Listening to the radio today I heard a commercial for SNAPPLE. It just so
happens that in the commercial they tell us that Snapple Beverages come in 47
different flavors!!!

i am frightened.
my name is joel and i live in seattle having moved here 5 years ago from
massachusetts where 47 became a large part of our lives. I say our lives
becuase the number infects a lot of us...this a group of friends and
their friends and so on...not a college, not a society.
i must refresh myself of the entire story by listening to an audiotaped
account of its inception by my friend, but i do know that it started
when his roomate yelled out in his sleep: Turn to page 47, turn to page
47. The next day, Carl did just this in the book he was reading. That
page gave details of bodies being burned in ovens. this was right around
full moon, easter and hitler's birthday. It continues from there to this
day and that was back in 1988. At that time i was studying in
copenhagen. Carl had moved into the room that i used to live in.
a couple of years later, Carl studied in Copenhagen. Have you heard of
the beer Carlsberg? literally, it means "Carl's Town". Specifically,
Carlsberg makes a beer called Carlsberg 47 in commemeration of the year
it was founded, 1747, or earlier. on one street in copenhagen, all the
buildings are lined up perfectly, except for one which stands about 3
feet further out than the rest. the number on the tile, up high...?

there is much more. we have kept diaries of the number.
most interestingly, i have heard of the Pomona connection because when i
first moved here i saw a very obscure underground film that i had seen
once before...in copenhagen. walking home, i passed by a gallery opening
and the flier said it was starting at 7:47. Shaking, i entered the room
and asked to speak with the curator. i told him that 47 is a very
significant number in our lives, he turned pale, he then explained
pomona college and the whimsical nature of the number.

it goes on documnetation etc.
then, the other night i posted a query to aol's x-files list asking of
47 and that's when i heard bout the math teacher and star trek
connection.
so today i do a search for 47 using yahoo and i come to your page.

human body contains about 47 miles of nerves (source: robot in headbone
interactive game)

In the musical "My Fair Lady", in the opening scene we see Prof. Henry Higgins
and Colonel Pickering talking about language. Col. Pickering says "There are
147 Indian dialects alltogether!"

According to "The Book Of Facts" by Isaac Asimov,
a mosquito has 47 teeth!

Check out the anniversary years on ACM's web page:
1947-2047!
www.acm.org

(Courtesy of Mark Beach)

dear 47 lovers,
caution.
do not reply to a 47 list mailing.
trust me on this.
have faith.
47.

April 7
Movie History

On 7 April, the following people were born;

Beth Needham 1993
Kate Needham 1993
Hugh O'Connor (I) 1962
Tony Dorsett 1954
Hans W. Geissendoerfer 1941
Francis Coppola 1939
Francis Ford Coppola 1939
David Frost 1939
Jerry Brown 1938
Wayne Rogers 1933
Alan J. Pakula 1928
James Garner 1928
Johannes Mario Simmel 1924
Ronald Howard 1918
William Eythe 1918
R.G. Armstrong 1917
Billie Holliday 1915
Pat Paterson 1911
Walter Winchell 1897
Nikki Fritz 19??
Andre Landzaat ????

On 7 April, the following people died;

Richard Schmeichen 1993
Rick Emery 1992
Alix Talton 1992
Brenda Benet 1982
Nick Stuart 1973
Victor Wong (III) 1972
Anne Morrison Chapin 1967
Theda Bara 1955
Walter Huston 1950
Marilyn Miller 1936

On 7 April, the following movies were released (+ where released);

