47-l-digest           Friday, August 1 1997           Volume 01 : Number 004




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Date: Tue, 1 Jul 1997 11:18:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: a 47 from Pomona

Hi gang:

Just checking the links as we redesign the Pomona College web site.  A
funny 47 thing happened the other day.  I got a call from a guy who
lived at 4707 W. 47th Street in D.C., requesting a copy of the
President's annual report.  I said, "Are you an alumnus?"  He wasn't.  I
said, "Well, there are many alums who would kill for your address."

Only you guys would truly appreciate that story.  Leastwise, I think so.

[submitted by]
Nina Ellerman
Administrative Web Manager
Pomona College

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Date: Tue, 1 Jul 1997 11:25:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: what else?  more 47s!

The first song on The Ben Folds Five's album "Whatever and Ever Amen" is
called "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces". This is the first and last
lyric in the song:

     September '75 I was 47 inches high.

[submitted by]
- -Bob


[and]

While watching the Samurai Pizza Cats a day or two ago (yeah, it's really
a children's show, but it's still pretty funny), I spotted a 47.  One of
the characters was plotting something and said it would be easy to get
away with because their target had an IQ of -47.  Just thought I'd pass it
along.

[submitted by]
James Marshall


[and]

1. My wife was 47 yesterday.
She was born on 6/28/1950
+6-28+19+50=47

2. you may already have this one from the family of four 4s:

(4!+4!)-4/4=47 (Courtesy Dr Math)

[submitted by]
Maurice Brenner

[and]

My roommate says her flight back to school departed from gate 47.  She
arrived at SF International at 1:47.

She was watching _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ earlier today, which mentions 1947.

And lastly, I found the following on rec.humor today...

47 INTERNET P5YCHlC5 MURDERED IN 'WEIRD' SIMULTANEOUS ATTACKS

By Sarah Flowers Henson
Union Press Times-News

        KANSAS CITY (UP) - Fourty-seven Internet "spammers" specializing
in psychic hotlines were found murdered in their homes in Missouri, New
York and Hong Kong, the FBI reported Saturday.
        "They never saw it coming," said Thomas Lewis, agent in charge of the
Kansas City office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  "Each one of them
appears to have been attacked by surprise in the middle of the night
and shot in the head."
        The FBI is investigating the possibility of gang involvement in the
murders, carried out simultaneously at 10 p.m. CDT.
        "Even the two shot dead in Hong Kong got it at 10 Central Time,"
Lewis said.  "Is that weird or what?  They were the only two killed outdoors."
        The killings may have been motivated by competition that threatened
the giant Voobik clearing house in Seattle, where Internet psychics
and  sex talkers, most of them "drugged-up senior citizens," work in
sweat shops seven days a week, he said.
        No 8OO# was given.

[submitted by]
Michaela
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~schlock/the47s.html

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Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 10:23:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: 47 calculations

Another day, when I couldn't sleep at all as I arrived in Wisconsin Dells,
I laid my had on the pillow and wondered if there were any interesting
mathematical facts with the universally known as the incredible number 47. 
If you really enjoy 47s, you have probably seen this one:

4 + 7 = 11
      7 + 11 = 18
            11 + 18 = 29
                    18 + 29 = 47

But what I found out is this:
  7
4   = 16,384
	(1+6)=(3+8)-4
	7=11-4
	4+7=11

And when I was really bored, on the way back, I figured out this
interesting one, using the numbers 1 through 9, in order:

123 - (4 - 5) x 6 + 7 - 89 = 47

I must have been really bored at those two occasions, but I spent my time
for the sake of the legendary 47.

[submitted by]
Bobby Joe <bobbyjoe@bigfoot.com>

- ---------------------
Visit Bobby Joe's Rock'n'Roll Bar:
<http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/3668>

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Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 10:25:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: more stories of the 47

I knew I shouldn't have sent that message earlier...I should have known I
would be inundated with 47s just the same day.

Yesterday was the once-a-year inventory day at the Stanford Bookstore, and
what do you know...the bookstore is filled with 47s.

