The Connections Warren Watchung Edition Feb/Mar 2022

THE WARREN-WATCHUNG CONNECTION PAGE 48 FEB/MARCH 2022 theconnectionsnj.com Those of you who have been reading this column for many years know that I often spec- ulate about the probability of connections. Sometimes I put forth some amateur statistical analysis. In the last issue, I estimat- ed that only one percent of business cards have rounded corners. I received two on the same day. You may remember that I re- cently wrote about a business survey I completed with the identical answers to one com- pleted by one of the people that worked for me. I estimat- ed that to have a 1 in 268 mil- lion chance of occurrence. You may also remember a column about the Mets winning a home game on September 11th by scoring 9 runs on 11 hits. In that column, I also detailed the only known professional base- ball game, out of hundreds of thousands, where both teams scored runs in every inning. My sister, Susie, is also fas- cinated by numbers and pat- terns. Due to the COVID pan- demic, I hadn’t seen her and her family in almost two years. A week before Thanksgiving, Susie, along with her husband and son, visited Philadelphia to attend her daughter’s PhD dis- sertation defense. My wife and I drove to Philadelphia a cou- ple days later for a celebratory family lunch. While we were together, she relayed a crazy story to me involving numbers. Over a decade ago, Susie worked as representative for a jewelry company that mar- keted and sold its products through home shopping par- ties. These events take a sub- stantial amount of effort to plan and execute, as they involve working with a person who is willing to host a party in her (or his) house. Susie had organized a party for November 11, 2011. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary as she con- ducted the event. It was well attended and hectic, as usual. As soon as it concluded, Susie packed up her samples and left the hostess’s house. That evening, she began entering her data into the com- pany’s system starting with the date of the party, which she entered as “111111.” When she had completed entry of the individual orders from the party, sales tax was applied. Her grand total was 1111.11 dollars. Susie double checked her work, amazed that both the date and her total sales were recorded with six 1s! While Susie’s coincidence isn’t particularly profound in my view, her observation and reac- tion would not have happened without: (1) Pope Gregory XIII’s reformation of the Julian cal- endar, in 1582, which took an additional hundred and seven- ty-five years for the entire world to adopt; (2) the notation of the date that is commonly used today, where only the first two digits of the year are written (in this case, 11/11/11, rather than 11/11/2011); and (3) the US dollar, created in 1792 (Susie’s total for this event wouldn’t have been all 1s had she trans- acted in another currency, for example, 715.67 pounds or 857.89 Euros). I find these improbable con- nections fascinating. What are the odds that at a party held on November 11, 2001 there would be exactly $1111.11 in sales? If you spot any improba- ble connections, let me know. I would welcome the opportunity to add your story to my column. CONNECTIONS BY THE NUMBERS By Dan Rosenberg What are the odds that at a party held on November 11, 2001 there would be exactly $1111.11 in sales? Susie had organized a party for November 11, 2011. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary as she conducted the event. It was well attended and hectic, as usual. If you need a tire that provides improved fuel efficiency, long tread life, and a quiet and comfortable ride, then the CrossContact™ LX25 with EcoPlus™ Technology is For What You Do. This second-generation premium SUV and CUV all-season tire delivers excellent wet braking, reduced noise, and snow performance.