Famous Escape, A (1908) USA 1908
Napoleon (1927) USA 1927
Three Musketeers, The (1933) USA 1933
Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938) USA 1938
Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The (1939) USA 1939
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939) USA 1939
Kreuzelschreiber, Die (1944) East Germany 1950
Jerky Turkey (1945) USA 1945
Winter Meeting (1948) USA 1948
Bride of Vengeance (1949) USA 1949
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Germany 1954
Terror of the Tongs, The (1961) Germany 1961
Return of the Seven (1966) Germany 1967
Clockwise (1986) Germany 1988
Unbearable Lightness of Being, The (1988) Germany 1988
Don't Touch My Daughter (1991) (TV) USA 1991
Separate But Equal (1991) (TV) USA 1991
Forever Young (1992) France 1993
In the Eyes of a Stranger (1992) (TV) USA 1992
Shadowlands (1993) Germany 1994
Cuisine et Dependances (1993) France 1993
Nowhere to Run (1993) France 1993
Bar Girls (1994) USA 1995
Tales from a Hard City (1994) France 1995
Street Fighter (1994) Spain 1995
Leon (1994) Spain 1995
Little Big League (1994) UK 1995
Richie Rich (1994) Spain 1995
Little Rascals, The (1994) UK 1995
Terminal Velocity (1994) UK 1995
Blue Sky (1994) UK 1995
Cuernos de Mujer (1994) Spain 1995
Faust (1994) USA 1995
Dumb & Dumber (1994) UK 1995
Tales from a Hard City (1994) UK 1995
Tierra y Libertad (1995) Spain 1995
Awfully Big Adventure, An (1995) UK 1995
Outbreak (1995) Spain 1995
Don Juan DeMarco and the Centerfold (1995) USA 1995
Rob Roy (1995) USA 1995
Bad Boys (1995) USA 1995
Goofy Movie, A (1995) USA 1995
Outbreak (1995) Sweden 1995
Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995) UK 1995
Three Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995) USA 1995

I thought today that running a net search for "forty-seven"
instead of the usual numerical 47 might turn up a few more things.
Here are a few of the more interesting ones...

>From _The Pirates of Penzance_:
(found at http://diamond.idbsu.edu/GaS/pirates/libretto.txt)

RUTH: A wife of seventeen! You will find me a wife of a
thousand!
FREDERIC: No, but I shall find you a wife of forty-seven, and
that is quite enough.

And further on in the same work:

RUTH:
Summers seventeen, summers seventeen.
Don't, beloved master,
Crush me with disaster.
What is such a dower to the dower I have here?
My love unabating
Has been accumulating
Forty-seven year--forty-seven year!

ENSEMBLE

RUTH FREDERIC

Don't, beloved master, Yes, your former master
Crush me with disaster. Saves you from disaster.
What is such a dower to the Your love would be uncomfortably
dower I have here fervid, it is clear
My love unabating If, as you are stating
Has been accumulating It's been accumulating
Forty-seven year, forty-seven Forty-seven year--forty-seven year!
year!

Further on down the net search...

Brunswick County, NC (http://www.webcom.com/~towns/) has:
"Forty seven miles of clean beaches, history at every
turn of the road, scenic beauty in abundance, water
and land sports, and a slowed, down-east pace that
soothes the spirit and body."

Ben Bridge Jeweler: (http://www.catalogsite.com/Gen/BenBridge_P1.html)
"In 1912, we started with the simple premise that we could
offer the finest in jewelry values with special attention to
personal service. Today, we operate forty seven retail stores
in seven West Coast states including Washington, Oregon, California,
Arizona, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii..."

There are more, but most are fairly buried or unremarkable.

schlock
--
"No, I'm an extraordinary bitching pain in the ass." --Beau Felton
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~schlock

Date: Thu, 11 Apr 1996 16:08:54 -0700 (PDT)

Top Ten Signs Your Accountant is Nuts

#7. Insists that there's no such number as four.

Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1996 13:59:31 -0700 (PDT)

>The civil-war era ironclad monitor (a union ship) was built with 47 patentable
>inventions.

Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 16:57:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric347 <levine@catseq.catlin.edu>
Subject: important 47 list news

To continue to be on the 47 mailing list
send a message to:

majordomo@teleport.com

In the body of the message (not the subject line, but the body) write:

subscribe 47-l <your email address>

That's all there is to it.
You should receive a message confirming your subscription which includes:

*how to submit 47 stories
*how to unsubscribe/subscribe
*the new 47 faq

If you wish to get off the 47 ride right now, simply do nothing. But be
aware that 47 will still be there and if you absolutely need to share,
you can submit your story to:

47-l@teleport.com

This will allow you to participate without having to commit to the list.

That should just about do it except for one last important detail:
The list is, as of today, 47 members long.
The 47th member is:

JUDY MCDERMOTT

Judy is a longtime 47 follower and strict constructionist (74 is not 47
for her). Congratulations Judy.

So long and thanks for all the fish,

eric347
levine@catseq.catlin.edu

Hello 47 Society and Happy 4/7 to you all.
This year the internet brought us many new members with different 47
backgrounds.
Here are the compiled responses from the questions I sent out last
month. It was amazing to me how many of you came upon 47 completely on
your own--with no prompting from one of us Pomona College geeks. It just
testifies to the power of this thing we've stumbled upon. I hope you all
enjoy your stories.

