17 September: The number Seventeen

Here are ten things you might not know about the number 17:

1. 17 is the seventh prime number, and the sum of the first four.
2. There's a word for the fear of the number 17. 'heptadecaphobia' or 'heptakaidekaphobia'. The people most likely to suffer from this are Italians, because the number 17 is considered unlucky in Italy. Why? When viewed as a Roman numeral, it's XVII, an anagram of VIXI, which in Latin translates to "I lived", or, "My life is over."
3. A haiku has 17 syllables - five in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third.
4. Studies have shown that if people are asked to choose a random number between one and twenty the most likely answer is seventeen.
5. In the UK, 17 is the minimum age a person can drive a car or van, or give Blood without parental consent. In Greece it is the voting age. In the Harry Potter universe, wizards come of age at 17.
6. It is the atomic number of chlorine.
7. 17 is the number of the longest winning streak in NHL history, which the Pittsburgh Penguins achieved in 1993. By coincidence, there are 17 unique species of Penguin.
8. In France the number to dial to call the police is 17.
9. 17 muscles are used to make a smile.
10. There are 17 steps leading up to Sherlock Holmes' house in Baker Street.

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