On 55

As you will see, 55 is an interesting number in many ways. No matter if it is fifty five, padesát pět, fünfzig fünf, cinquanta cinque, femtio fem, LV, or whatever language one chooses, this post is for my wife and everyone else who are in the fifty fifth year of life – which includes the author of Fifty Four and a Half.

Cheers to everything you ever wanted to know about 55 and afraid to ask.

PS: No, it’s not my wife’s birthday, but I better get this one up before her birthday (which is approaching).

In Mathematics

• The 10th Fibonacci number
• The sum of the numbers 1 to 10
• The sum of the squares of integers 1 to 5
• Divisible by 1, 5, 11, 55

In Science

• The atomic number of caesium, an element whose neutral atom has 55 protons and 55 electons
• The duration of Saros series 55 was 1280.1 years, and it contained 72 lunar eclipses

In US History

• The number of Delegates attending the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787
• The 55th Congress (1897-1899) met during the first two years of the William McKinley administration

In Geography

• The number of the French department Meuse
• The code for international direct dial phone calls to Brazil
• 55th Street stretches two miles across midtown Manhattan
• High-rise residents at 55 East Erie Street in Chicago
• 55th Meridian East runs from the North Pole to the South Pole through Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Antarctica
• 55th Meridian West runs from the North Pole to the South Pole through Greenland, Canada, Suriname, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, South Shetland Islands, and Antarctica

In Transportation

• The highest speed limit allowed in the United States between 1974 and 1986 per the National Maximum Speed Law
• In many states of the United States, a very common speed limit for rural secondary roads and many urban freeways
• The number of European route E55 connects Helsingborg, Sweden to Greece
• The designation of I-55, a freeway that runs from Louisiana to Illinois
• NASA’s STS-55 (Space Shuttle mission)

In Literature

• Shakespeare’s Sonnet 55
• Psalm 55

In Film

• The number of Sacha Baron Cohen’s character, Jean Girard, in the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
• 55 Days at Peking starred Charlton Heston and David Niven
• Winner of the 55th Academy Awards included Ben Kingsley (Gandhi), Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice), Lou Gossett, Jr (Officer and the Gentleman), and Jessica Lange (Tootsie)

In Music

• A song produced by Group X was called Schfifty Five. With the addition of a flash animation, Schfifty Five became a common internet meme
• 55 is the name of a song by British Indie Rock Band Kasabian
• Sammy Hagar sang I Can’t Drive 55
• Tom Waits (and later Sarah McLachlan) sang Ol’ 55
• Cristian Vogel released an album titled Station 55
• Ol’ 55, an Australian rock band
• Primer 55 an American band

In Sports

• In sports, the jersey number “55″ is also known as “Double Nickels” or “Double Nicks”
• No NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL teams have retired 55
• In NASCAR, drivers of 55 include Michael Waltrip (who never won), but three drivers haveL Benny Parsons, hil Parsons, and Bobby Hamilton

In Year 55 CE

• Roman emperor Nero is also a Roman Consul.
• The Roman jurist Sabinus writes three books on the rights of citizens.
• The apostle Paul writes his First Epistle to the Corinthians.
• Britannicus, son of Claudius (killed by supporters of Nero)

In Year 55 BC

• Pompeii’s Theater built, the first permanent (non-wooden) theatres in Rome
• Julius Caesar defeats a Germanic army then massacres the women and children, totaling 430,000 people, somewhere near the Meuse and Rhine Rivers
• Caesar commands the first Roman invasion of Britain

In Business

• 55KRC (WKRC, 550 AM), Cincinnati
• The 55 Bar (Greenwich Village)

Miscellaneous

• In the dice game of craps, if you roll two 5s or a “55″ this is commonly known as a hard 10 or double nickels
• 55 Degrees North is a BBC television series
• 55 US gallon drum, but standard size of a drum in the US is 44 gallons
• Adolf Hitler was the fifty-fifth member of the National Socialist German Workers Party
• Gazeta 55, an Albanian newspaper
• Constitution law 55, a law during Communist Albania
• Book, 55 Ways to Have Fun with Google