Saturday, July 07, 2007

Lucky 777 Deconstructed

No doubt you've heard that today, 7/7/07, is supposed to be lucky. Because we're a bunch of superstitious sillies. I'll warrant that the world's gambling houses will be taking lots of unlucky folks' money by the fistfulls today. Still, 777 is a handy rubric that invites a little investigation.

The "all sevens" bicycle tour of 7 cities and 777 miles ends today, 7/7/7. The tour began in Basel and ends in London.

Consider Boeing's jetliner, the 777. Here are some scaled drawings, if you're into the technical stuff (22-page .pdf file).

The British airship R101 was 777 feet long. Like the Hindenberg, this zeppelin met with mishap--48 people died on its maiden voyage. 36 died when the Hindenberg went up in flames and crashed. That about did it for commercial airship travel.

Islay Hill, elevation 777 feet, is the southernmost of the "Nine Sisters", a chain of extinct volcanos near San Luis Obispo, California.

Bordeaux, Zurich, and Laussane each lie 777 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Finally, a nod to one of those skyscrapers with a number for a name. The 777 Tower in Los Angeles.

Now go buy that lotto ticket before time runs out.

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