Please write back and vote for your favorite submission.

Incidentally, there are currently 42 people on our mailing list. Who
will be number 47? And what should we do to/for them? These are
questions to ponder in the coming year.
--Eric Levine (eric347)<levine@catseq.catlin.edu>

The Questions:
Who Are You? Where Are You?
How Did You Discover 47? Do You Have A Pomona College Connection?

The Answers:

Howdy. I'm in Davis California. I am a Pomona grad '90. I found the 47
page through another Pomona grad (Mike Allen '94) who had it on HIS
page.
My most significant sighting is too complicated to explain in detail: the
essesnce is
that a person I met in Palo Alto (at a party thrown by a friend who went to
HMC) goes to Davis happened to be living at 4747 Pomona (and lived with
someone who went to Cal Poly while I was at Pomona who I knew through fencing
at Pomona and didn't realize was in Davis).
--jEReMy fRaNK<frank@cs.ucdavis.edu>

for the record,
i became a 47 believer
when we realized my birthday
was the 47th day of the year.
--Camille Keedy <wkeedy@lclark.edu>

I'm a Pomona alum from the class of '94. (or as our class motto stated
"47+47=94")
When I started at Pomona my mother wrote me a letter and it was then I
noticed that my home address, where I'd lived all my life was:
471 Claremont Way
It was my first sighting of 47.
--Pam Rino <prino@wahoo.sjsu.edu>

Portland, OR
discovered 47 at Pomona College. Can't be any more specific.
most significant sighting,In the movie "Philadelphia"
pomona college connection Alumni
--Matt Kosokoff

First discovered 47 on the second floor of Milikin at the math
department's shrine devoted to the number 47. That was in 1990
Most significant discovery is that I was born in the 47th week of the
year.
Second most significant discovery was a converstaion I had with last
year's days of '47 queen.
--CCURTIS@pluto.pomona.edu

I first heard of the mystique of the number 4orty7even from Eric Adam
Levine, a student whose matriculation, much less commencement, from
Pomona College should forever taint the reputation of this otherwise
fine institution of higher learning.
--Peter Samson <Peter_Samson@ccgw.omsi.edu>

As a Pomona College Grad living in Portland, I encounter 47 daily. My most
significant sighting is ahrd to pick. I'll try to come up with something in
the future.
--Bruce Eaton <BruceEaton@msn.com>

This is mingo
i'm @ my house now (which is in PDX)
a few years ago, on the eve of 4/7, I was over Mr. Levinecat's house. There
was a good deal of 47 related stuff about the place since he was having a
party in 47's honor the following day.
So I says to Mr Levinecat, I says.."what gives?" and Mr levinecat proceeded
to tell me about the 47 phenomenon and produced all sorts of literature and
examples substantiating his point of the not-so-rare-quite-quirky-random
appearances of the #47
Still a tad skeptical I says to him.."yeah right, these examples are compiled
and contrived, this data is skewed at best"
to which he replied "No really, it's everywhere, just look."
Well, needless to say it would not have been difficult in Casdafundada to
come up with a 47 sighting on the eve of a party for that very number's
honor, with all sorts of literature and example lying around substantiating
the point of the not-so-rare-quite-quirky-random appearances of the #47
Yet at that moment, that Mr Levinecat invited me to search, the very first
thing that caught my eye was something which Mr Levinecat himself had no
control over - time. And I be dammed if it did not read 12:47 in digital red
and then I thought to myself "that's AM-- so it is now the first 47
minutes of 4/7...i'm sold!"
and that is the story of how I came to know and believe in the
not-so-rare-quite-quirky-random appearances of the #47
As for my most significant sighting - hard telling. However, it was not long
until I realized that my licence plate # was 474 and my address (1316)
secretly held 47 (1+3=4 & 1+6=7) i guess 47 never ceases to amaze me...
As for the Pomona connection...I did not attend Pomona nor did I relate this
whole 47 thing to Pomona for the first year or year and a half - it was not
presented to me as a Pomona thing.
But if it makes any of you alum feel better my sister did graduate from CMC
and I have actually partied at Pomona-your-mama on one of the rare occasions
that a CMCer would go to a party on that part of campus. I can't recall
if 47 played a part in my visit , for I was not wise in the ways of 47 in that
period of my life.
...but i am now!
so that's my gig...
--Eric Mingorance <MingoMedia@aol.com>

