42 (number)
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42 (forty-two) is the natural number following 41 and preceding 43.
| Cardinal | 42 forty-two |
| Ordinal | 42nd forty-second |
| Factorization | 2 × 3 × 7 |
| Divisors | 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21, 42 |
| Roman numeral | XLII |
| Binary | 101010 |
| Hexadecimal | 2A |
| IEEE Float | > 42.0 = 42280000 hexadecimal |
| Hebrew | מב (Mem Bet) |
| Chinese | 四十二 |
| Lojban | vore |
Contents |
[edit] In mathematics
- 42 is bracketed by twin primes;
- It is a composite number;
- Its factorization makes it a sphenic number (and thus also a square-free integer);
- It is the product of the first three terms of Sylvester's sequence;
- Like the first four such numbers it is also a primary pseudoperfect number;
- It is the sum of the totient function for the first eleven integers;
- It is the third 15-gonal number;
- It is a Catalan number;
- It is the reciprocal of a Bernoulli number;
- It is a meandric number and an open meandric number;
- It is conjectured to be the "third moment of the Riemann zeta function". That means that when
- is expanded as in powers of log(T), the leading coefficient—that of the 9th-degree term—is 42.
- 42 is a perfect score on the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO) and International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
- In base 10, this number is a Harshad number and a self number, while is a repdigit in base 4 (as 222).
[edit] In science
- The atomic number of molybdenum. The element following molybdenum with atomic number 43 (technetium) has no stable isotopes.
- The number of teeth wolves and dogs (canines) have.
- 42° is the critical angle of refraction by water - it is the angle between a rainbow and the antisolar point.
- The light leaving a rainbow is spread over a wide angle, with a maximum intensity around 42°
- The number of minutes it would take a theoretical "gravity train" to travel to any point on earth.
[edit] Astronomy
- Messier object M42, a magnitude 5.0 diffuse nebula in the constellation Orion, also known as the Orion Nebula
- The New General Catalogue object NGC 42, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Pegasus
- The Saros number of the solar eclipse series which began on 1577 BC April 28 and ended on 297 BC June 5. The duration of Saros series 42 was 1280.1 years, and it contained 72 solar eclipses.
- The Saros number of the lunar eclipse series which began on 1293 BC January 24 and ended on 59 April 15. The duration of Saros series 42 was 1352.2 years, and it contained 76 lunar eclipses.
- Gliese 42 is a magnitude 7.17 K3 V orange dwarf nearby star (14.5 pc) in Sculptor, also known as HD 5133, CD-31°325, G269-049, GCTP 177.00, and LHS 1163.
- Ross 42 is a magnitude 11.52 dM4 e red dwarf nearby star (14.1 pc) in Orion, also known as Gliese 206, G097-047, and GCTP 1259.00.
- The planet Uranus' north and south poles face the sun 42 years before switching, (example) the north pole experiences 42 years of summer and 42 years of winter and vice versa.
[edit] In religion
- The number of generations in the Gospel of Matthew's version of the Genealogy of Jesus.
- The number of months the Beast will hold dominion over the Earth (Revelation 13:5).
- In the ancient Chinese text the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, chapter 42 is an explanation of the universe.
- The number of men of Beth-azmaveth in the census of men of Israel upon return from exile (Ezra 2:24).
- God sends bears to maul 42 of the youths who mock Elisha for his baldness (2 Kings 2:23).
- There are 42 principles of Ma'at.
- The number of lines on each page of the Gutenberg Bible, the oldest surviving book printed with movable type.
- 42 is the number of lines in the Ancient Philosophy of Nasadiya Sukta from the Rig Veda which coincidentally gives an insight into the creation of universe.
- 42 is the number with which God creates the Universe in Kaballistic tradition
[edit] In pop culture
- The number 42 is The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, according to Douglas Adams' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Numerous others have parodied this supposed mysticism of 42.
- If one types "the answer to life, the universe, and everything" into Google (without the quote marks), one will receive the answer 42 by Google calculator (See the above).
- Geoff Fortytwo (formerly Busker) is a computer scientist who legally changed his surname in 1997 to reflect the Answer.
- Using some versions of a word processor known as an AlphaSmart, when one types in an equation whose solution is 42, the sentence "The answer to life, the universe and everything" appears before displaying 42.
