On 59

Why a tribute to 59? Well, sometime in February I turned 59, so that’s a good enough reason for me. For tributes to other numbers, see Category > Numbers in the sidebar or click here.  Meanwhile, here’s more about fifty nine than you ever wanted to know.

In Language

Fifty nine is the same as padesát devět, vijftig negen, cinquante neuf, cinquanta nove, femtio nio, LIX, and more.

In Mathematics

• Fifty-nine is the 17th smallest prime number and an Eisenstein prime
• Since 15! + 1 is divisible by 59 but 59 is not one more than a multiple of 15, 59 is a Pillai prime (who would have guessed this)
• Divisible by 1 and 59
• Square root equals 7.68114574786861, but 59 squared is 3,481

In Science

• The atomic number of praseodymium, whose neutrally charged atom contains 59 protons and 59 electrons
• Messier object M59, a magnitude 11.5 galaxy in the constellation Virgo
• 59 Sagittarii is a giant bright star in the constellation Sagittarius
• The New General Catalogue object NGC 59, a magnitude 12.4 spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus
• The Saros 59 for solar eclipse series lasted 1280.1 years (from June 1031 BC to July 249 AD) and contained 72 solar eclipses
• The Saros 39 for lunar eclipse series lasted 1298.1 years (from March 729 BC to May 569 AD) and contained 73 lunar eclipses
• 59 degrees C = 138 degrees F; but 59 degrees F = 15 degrees C

In Entertainment

• Beethoven’s Opus 59 consists of the three so-called Razumovsky Quartets
• 59, an album by Puffy AmiYumi
• The 1960s song The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) was popularized by Simon & Garfunkel and Harpers Bizarre
• The 59 Sound, an album by The Gaslight Anthem, includes thia song of the same name
• 59 by the 1990s
• 59 is a song by djTAKA from beatmania IIDX 2nd Style and Dance Dance Revolution 4thMIX
•  59th Emmy Awards (2007) with ABC getting the most nominations
•  59th Academy Awards (1987) with winners including Platoon, Paul Newman, and Marlee Matlin

In Sports

• No retired 59s in the professional football, basketball, baseball, and hockey
• Car 59 has only raced in 18 NASCAR races – never winning, never finishing in the top 10, and only finishing the race 4 times
• Satchel Paige became the oldest major league baseball player at age 59
• 59 is a the lowest golf score in a single round on the PGA Tour, achieved by Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Paul Goydos, andStuart Appleby and on the LPGA Tour by Annika Sörenstam

In Geography

• The designation of Interstate 59, a freeway that runs from Louisiana to Georgia
• The designation of US-59, a highway between Minnesota and Texas
• The Queensboro Bridge in New York City is also known as the 59th Street Bridge (Feelin’ Groovy)
• Central Park South is on 59th Street in New York City
• 59th Street Manhattan
• 59th Street Manhattan forms the border between Midtown Manhattan and Uptown Manhattan. It bisects Columbus Circle and forms the southern boundary of Central Park between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West, plus it has this subway stop.
• 59th Parallel South does not intersect any land
• 59th Meridian East is also known as the Herman Cain Meridian because it goes through Uzibeki-beki-beki-bekistan

In Travel

• 59 miles is 94.951296 km, or better explained as 471.999 furlongs or 3,738,240 inches
• San Diego offers a 59-mile scenic drive
• Don’t want to drive, here’s a 59-mile paddle in Missouri
• Oh – you want to peddle? Here’s an account of a blogger’s 59-mile mountain bike trek
• In the UK, the bingo slang for 59 is ‘The Brighton Line’, after the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway

In Business

• 59 Diner in Houston
• Art of 59 – Handcrafted pedals from Luxemburg
• Marina 59 Boatel is a fleet of abandoned boats renovated by artists in Rockaway, NY
• Art Room 59, a gallery and gift shop in Fife, UK
• 59Fifty is a line of New Era hats
• 59 Productions (a media production company in the UK)
• Five Nine, an amateur radio magazine published in Japan

In 59 AD

• Started on Monday
• Nero (aka Mr. Nice Guy) ordered his mother, Agrippina the Younger, killed. Since she survived the planned shipwreck, Nero ordered her executed and then ruled her death as suicide

In 59 BC

• Caesar makes the Acta Diurna (Daily News) the world’s first public daily newspaper, which contains details of official decrees and appointments; births, deaths, and marriages. Even sport results—the outcome of the gladiatorial contests and chariot races at the capital – but no odds on upcoming gladiator matches by Jimmy the Greek
• Caesar marries Calpurnia in Rome
• Modern Florence, founded.
• Pharaoh Ptolemy XIV of Egypt born
• Prince He of Changyi, former Emperor of the Han Dynasty of China, died

Miscellaneous

• The last minute in a given hour, and the last second in a given minute
• Approximately the number of days in two lunar months
• The number on a button commonly worn by feminist activists in the 1970s; this was based on the claim that a woman earned 59 cents to an equally qualified man’s dollar
• In amateur radio, a perfect voice signal report
• Art Project 59’s ’59 Seconds Video Festival'[2] at 59 Franklin Street, showed 59 videos to 59 different audiences, each 59 seconds long and incorporating the number 59
• The number of the French department Nord
• John Swartzwelder wrote “59” episodes of The Simpsons cartoon series
• The TI-59 was a programmable calculator
• Television channel 59 broadcast from Indianapolis, IN and Ghent, WV.
• The 59th Congress served in 1905-1907 during the fifth and sixth years of the Theodore Roosevelt administration