Michaela Schlocker, obsessive Trekker and Homicide fan, college student
and master procrastinator. Of the female persuasion, should it not be
obvious to some.
I am at Stanford, being what is commonly known as a Freshman. In the
off-season I'm from Sacramento, California.
It was a correlation between two numbers on Star Trek that first tipped
me off. "Holodeck Program C-47" and "subroutine 47-C" I believe it was.
That started me looking for 47s in Trek...and of course they started
coming up in real life as well. So today I've got this immense list of
Trek 47s with more coming in every day, and a weird reputation around
the dorm and amongst my friends back home from trying to convert people.
But I have no complaints.
Hmmm...there are so many in Trek, and my own real-life ones are pretty
unspectacular...but my favorite Trek 47 so far has to be when Data plays
cards with Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Steven Hawking. Hawking
wins with four sevens...it was wonderful when I realized.
[pomona connection?] Nope. But last year, I did get a tipoff from a
friend whose sister went to Pomona that 47 was an inside joke at Pomona.
I had to get on the internet before I actually figured the whole thing
out for sure, though.
--Michaela Schlocker <schlock@leland.Stanford.EDU>

I am in Salina, KS
I discovered 47 by just surfin'
No-Kansas State University-'94
On the Kansas highways, you can dial *47 to contact Highway Patrol in an
emergency!
--Tim Cornelius <timcorny@midusa.net>

I was first introduced to 47s through "Nitpickers Central Internet
Extenstion Office (NCIEO)", Phil Farrand's home page. As I read through
the list, 47 started to creep up on me, as well. I soon found myself
looking for 47s everywhere in STAR TREK, and have numerous mentions on
Michaels Schlock's "47" list. It was through her site that I found you,
and I must say that finding 47s has become a major endeavour, and ANYTIME
I hear or see a number on television, radio, or passing a billboard, I'm
either looking for the 47 or doing mathematical tricks in my head to make
one. Indeed, many of mine listed on Michaela's list involve "mathematical
trickery" as she calls it, but nonetheless, the 47 is STILL there. My
wife has even caught the bug and brings them to my attention now and
again!
Enough for now...but I did just notice something. When pulling down my
current Bookmark Window for Netscape Navigator, I have 47 bookmarks
exactly...and this is NOT intentional!
--Jim Ferris <jferris@sun.tir.com>

[I'm] Steve Kass
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Drew University
Madison, NJ
how did you discover 47?
I graduated from Pomona in 1977. It would have been
hard not to be aware of 47.
what is your most significant sighting of 47?
Well, it's 3:47pm as I respond to this...

--Steve Kass <SKASS@drew.edu>

I have been a proponent that 47 is the most common number in the universe
since I was in high school. (1974) Back then, two friends and myself
decided to 'discover' the most common number. We did this mainly by
observation over several months. We came to the conclusion that it
must be 47. Over the years since, I have convinced some, and irritated
more, while raving about this axiom. I have come up with a grading system
of 47s that I use to classify a 47 when I come across one:

Grade A: The two digits 4 and 7, directly next to each other. They can
be embedded in a longer string of digits. Example: 12478.

Grade B: The two digits 4 and 7, appearing in any order. Example:
1204897.

Grade C: When you can use simple math to arrive at a 47. Example:
2209 is 47*47, 11 = 4 + 7, 429 is 4 and 9-2=7, etc.
Grade D: When you need to use more esoteric or advanced math to arrive
at a 47. Example 69.22 is a 47 since 69 - 22 = 47

No connection to Pomona.
--Submitted for Mark Beach by Brian Cragun

NAME: Brian Cragun
DISCOVERED 47: Co-worker, Mark Beach, was into 47's. Pointed them
out constantly. It became an inside joke.
Now a big family joke.
BEST 47: My parents were scoffers. I told my kids I'd pay
them a nickle for each 47 they showed grandpa while
on vacation. We drove into Salt Lake City, Utah,
in July. "Look, there's a 47!" "There's another
one!" On every lamppost in the downtown area
was a banner which said "Days of '47". Utah
celebrates the settling of Utah which occurred
on July 24, 1847 when Brigham Young came to valley
and said "This is the place." Even the Utah flag
has an 1847 on it.
POMONA: No connection. Neither for the person who
started me on it. Sent his story separately.
Claims his "discovery" was with high school buddies.
--Brian Cragun <bcragun@VNET.IBM.COM>