- In one of the subsequent books in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, it is implied that the question to which 42 is the answer is "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?". It has been noted that six times nine equals 42 in base 13. Whilst some have been tempted to infer significance in this (for example, that God has thirteen fingers), Douglas Adams denied that he was aware of this alternate solution when he wrote the book. He stated, "I may be a pretty sad person, but I don't make jokes in base 13."
- It was postulated, by mice, that the Question was, "How many roads must a man walk down?" Whether or not this is the case is unclear.
- The number of student "players" in a regulation Battle Royale is 42.
- In the game of Risk, there are 42 territories to be conquered.
- In the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, EVE Online, 42 was the number used to create the online universe on 'Tranquility', the cluster on which EVE resides. The EVE Online community manager Charles Dane recently stated, "LeKjart said during his presentation at the first EVE Fanfest that 42 was the number used to seed Tranquility. Eight hours later, Tranquility was created, populated with objects and Non Player Characters, then went live to the public shortly thereafter."
- In Marvel comics 42 is the name of a massive super-human prison/holding cell located in the Negative Zone.
[edit] In music
- The movement number of the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's Messiah.
- The Level 42 band.
- The Disco Biscuits band from Philadelphia has a song titled "42"
- In "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Fat" it states that his "shadow weighs 42 pounds". In his new song "You're Pitiful", he sings about a 42 year-old nerd.
- The Rolling Stones' song "Undercover of the Night" makes reference to a "Center 42".
[edit] In television and film
- The Kumars at No. 42 television series. In 2003, Sanjeev Bhaskar hosted a BBC show nominating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as Britain's Best Loved Book. During the show Bhaskar stated that the Kumars' house number was in honour of the book.
- Appears as the number of hits on the hit counter at the bottom of a fake website for the show Arrested Development on FOX
- In the movie Finding Nemo, Nemo is taken to Dr. Philip Sherman's office at 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney NSW
- In The X-Files, Mulder has seen Plan 9 from Outer Space 42 times and his apartment number is 42.
- 42 is one of The Numbers on the television show Lost, along with 4, 8, 15, 16 and 23.
- Matthew Broderick's character, Steven Kovacs, in the movie The Cable Guy has this apartment number.
- The number of the spoofed government film in the Monty Python sketch "How Not To Be Seen" from episode 24. (Douglas Adams also appeared as a doctor in episode 42.)
- Summer of '42, a "coming-of-age" movie (1971) and novelisation written by Herman Raucher
- In the movie 28 Days Later, a radio transmission that promises an answer to the infection leads the protagonists to roadblock 42
- In one episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Eduardo asks, "What is 3 plus 2?" Frankie and Mr. Herriman answer 5, but Bloo says that "5 isn't good enough. I say it's 6, or 7, or even 42!"
- In theYu-Gi-Oh! GX episode "Let's Make a Duel," Tyranno advises Jaden, "If it's multiple choice, pick C!" Syrus adds, "That's right! And if it's a number, say 42!"
- In the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends movie "Good Wilt Hunting" one of the nerdy guys helping Coco had 42 on his T-shirt.
- Dr. House in one of the second season episodes of House claims that it is his favorite number.
- The age of Peter Griffin on the Fox animated series "Family Guy".
- On the television show "The Simpsons", Homer is supposed to die at the age of 42.
[edit] In video games
- 42 All-Time Classics is a Nintendo DS game that features 42 parlor games.
- A level in the game Destroy All Humans! is named "Area 42".
- In the MMOG EVE Online, the gaming environment is said to have been created by inputting the number 42 into a random galaxy generator.
- The EA game, Battlefield 1942 or "BF42" was the first game in the popular Battlefield Video Game Series
- The EA game, Battlefield 2142 is the most current game in the battlefield videogame series.
- In Gears of War the tank that Marcus Fenix drives is numbered 42.
[edit] In sports
- The number of laws of cricket.
- The jersey number of Jackie Robinson, which is the first and only number retired by all Major League Baseball teams
- The jersey number of football Hall of Famer, Ronnie Lott, safety for the San Francisco 49ers who retired his jersey number in 2003.
- The jersey number of Pat Tillman, which was retired on November 13, 2004 by Arizona State University.
- The jersey number of Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees closer (the last player to wear Robinson's number, under a grandfather clause).
- The jersey number of Elton Brand, power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers.
- The jersey number of basketball Hall of Famer James Worthy, small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers.
- The approximate length of a Marathon race in kilometers.
- Has been the car number of Kyle Petty.
