What would our world be like without numbers? Can you just imagine giving directions without numbers? We would be back to the days of Lewis Grizzard. He said, “To get anywhere…you have to turn by The Big Chicken sign in Marietta, Georgia.”

Without numbers, by the time Amazon or UPS found your house to deliver your medicines, they would be expired.

“Oh look, I have a telephone…I can’t wait until they create numbers.”

“What is your Social Security…never mind…get back with me on that.”

But I do have a serious question about numbers.

(Silly things bother me when I am bored, in the cold of Winter.)

The numerical system, as we know it goes like this:

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10…, that’s cool. Then it moves on to:

Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, etc. Then…..

Twenty one, Twenty two, Twenty three, etc. Then it goes consistently with that pattern all the way through the Nineties.

My question is:

Why did they not use Tenty one, Tenty two, Tenty three instead of the, out of the ordinary, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, etc.?

This bothers me. I believe there was a serious Numbers Revolt in history that was not recorded.

Maybe thirteen is not really a Baker’s Dozen? Perhaps it is Tenty three.

To be honest with you, I think that is why there were only Ten Little Indian Boys.  Three syllable Eleven would have upset the rhythm of the little song.

“Ten Little Indians” Original Version

One little, two little, three little Indians
Four little, five little, six little Indians
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians
Ten little Indian boys.
Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians
Seven little, six little, five little Indians
Four little, three little, two little Indians
One little Indian boy.

(Like I said….Silly things bother me when I am bored, in the cold of Winter.)