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The Number Twenty-One
You've heard of the world-famous card game, 21, otherwise known as Blackjack. But there's a lot you probably haven't heard about the number twenty-one. Did you know that it's the name of a New York City Restaurant? And that the twenty-first president was Chester A. Arthur? Or how about that twenty-one is the number of spots on a standard die? Here, you'll find all the greatest little known facts about famous number 21.
Twenty-One in Sports
Okay. Sports is a pretty-obvious hangout for any number. After all, you have jersey numbers, points per game, and yard lines. But unless you're a super-sports fanatic, you probably don't know a lot of these sports facts about the number 21:
21 is the name of the game! It describes a unique version of basketball where every player plays on his own team.
21 is the jersey number of Sammy Sosa, MLB slugger with the Texas Rangers
It's also the number of Tim Duncan, bronze medalist and a current NBA player for the San Antonio Spurs.
World Cup Champions like the number 21, too. Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer, sports the number on his jersey.
So did Frank Gore, Julius Jones, Ken Lucas, Antrel Rolle, and many other famous football players.
Twenty-One - A Mark of Adulthood
Once you reach the age of twenty-one, you know you've hit a pretty important milestone. In the U.S., being twenty-one means you can drink and gamble. But did you know that twenty-one used to be the legal voting age in most states until the Twenty-Sixth Amendment was passed? Here are some more fun facts about what it means to be twenty-one:
In most places in the U.S., you can rent a car once you're twenty-one.
In England and Wales, twenty-one used to be the age of majority. It was lowered to eighteen with the enactment of the Family Law Reform Act.
Twenty-one is the legal age for prostitution in the U.S. Thought that was illegal? It is, except in licensed brothels in Nevada.
You can buy a handgun once you're twenty-one in most states in the U.S.
In the UK, 21 used to be the age when a person could join the Scottish or UK Parliament or the National Assembly for Wales. In 2007, the age was changed to 18.
Twenty-One in Music
The Paddingtons and The Cranberries both thought that 21 was a great name for a hit song. But some bands feel the number deserves a more permanent place in their music - like the 21 Demands. This Dublin based rock band plays original songs that attempt to fuse many different genres, from pop to electronica. Or what about Omarion, the R&B singer? His second album was called 21 and made it to the number one spot on the Billboard 200.
Some record labels also use twenty-one in their names, like 21 Records and 21st Circuitry. They must know that twenty-one is more than just a number.
21 Random Trivia
Perhaps the most compelling details about the number twenty-one are the random facts that twenty-one lovers keep track of:
21 is the atomic number of the element Scandium
It's also the weight of a soul in grams, according to Duncan Macdougal. He tried to prove that the soul was a physical part of the body, with actual mass, by weighing dying patients.
21 is the name of a drinking game.
21 is the standard TCP/IP number for an FTP connection.
21 Demands were sent from Japan to the Chinese government in 1915.
Gustave Whitehead allegedly flew a plane called Number 21 two years before the Wright brothers' first flight.
21 put an end to prohibition in the U.S. It was the Twenty-First Amendment which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, and re-legalized alcohol.
There you have it - everything you thought you'd never need to know about the number twenty-one. Next time you play a game of twenty-one (not the basketball game, or the drinking game, but the classic card game!), remember that there's more to this fascinating number than first meets the eye.
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