[edit] In technology
42 is a common metasyntactic variable used by programmers. In the TIFF image file format, the second 16-bit word of every file is 42, which is used together with the first word to indicate byte order. In the reiser4 file system, 42 is the inode number of the root directory.
The code number for the Microsoft .NET platform is 42, since it is their answer to "The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything". It also happens to be the building number that the Microsoft .NET CLR is built in.
The help entry 42 (accessed by typing ":h 42" in command mode) in the Vim text editor displays a reference to Douglas Adams.
42 is the number of U-slots in a standard IBM computer room rack.
[edit] In other fields
- In AdventureQuest, there is a door with the number 42 on it, which, if you click on it, it says "This door contains the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. It is locked, bolted, and duct-taped shut." a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- On Neopets a programmer named Ollie constantly says 42 in reply to Neomails about the Altador Plot
- The Number of Quatraines that remain in Nostradamus's 7th Century.
- The number of U.S. gallons of oil contained in one barrel of oil (this equals just under 159 litres and 35 UK gallons)
- The age at which Elvis Presley died
- The age at which Satchel Paige, St. Louis Browns (1906-1982) became the American League's first black pitcher in 1948
- The age at which Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, retired as the oldest NBA player in 1989
- The maximum number received of any one present in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas
- In Lewis Carroll's book, The Hunting of the Snark, which he wrote at the age of 42, "one who was famed for the number of things/ He forgot when he entered the ship:" had "...forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,/ With his name painted clearly on each:/ But, since he omitted to mention the fact/ They were all left behind on the beach." Its preface also references a 'rule 42' ("No one shall speak to the Man at the Helm")
- Carroll's Alice has 42 illustrations. In Chapter XII, the king explains "the oldest rule in the book": "Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court"
- The sum of the numbers or pips on a pair of conventional (six-sided) dice
- The name of a Texan trick-taking game played with dominoes (see 42 (dominoes)).
- The number of the French department Loire.
- The name of an equipment finance and lease management product built by Northern Arch
- The minimum age one had to have been to be elected a consul in the Roman Republic
- Part of the name of 42 BELOW, a vodka produced in New Zealand.
- The number of perfect squares formed by the grid at a 19x19 Go board, when the "squares" are slightly rectangular with the ratio 13/12, as required by tradition.
- The number of hours that the potion caused Juliet to sleep for (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene 1, line 105)
- In Japanese, 4 (shi) and 2 (ni) are together pronounced like "going to death" (死に). Because of that, in Japan, 42 is considered as a disastrous number
- Age (in years) of the horse that drove Mr. Pickwick to Golden Cross, as reported by a cabman (The Pickwick Papers, Chapter III)
- The number of holes on a Connect Four game board
- The number of stones each side has in the most common game type of Mancala with two rows of six pits with seven pieces in each pit
- The number of legs on the Centipede in Roald Dahl's book James and the Giant Peach
- The world record for the most amount of people in one car is 42
- In Scene One of "The Island" by Athol Fugard, John remarks that, "[Cell block] Number 42 is practicing the Zulu War Dance"
- There were originally 42 columns and 42 figures from Greek myth in the Parthenon
- The number of different whiskies used to blend J&B
- The number of enemies Gimli the Dwarf kills at the Battle of the Hornburg in The Lord of the Rings (changed to 43 in the film version)
- Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States
- Washington became the 42nd state in the Union on November 11, 1889
- In New York City, 42nd Street is a main and very popular two-way thoroughfare. Landmarks on it include the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, the main branch of the New York Public Library, and Times Square. The New York City street is also the setting for a movie by the same name (which also gave fame to its eponymous title song), and which later inspired a musical adaptation, 42nd Street
- HA 42 is an infamous Hip Hop and Graffiti crew with members in several states
- In Oscar Wilde's book The Importance of Being Earnest, 42 is the age that Gwendolen Fairfax wishes Cecily Cardew were.
- The number of teeth in Moby Dick.
- The age at which the mathematician Alexander Grothendieck retired.
- In Julia Quinn's romance novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, before revealing her "brilliant idea", Lady Danbury asks, " 'How many great mysteries are there in life, really?'" The hero replies cheekily :"Forty-two?"
[edit] Historical years
42 A.D., 42 B.C., 1942, 2042, etc.
[edit] External links
- Deep Thought (another list of the meanings of the number 42, with a heavy Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy slant)
- 42 A website dedicated wholly to the number 42
- aa42.com, another website devoted to the number 42
