Let’s Talk Numbers

Numbers – they’re everywhere! Even a minor activity like preparing dinner involves numbers sometimes. I wanted to cook a Romanian dish the other night and I used one of my mother’s old recipes. I had to use 175 grams of butter, 250 grams of flour, 500 ml of milk and a few other ingredients. But I realized I had a problem. I didn’t know how to measure 175 grams of butter. My butter stick was nicely labeled with measurements in cups, tbsp, and fluid ounces… nothing about grams. So, I just used the entire stick – what could go wrong, butter is yummy! And yes, if you are wondering, last night we ordered pizza because of this.

Different cultures use different measurement systems, different ways of writing numbers or even different ways of interpreting numbers. The normal human body temperature is 37.0 °C in some countries and in others it’s 98.6 °F. A shoe size of 7 in North America will be a size 37 in some European countries. A lucky number in one culture may be considered unlucky in another.

Test your knowledge about numbers by taking this quiz about numbers.