What does 101 mean?
81The 101 of...
As a Brit who doesn't always keep up with current expressions, I had a pretty good idea what 101 meant from the context in which it was used, but I had no idea what its origins were.
So I started researching - using Wikipedia as my starting point. I gave up when I got tired.
101 in mathematics
OK. Change that to 'math' if you come from the USA.
- A palindromic prime number. It's the same if you write it backwards.
- A centred decagonal prime number. The number of dots in a figure containing a dot surrounded by 10-sided polygons made of dots. Start with I dot, then a ring of 10 dots, then a ring of 10 sides each 2 dots long, then a ring of 10 sides each 3 dots long, plus an outermost ring with 10 sides each 4 dots long. (1 + 10 + 20 + 30 + 40 dots = 101 dots).
- A strobogrammatic prime number. It looks the same upsde down, but only on calculators and in some western scripts. ONE must be a vertical line, EIGHT must have both loops the same size, and NINE must be SIX upside-down (in the UK, what do you get of you dial 666? - three policemen standing on their heads) Devanagari numerals won't work:
- A dihedral prime.number. It looks the same upside down and in a mirror
Pinwheel Galaxy
In science and astronomy
- The atomic number of mendelevium. This element has 101 protons in its nucleus.
- The miller index for a crystal plane describes its orientation relative to the faces of a cube. 101 denotes the plane defined by the diagonals on two opposite faces of the base cube
- Galaxy M101 , in the Great Bear constellation, is also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. the high resolution pictureabive is a Wikimedia Commons image by NASA/ESA
- Galaxy NGC101 is a less well-known spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor
- Asteroid 101 is a rocky Main Belt asteroid
Some other 101s
- I shouldn't have to tell US citizens where Highway101 (or US Route 101) is. But I reckon California Route 1 is more fun - especially around Big Sur in the rainy season.
- A ride breakdown in a Disney theme park
- Now this is the reference that got me researching. I hadn't a clue what Americans meant when they said something was a 101. It means a beginner's, or introductory course, because that is the number typically given to such courses in US universities. Apparently this is also true in Canada, South Africa and Australia.
- An emergency telephone number, but check which country you are in first. In Argentina you'll get the police, in Israel you'll get an ambulance and in India you'll get the fire brigade. In the UK it is used for non-emergency calls to the police.
in pop music and art
- Martin101 is an avant-garde Austrian pop singer and artist. Check him out on YouTube below.
Martin101 - dangerous cat
in architecture
- The height of the Statue of Liberty in feet
- 101 Tower in Taipei is the world's tallest skyscraper (101 floors). The picture below is published under the terms of this Creative Commons licence. See how the picture appears to zoom in as you scroll down...
There are plenty more 191s...
101 Tower - Taipei
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Comments
Thanks. I found it quite fun doing the research, too. I've stuck to the hard facts - there may be a whole raft of connotations that the mystics can dig up that would be a nice complement to all this.
PS how are your wrist fractures coming along?
Yea you probably right, there would be even more things about the number (you have forgot the 101 dalmatians lol).
About my wrists and mainly because of physio are getting a little better but still needing another operation to regain some of their normal mobility. I´ll make a reface on my Broken Wrist hub after the operation ;-)
Thank you for asking.
Thanks. This is a fun collection of 101s.
Thanks, Kenny. I've just worked out where Chennai is. My favourite curry!
I've often wondered myself the origin of 101 as in beginner or introductory.
I thought maybe it was "1 on 1".
"1 on 1" was a neat guess - but more likely for techies than the general public. However, now that some members of the younger generation spell everything as if they were sending SMS messages...
love hubs like this! full of wonderfully quirkiness.
101 was never anything to me, an American student, except an introductory course. What an eye-opener. Thumbs up!
for depeche mode fans, it means one of the best albums of this great british band. 101 was realeased in 1988.
My younger son was a Depeche Mode fan. I'd forgotten their 101 - thanks for adding it to the list.
Perhaps my memory has failed me but wasn't there also a series of 101 books a couple of decades ago? "101 uses of a dead cat" or something like that? Very interesting article anyway, thanks.
I think I've still got that book somewhere - although, as a cat lover, it horrified me.
I 'm wondering what 101 means for instances in " Fashion 101"
xie118: presumably, "a beginner's guide to fashion". In practice, probably a fashion retailer's attempt to get you to follow the herd that buys its products...
There's an English 101 that US citizens will have heard of while probably missing its significance. In George Orwell's 1984, Room 101 is where people meet their worst nightmares. Orwell named it after a BBC conference room where he endured boring meetings. Later, the BBC created radio and TV shows using this title. Here's a link to a video:
Well I've Read A Book, where a guy tattoo's numbers on the victim's forehead after murdering them, such as "212", and "101".. So I was just wondering lol. IDK, If this answers but my questiion, but nice Hub!
x]
-Gabbi-
Hi Gabbi. Well, I guess tattooing their foreheads is one of the less gruesome things that murderers have been known to do to their victims...
funride says:
2 years ago
Nice hub, it´s really amazing how much can one individual number stand for.