There are many ways to celebrate August 8, including Infinity Day, International Cat Day, and Nane Nane Day (8-8) in Tanzania, date of the Nane Nane Agricultural Festival and a day to celebrate farmers.

The number 8 seems particularly auspicious in many world religions, including Christianity. But today I would like to think about the mathematical and scientific properties of eight.

8 is the atomic number of oxygen. The square of any odd number, less one, is always a multiple of 8. It’s the first cubic number 2^3. It’s the base of the octal system, most commonly used with computers. It’s a Fibonacci number, being 3 plus 5. The next Fibonacci number is 13. 8 is the only positive Fibonacci number, aside from 1, that is a perfect cube.

I could go on infinitely. But just like all days are special, all numbers are special. The number 3 has a lot of religious significance as well as interesting mathematical properties.

Getting too hung up on numbers and omens, I believe, leads one away from the fact that we ultimately have an infinity of choices before us every day and based on the choices we make, we create our world.

These posts are true to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing. I make no claims to their accuracy. The purpose is to inform, educate, amuse, and make people aware of causes and opportunities around the world. I also encourage civil debate in the comment section.