NATIONAL YELLOW PIG DAY
Fast Facts
- WHEN
- July 17 honors number 17 significance
- ORIGIN
- Founded by mathematicians Michael Spivak and David Kelly in early 1960s
- STAT
- The number 17 is a premium number in the arena of prime numbers.
- VIBE
- The yellow pig in real and highly respected in academic history
NATIONAL YELLOW PIG DAY
National Yellow Pig Day on July 17 honors the unique attributes of the number 17 and its significance to mathematics. This article is our attempt to explain what a yellow pig and the number 17 have in common, too!
#NationalYellowPigDay
In reality, the yellow pig has very little to do with the number 17. In fact, the only reason today is called National Yellow Pig Day is because the two students who wanted to create a day for the number 17 needed a mascot. Enter the yellow pig.
Who are Michael Spivak and David Kelly?
Michael Spivak is a world-renowned mathematician famous for his rigorous five-volume series on differential geometry and his classic textbook Calculus.
David Kelly is a beloved professor (emeritus at Hampshire College) who famously ran a summer program for high school students where the Yellow Pig was heavily featured.
Together, they created National Yellow Pig Day!
6 Ways the Number 17 Matters
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The number 17 is a premium number in the arena of prime numbers. If you add the first four prime numbers together, the sum is 17.
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The average school bus weighs 17 tons with passengers inside.
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These random words have 17 letters:
interdisciplinary
telecommunication
misinterpretation
commercialization
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The atomic number of chlorine is 17.
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Pebble Beach has a specific road known as the 17-Mile Drive along the Monterey Peninsula in California. However, the exact length of the road is 16.78 miles.
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The 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gave the citizens of the United States the right to elect their senators by popular vote. Before the states ratified the amendment, each state's' legislature would elect the senators to Congress.
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The absolute minimum number of starting clues required for a Sudoku puzzle to have a unique solution.
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Mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss proved at age 19 that a regular 17-sided polygon (a heptadecagon) could be constructed using only a compass and a straightedge.
CELEBRATING NATIONAL YELLOW PIG DAY
Brush up on your calculus and round up your yellow pigs. Look for the number 17. It's everywhere!
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Challenge yourself to find the number 17 as many times as possible in the morning news, on license plates, or throughout your day.
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Give your day a quick energy boost by crushing a set of 17 jumping jacks or push-ups.
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Keep it cool and celebrate with 17 spoonfuls of your favorite peach ice cream.
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Drop by your local convenience store and buy 17 lottery tickets.
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If you're feeling generous, treat a crowd and order a round of drinks for 17 people.
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If you are a true devotee of mathematics, consider commemorating the day with a small "17" tattoo.
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Take a deep dive into the fascinating 17-year cicada cycle.
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Capture your celebrations and share your photos on social media using #NationalYellowPigDay.
NATIONAL YELLOW PIG DAY HISTORY
Our research found National Pig Day originated sometime during the early 1960s when two mathematicians by the name of Michael Spivak and David Kelly were analyzing the random properties of the number 17 and a mysterious yellow pig. It seems the process became excessive and professional. Kelly gave lectures and taught classes around Yellow Pig, and Spivak made publications in several mathematics texts. While not based upon it, Spivak does subtly reference the number 17 and Yellow Pig.