First, I cleaned off a small table of science overstock books.  There was a
stack of books to the side that I wasn't sure should go with my table or
with the other table to the side.  A coworker said to move all of them onto
my table so as not to confuse the inventory people, and then moved them
while I went to find my calculator.  When I got back she had finished
moving them, and said there had been 47 books in the stack.

When telling us how to handle the pre-count sheets, the supervisor on duty
told us offhandedly "there are like 47 pieces of paper you have to deal
with."

I realized I had grabbed precount sheet #47 at some point along the way.

Then I was sent to do precounts of areas 4760-4765.

When explaining to us later how to do recounts after the inventory people
had finished scanning everything, our supervisor told us, "You'll have to
investigate all discrepancies.  Say we counted 46, but they came up with
47..."

And towards the end when the recount sheets were being distributed for the
various areas, I heard someone yelling, "47s!  Who's got the 47s?"

Why, that'd be me, of course...

[submitted by]
Michaela
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~schlock/the47s.html

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Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 17:04:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: Jeff Brown's Story of 47

Greetings..
My name is Jeff Brown and I have some interesting 47 stories to tell...

When I started working in the Television business as a graphic
artist.... I began at a TV station in Findlay, Ohio... Channel 47.  From
that point on I had experienced the occurence of 47's everywhere.  Until
recently I just thought it was because I worked at Channel 47...    In
January a few years back... Our station became an UPN affiliate and
began broadcasting Voyager.  That's when I started seeing 47 all over
the place.. and began to wonder about this.

Later that year I moved to Dayton, Ohio... to another TV station.  Turns
out that the exit of the Highway for my station....is Exit 47.

I still have the Television Banner from TV47.... it hangs above my
television while I watch Star Trek!...haha...

Hope you enjoyed my story..

[submitted by]
Jeff Brown
Graphic Artist/WDTN-TV2

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Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 17:06:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: E. F.'s 47x47

I've fallen behind, so here are forty-seven new 47s. . . 