I am Banai Lynn Feldstein
I am 23 1/2 years old (1/2 of 47), senior at FAU, Computer Science major
I discovered the 47s in Star Trek - I'm a Trekkie and a nitpicker
Most significant sighting of 47 -- Gee, I don't know. I see 47s
everywhere, but can't think of one that's most significant.
Pomona College Connection -- I know where their Web page is.
--Banai Feldstein <feldsteb@cse.fau.edu>

Hello! I'm new here, and I'm not nearly as into 47 as many people are,
but I'll just introduce myself anyway. (Personally, I think a lot of
things, like 47 states that don't touch Lake Michigan, just take it a
little too far.) But anyway.
Who am I? Jessica Lehman, Stanford University freshman, no idea what I
want to do with my life but having fun trying to find out
how did i discover 47? Well, I confess, I didn't do it on my own. My
friend Michaela Schlocker, otherwise known as Schlock, who is also on this
mailing list, got into it, and she got me interested. At first I thought
it was silly, but then I realized she was onto something. I started to
pay attention and started finding 47s of my own everywhere. I was
especially convinced when she said she followed 36 and 51 for a week to
see if 47 just seemed to recur a lot because we were actively looking for
it, but they appeared far less than 47.
most significant sighting? hmm. I don't know if I have one. I'll ask
Schlock because she remembers these things better (even about me).
pomona college connection? Here's the interesting part. My older sister
went to Pomona (she graduated in June '95). I got into the 47 thing with
my friend Michaela, before I even knew it was related to Pomona. When I
started talking to her about it, she thought it was silly. When I finally
pressed her as to why, she said they'd known about it at Pomona for a long
time. Only then did I find out all the Pomona stuff and shared it with
Schlock. It doesn't sound as interesting here. Oh well.
--Jessica Lehman <jlehman@leland.Stanford.EDU>

Enjoy your 4/7!
If you're in Portland, come to the Lucky Lab (915 SE Hawthorne) at 7:47pm
on 4/7 and share more stories.

Date: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 10:01:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Eric347 <levine@catseq.catlin.edu>
Subject: very important 47 list news

Beginning after 4/7,
the 47 society emailing list will become automated
(through one of those majordomo programs).

You will receive all the info you need to insure uninterrupted 47-related
news early next week.

Stay tuned to your email for more news on this exciting development which
will greatly enhance our lives.

from clari.news.briefs:

Date: Thu, 4 Apr 1996 09:22:59 -0800 (PST)
From: Eric347 <levine@catseq.catlin.edu>

at the risk of repeating ourselves...

As if to prove that the number 47 is easily seized upon by the
consciousness of many a human being, one of my new professors said
offhand yesterday, "I'm sure there are 47 copies of that in any used
book store."
--Michaela Schlocker <schlock@leland.Stanford.EDU>

Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald 47 hours after JFK died.
--Ann McCormick <mccormia@ohsu.edu>

Date: Wed, 3 Apr 1996 16:15:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Eric347 <levine@catseq.catlin.edu>
Subject: 4/7 celebration invitation

For those of you who can make it,
we will be celebrating 4/7 on Sunday evening at the Lucky Lab Brew Pub
(915 SE Hawthorne in Portland).
At this informal gathering we will share favorite 47 stories from the
past year.
And we'll drink some beer...

eric347

Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 17:13:00 -0800 (PST)
Subject: mad about 47
From: Banai Feldstein <feldsteb@cse.fau.edu>

On tonight's Mad About You (3/31/96):
Paul and Jamie's car was blocked in by a truck -- they
were told that it would be 4 to 7 minutes more, until
the truck was unloaded.

And, when Paul was waiting in line for coffee, the guy
right in front of him ordered: 47 house blends, 28 regular
capuccinos, etc...

During an 8-month journey through Australia, I repeated came across
boxes of "Redhead" stick matches, which featured a drawing of a
redheaded woman. Underneath the logo was written: "Contents: 47
matches"; I stuck one of these in my diary, which I still have....

Steve Wilkinson '83 told me once that he attended a driving school to
erase a ticket off his record. The instructor asked the class, "What
really bugs you when you're driving?" No one answered. He then pointed
to Steve and asked him the same question. Steve said, "What really bugs
me is when people brake for no apparent reason!" The instructor walked
right up to Steve, looked at him, and said, "47th car!" In disbelief,
Steve said, "Excuse me?" The reply was, "47th car! When someone brakes
for no apparent reason, the 47th car behind him will come to a complete
stop." Yow!

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