I'm 50 today! Here are 50 general fun facts about the number: 50.

byMagus

2.4K followers

Updated 2 years ago

I'm 50 today. I've been waiting for this. Being a member of the "old bastards" club is a privilege, although my life was going busy and fast until recently, so I think I have squeezed more in that 50 than an average person (in reality, I'm 80, lol)

But let's just stick to 50

50 years life, and out of that 40 years without a day that I wouldn't have my hands on a computer of some-kind.

So I'll celebrate it by asking ChatGPT for 50 fun facts about the number 50. I edited it a bit but did not cross-reference any of it. If you find something inaccurate, let me know, please.

Fun facts about the number 50

1. 50 is a natural number and an even number.
2. It is also a composite number, which means it can be factored into smaller positive integers other than 1 and itself. In this case, 50 can be factored as 2 x 5 x 5 or 2 x 25.
3. The number 50 has three divisors, which are 1, 2, and 5. A divisor is a number that can divide another number without a remainder.
4. In Roman numerals, 50 is represented by the letter "L".
5. The atomic number of tin, a chemical element, is 50.
6. 50 is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two non-zero square numbers in two ways: 50 = 1^2 + 7^2 = 5^2 + 5^2.
7. The Gregorian calendar celebrates 50 years of marriage with a golden wedding anniversary.
8. In the United States, 50 is commonly used to represent the 50 states that make up the country.
9. 50 is the maximum number of players on an NFL team roster during the off-season.
10. In astronomy, Messier object M50 is an open cluster of stars located in the constellation Monoceros.
11. In binary code, 50 is represented as 110010.
12. The United States one-dollar bill features the number 50 prominently, representing the bill's denomination.
13. The F-50 was a prototype fighter jet developed by Northrop Corporation in the 1970s but was never produced.
14. 50 is the smallest number, the sum of two non-zero perfect squares, in three ways: 50 = 1^2 + 7^2 = 5^2 + 5^2 = 3^2 + 7^2.
15. 50 is the atomic mass of the stable isotope of calcium, with 20 protons and 30 neutrons in its nucleus.
16. The highest U.S. highway, the Alaska Highway, is officially designated as U.S. Route 50.
17. The number 50 appears in the Bible in several significant ways, such as representing the age at which the Levites began their temple service and the number of men in Solomon's building crew for the Temple.
18. In the game of Bingo, 50 is the highest number that can be called in the "B" column.
19. 50 is the number of stanzas in the poem "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot.
20. The fiftieth state to join the United States was Hawaii, which was admitted on August 21, 1959.
21. The element with atomic number 50 is tin, a silvery-white metal commonly used in alloys.
22. In the game of darts, the highest possible score with three darts is 180, which is scored by hitting three triple 20s (3 x 20 = 60, and 60 x 3 = 180). 50 is the score needed to end the game by hitting a double bullseye.
23. 50 is the number of chapters in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.
24. The Fender Stratocaster guitar, one of history's most iconic electric guitars, was first produced in 1954, 50 years before 2004.
25. 50 is the minimum age requirement for becoming a U.S. president. (I don't know where this is from, but it doesn't seem right. So I will leave it anyway for the sake of discussion.)
26. The number 50 is the code for international direct dial phone calls to Greece.
27. The fifty-star flag is the national flag of the United States, representing the fifty states.
28. The United States Mint issued the first circulating Kennedy half-dollar coin in 1964 in honour of the assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
29. 50 degrees Fahrenheit is equal to 10 degrees Celsius.
30. In basketball, the playing area measures 94 feet by 50 feet.
31. 50 Hz is the standard frequency for alternating current (AC) electric power supply in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
32. In the year 50 AD, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Philippians, which is one of the books in the New Testament of the Bible.
33. The abbreviation for the element Sn, the chemical symbol for tin, is derived from the Latin word for container, stannum.
34. 50 is the maximum number of players on an NFL team roster during the regular season.
35. The number 50 is the highest number that can be rolled on a standard d50 (50-sided) die.
36. In Hinduism, the goddess Lakshmi is often depicted with 50 names and attributes.
37. 50 is the number of years that make up a golden jubilee.
38. 50 is the number of U.S. states that have legalized medical marijuana.
39. In the periodic table, tin has an atomic weight of approximately 118.7, meaning that one mole of tin atoms has a mass of 118.7 grams.
40. 50 is the number of laps in the Coca-Cola 600, one of the premier NASCAR races.
41. The number 50 appears in several popular idioms, such as "50/50 chance," "50 ways to leave your lover," and "50 shades of gray."
42. In Roman numerals, 50 is represented by the letter L, derived from the Latin word for fifty, "quinquaginta."
43. 50 is the synthetic element Curium's atomic number, named after Marie Curie and Pierre Curie.
44. The original Heinz ketchup bottle had 50 pickles on it, representing the 57 varieties of products that Heinz claimed to produce.
45. In American football, the 50-yard line is the centre of the field and a key marker for determining field position.
46. 50 is the maximum number of players on an MLB team roster during the regular season.
47. The number 50 is sometimes used to represent a "milestone" age, as it is halfway between the ages of 40 and 60.
48. The average lifespan of a domestic cat is approximately 15-20 years, equivalent to about 3-4.5 human decades or 45-90 human years.
49. The number 50 is used in the title of a popular business book, "The 50th Law," which was co-written by rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent and author Robert Greene.
50. In the game of Scrabble, the letter "Q" is worth 10 points, and the letter "Z" is worth 10 points. Together, the letters "Q" and "Z" add up to 20, which is half of 50.

About the cover photo:

50 years ago:

"Under the direction of engineer Dr. Paul Friedl, the Special Computer APL Machine Portable (SCAMP) personal computer prototype is developed at IBM's Los Gatos and Palo Alto, California laboratories. IBM’s first personal computer, the system was designed to run the APL programming language in a compact, briefcase-like enclosure which comprised a keyboard, CRT display, and cassette tape storage. Friedl used the SCAMP prototype to gain approval within IBM to promote and develop IBM’s 5100 family of computers, including the most successful, the 5150, also known as the IBM Personal Computer (PC), introduced in 1981. From concept to finished system, SCAMP took only six months to develop."

Source: https://www.computerhistory.org

So, that...