1) In 1971, a postal strike in Britain halted mail deliveries for 47 days.
2) In 1962, Western Samoa gained independence after 47 years of New Zealand 
colonial rule.
3) In 1969, the average U.S. farm worker produced enough food and fiber for 
47 people, up seven from the previous year.
4) On May 2, 1968, the first successful U.S. heart transplant was performed 
by surgeon Denton Arthur Cooley, age 47, on a 47-year-old male patient.
5) In 1872, British sugar consumption rose to 47 lbs per person.
6) According to the Beaufort meteorological scale, a "strong gale" is defined 
as a wind having a speed ranging from 47 to 54 miles per hour.  
Correspondingly, a "gale warning" indicates winds within the range 34 to 47 
knots.
7) After Congress passed the first of three Morrill Acts in 1861, U.S. 
tariffs rose to 47 percent.
8) Under U.S. copyright law, which took effect in 1978, works are protected 
for up to 75 years from the date of publication -- the author's lifetime plus 
50 years, or for 28 years plus a renewal term of 47 years.
9) In 1841, the first emigrant wagon train for California, consisting of 47 
individuals, left Independence, Missouri.
10) When Wheaties was introduced by the Washburn Crosby Company in 1924, "the 
breakfast of champions" contained 4.7 percent sugar.
11) In the 500-kilometer Paris-Bordeaux road race of 1895, a two-cylinder 
1891 Panhard Levassor won with a time of 48 hours, 47 minutes.
12) In 1855, a military cookstove was invented which could prepare food for 
an entire battalion with 47 pounds of wood instead of the usual 1,760 pounds.
13) In 1075, the Synod of Rome and Pope Gregory VII passed a strict decree 
against simony (that is, the purchase or sale of church offices), and German 
bishops begin a 47-year struggle against the papacy by ignoring the decree. 
14) Greek geographer, historian, and philosopher Strabo wrote 47 books of 
historical sketches, almost all of which are lost. 
15) The Hindenburg, which exploded and burned at Lakehurst, carried 50 
passengers and 47 crew members.
16) The Voice of America is an official branch of the U.S. Government and 
broadcasts in 47 languages.
17) When the Miami-bound Amtrak Sunset Limited from Los Angeles hurtled off a 
12-foot-high trestle in September of 1993, 47 of the train's passengers and 
crew members were killed.
18) Although some two hundred civilians were victimized in the 1968 My Lai 
massacre, the number of victims dwindled as information moved up the chain of 
command, and General Samuel Koster and 13 other officers were accused in the 
deaths of only 47 "non-combatants".
19) When Mexico City's Metro subway line opened in 1970, the twenty-two-mile 
route had 47 stations.
20) In the railroad disaster of 1938 in Saugus, Montana, there were 47 
deaths.
21) According to my sister Erika, one of the ACT tests this season has a 
reading and comprehension section which stated "the truest of true" fisherman 
has 47 pockets on his fishing jacket.
22) In the film "The Fifth Element", the two policemen who are taking a break 
before they join in the chase are Unit 47.
23) In the film "Blade Runner", the serial number on the genetical-engineered 
snake scale is 99069-47-XB71.
24) In 67, General Joseph ben Matthias and the Jews of Caesarea seize the 
fortress at Jotapata in protest against their sacrileges and extortions by 
Roman soldiers, by they yield after 47 days to the Roman armies.
25) Hart Crane saw the Brooklyn Bridge as a symbol of human creative power in 
his book "The Bridge", which explored the destiny of American.  When he wrote 
"The Bridge" in 1930, the Brooklyn Bridge was 47 years old.
26) When a gasoline tank car exploded in Ardmore, Oklahoma in 1910, there 
were 47 fatalities.
27) In astronomy, elongation is the angular distance between two points in 
the sky as measured from a third point.  As viewed from Earth, the elongation 
with respect to the sun of Venus is 47 degrees.
28) According to "The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1996", the daily 
newspaper circulation in the Republic of Seychelles is 47 per 1,000 persons.
29) The International Direct Dial Calling code for Norway is 47.
30) Christie's Internet Matchmaker is an electronic dating service whose 
users cross reference profiles, participate in live online chat, or respond 
to ads by e-mail in order to find their mate.  After reading to the 
introduction, one continues and answers a series of 47 questions.
31) Prior to the O.J. Simpson trial, judges in 47 states allowed cameras in 
the courtroom, but this has changed in its wake.
32) In college football, the longest Division I-A winning streak was 47 wins 
by Oklahoma from 1953 to 1957
33) In 1934, 4.7 million families were on relief according to Relief 
Administrator Harry L. Hopkins.
34) In 1870, the first black U.S. senator was elected: Hiram Rhoades Revels, 
age 47, of Mississippi.  Similarly, in 1966, Edward W. Brooke, age 47, was 
the first black senator since the Reconstruction.
35) When "The Cosby Show" debuted in 1984, Bill Cosby was 47 years old.
36) On February 8,1949, a new U.S. transcontinental speed record was set by 
an Air Force XB-47 jet bomber.
37) In 1876, after 47 years, England's Henley Regatta got its first U.S. 
entry as Columbia University's shell competed with British shells.
38) According to the "The 1996 World Almanac and Book of Facts," 4.7 percent 
of 1994  light trucks and vans were "light brown" in color.
39) Under the emperor Dom Pedro, Brazil proclaimed independence in 1822 and 
eventually expanded to occupy 47 percent of South America.
40) A star cluster is a group of neighboring stars which resemble each other 
in certain characteristics that suggest a common origin -- the brightest of 
globular clusters in our galaxy are Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae.
41) On its mission from 11/28/83 to 12/8/83, the space shuttle "Columbia" 
had a flight time of 247 hours and 47 minutes.
42) The tallest building in Montreal is Place Victoria with 47 stories.
43) In the railroad disaster near Stockton, Georgia in 1944, there were 47 
deaths.
44) In 1989, the explosion in the gun turret of the USS Iowa killed 47.
45) In 1876, English-American restaurateur Frederick Harvey opened the first 
Fred Harvey restaurant in the Santa Fe Railroad depot.  At the time of his 
death in 1901, there were 47 Fred Harvey restaurants in other major railway 
depots and junctions.
46) At the age of 47, John Major was criticized for being "too young" to be 
the British Prime Minister.  However, the Japanese emperor Bintas and his 
brother Yomei, the Mughal emperor Babar, Denmark's Christian VI, Russia's 
Aleksandr I, the Japanese emperor Yomei, the Japanese shogun Iemitsu, 
Russia's Czar Alexis Mikhailovich, Japan's Taisho emperor Yoshihito, 
Portugal's Duarte I, the Russian czarina Anna Ivanovna, and the Holy Roman 
Emperor Charles VII all died when 47 years old.  
47) In the Republic of Kiribati, there is one telephone per 47 persons.

