Over the ages, people have attributed many facts to numbers.
Numerology, superstition, important dates and so many other things cling to various numbers, which in some cases gives them great significance!
Today let’s take a look at 16 interesting facts about the number 16.
In both the Spanish and Portuguese (both European and Brazilian) languages 16 is the first compound number. A compound number is a number made up of two different sets of numbers, in this case being dieciséis, dezasseis, and dezesseis, all meaning 10+6 respectively.
Once you reach the age of 16 you can begin to get your beginner’s or learner’s driving license in many different places around the world, including the US (most states), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, South Africa, Norway, and the Isle of Man.
It’s a tradition in many places in the US to celebrate a girl turning 16 by holding a “Sweet 16” party. The celebration is held to symbolize a girl coming of age, the transition from girlhood to womanhood.
In many states in both the US and Canada once you reach the age of 16 you’re legally allowed to leave school for good. With that being said there are a number of different rules in place that add restrictions to this.
Unlike many other places in the world, you’re legally allowed to drink at the age of 16 in some countries including Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium.
The majority of caterpillars have 16 legs, with the front three pairs typically being real legs and the other five pairs being stumpy “legs” that stick out of their abdomen. When caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies they only have six legs.
Old maps used to include a compass rose, to indicate the orientation of the map. It was quite common for these compass roses to include sixteen different points, which read as north, north-north-east, north-east, north-east-east and so on.
In the women’s league of Australian Rules Football (AFL) each team is allowed to have sixteen players on the field. This is opposed to the men’s league, which allows eighteen players per team on the field and at any given time.
The atomic number of sulfur on the periodic table of elements is 16. Sulfur belongs to a group sixteen on the periodic table called the chalcogens, which are also referred to as the “oxygen family”.
There is an unincorporated community in remote Kentucky which is called Sixteen. An unincorporated community is an area which in many cases appears similar to a town but has no local government representation.
Within the Myers-Briggs classification system, there are sixteen different personality types. This classification system is a test that you can do yourself to see what your personality type is in regards to how you make decisions, how you view the world, as well as a range of other factors.
The general idea in life is that you should get at least eight hours of sleep per day, which gives you sixteen hours of waking life. If you’re anything like me, though, that’s just plain wrong!
There were sixteen different King Louises in the history of the French monarchy. King Louis XVI wasn’t just the last King Louis, he was also the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy in 1792.
In the age-old game of chess each player has sixteen pieces. There are also sixteen pawns in the game.
There’s a character in the hit Japanese manga and anime series Dragonball Z called Android 16, a cyborg who was deemed to be a failure for being too peaceful by his creator and is deactivated. He is later reactivated and attempts to prevent another android from destroying the earth.
As mentioned in number 5 above, many countries you can drink aged 16, but in the UK you’re also allowed to drink at the age of 16, but only if its a beer, cider, or wine, and only when you’re in a restaurant.
For many people around the world, the number sixteen is an important number. For the most part, though, it’s all about the age 16 more than just the number!
For some, it’s the age in which you’re finally granted some sense of freedom, whether that’s being allowed to drink-drive (just not both!).
For others, especially those in the USA, it’s a more symbolic number, with girls finally being considered women from this age.
