Kids are often asked, "what's your favorite color?" and "what's your
favorite number?" But one math blogger got asked the latter question so
many times, he decided to turn the tables and find out if the world
actually does have a favorite number.
Alex Bellos, author of math books like "Grapes of Math," asked people
to provide their favorite number and within a few weeks he had more than
30,000 responses. Half of the submissions were between the numbers one
and ten.
He published his findings on The Guardian, announcing that the number seven
is the world's favorite number. It may just be random, but Bellos feels
that if you look at history it may be something deeper than chance.
Apparently, the seven "obsession" began in ancient times, and shows up
in history more than any other number.
In case you're wondering, Bellos found the world's least favorite number is 110.
Bellos's new book "Alex Through The Looking Glass" investigates our
psychological responses to numbers. The book is on sale now.
