..........THE CROWS                              2
TALE 1 ............THE BERMUDA MUG                        3
TALE 2 ............THE BENT SIGN                          6         
TALE 3 ............THE BALL POINT PEN                    10
TALE 4 ............THE NUMBER 33                         12
TALE 5 ............THE RED MITTEN                        16
TALE 6 ............THE CROOKED CANE                      18
TALE 7 ............THE PLASTIC CHRISTMAS TREE            23
TALE 8 ............THE YELLOW TENNIS BALL                26
TALE 9 ............THE GREEN UMBRELLA		         30

OVER THE MOON

Contents:

CHAPTER 1        The  Halifax Explosion               1
CHAPTER 2        Vaulting The  Dike                   4  
CHAPTER 3        The Blizzard And the Train           7
CHAPTER 4        Falling through the Ice             10
CHAPTER 5        Kicking the Bear                    13
CHAPTER 6        Over the Falls                      16
CHAPTER 7        Swimming the Exploits               19
CHAPTER 8        Tide at Cape Split                  22
CHAPTER 9        The Telephone                       25
CHAPTER 10       The Surge Tank                      28
CHAPTER 11       Claustrophobia in the Tent          31
CHAPTER 12       Dream of the Moon                   34
APPENDIX                                             37