Submitted: E. F.

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Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 11:36:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: 47 sucks gas

It used to be the case that Rolaids advertised being able to absorb "47
times its weight in excess stomach acid."  Now they're advertising that
they neutralize "47% more stomach acid" than a competitor.  Is there
Pomona grad doing the Rolaids ad campaign???

[submitted by]
Steve Kass, Pomona College '77

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Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 12:11:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: coffee, sports, and tiffany's 47

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 1997--Coffee People Inc. a specialty 
coffee retailer and operator of coffee houses, continued its market expansion 
with the opening of the company's second store in Chicago and the siting of 
another store in Oregon. 

These two stores bring the total number of Coffee People locations to 47 in 
five states. 

[and]

There were 47 triple doubles in the NBA during the past season.


"Our payroll is $47 million, which is in the middle of the pack for major
league teams, but certainly enough to spend for a contender."
                --      Boston Red Sox President John Harrington

[submitted by]
Rich Meyer

[and]

in the movie 'breakfast at tiffany's,' there's a scene where holly (the
always wonderful audrey hepburn) hosts a party.  a guy comes with a liquor
delivery and is saying "that will be 47..." but he is rudely cut off
before we hear the rest of the price.

[submitted by]
camille

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Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 11:23:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: find the 47 path

>From the official Mars Pathfinder web page...

"The flight team received a signal from the Pathfinder lander's low-gain 
antenna at 6:47 p.m. Friday confirming that the lander received Friday's 
commands and was beginning to execute them. The team then expected to 
receive data over the lander's high-gain antenna beginning at 8:47 p.m. 
However, no signal was received at that time."

[Submitted by]
E. F.

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Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 15:48:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: some brief 47 stories

I saw a rerun of a Seinfeld episode recently and was thrilled to hear
Elaine trying to order the supreme flounder from a Chinese restaurant -
it's menu number was 47.

I also was recently on vacation in Thailand. While riding a motorbike
around the island of Koh Samui, I pulled to the side of the road to get
something out of my backpack.  When I heard the "beep-beep" of a truck
backing up, I loked up to see a Coaca-Cola delivery truck about to back
into me. After quickly backpeddling to avoid death, or at least a couple
of broken bones, I noticed the number on the truck was 47. Have the
photos for proof! Imagine death at the hands of the Thai No. 47
Coca-Cola truck.

[submitted by]
Mike Lazorchak

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Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 13:14:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Levine <willies@teleport.com>
Subject: More Lazorchak and other Bull 47s.

In the movie Bull Durham, Crash Davis sets the new record for home
runs in the minor league.  The old record was 246.

[submitted by]
Tracy Thomas
 
[and]

looking at the clock and seeing the minute as 47 happens just too
frequently to me to include each time here, but some others:
long before i knew about the power of 47, my frequent flyer number
assigned to me has the digits 47396 in it
the last baseball game i attended, both teams used a pitcher with the
No.47
one of whom was jesse orosco (currently with the orioles) but he was the
pitcher on the mound when the mets won the 1986 world series and also
wore No. 47 at the time
i'm sure someone has pointed that the beginning of the song "wild, wild,
west" it says "47 deadbeats"

[submitted by]
Mike Lazorchak

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End of 47-l-digest V1 #4
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