Today is Twelfth Night, the 12th day of Christmas, and I tried to think of some appropriate story for the occasion. This isn’t that story.

Today’s Word:


As in:

A group of grade school students in Massachusetts have convinced their state representative to sponsor a bill making the number “6″ the state’s lucky number. The students assert that the number six has “figured” prominently in the state’s history, and as such, deserves recognition. For instance, Massachusetts was the sixth colony. It is the sixth smallest state. It has six main minerals mined for export, and Boston Celtics great Bill Russell wore number six on his jersey.

Supports of this bill contend that the number six, far from being a boring integer, is really quite remarkable. Says spokesman Sextus Optimas, “Truly, the number six is amazing. It is the apotheosis of integers, the jewel of arithmetic expression and the pride of the set of real numbers. Think about this. If you don’t count four, six is the first positive, non-prime number. Oh, and how many apostles were there? Not 12, nooo, there were six times two apostles. How many days did it take God to create the world? Six. Plus one to rest. Coincidence? Of course not. Why, the power of this number is glimpsed when you remember that three sixes, in succession, is the number of the Beast. It’s truly a magical, powerful force in the universe. Why do you suppose that intuition, is always called the “Sixth” Sense? Think about it.”


apotheosis: / a-POTH-ee-oo-sis / 1. The act of raising a person to the status of a god, deify. 2. the glorification of a person or thing. 3. a glorified ideal.