7 October: 280

Today is the 280^th day of the year so here are 10 fun facts about the number 280:

1. If 18 people sit around a round table they can shake hands with each other in 280 different ways without crossing arms.

2. Since 2017, the character limit for posts on Twitter has been 280. In that year the limit was doubled from 140.

3. In London the 280 bus runs between St George's Hospital and Belmont Station.

4. The year 280 was a leap year starting on Thursday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Gratus. In this year, Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty completed the unification of China, and St George was born.

5. 280 Philia is a Main belt asteroid discovered by Johann Palisa in 1888. Philia is a Greek word for friendship and affection.

6. The Heinkel He 280 was the first turbojet-powered fighter aircraft in the world. It was inspired by Ernst Heinkel's research into high-speed flight.

7. The A280 is a road in West Sussex, England which runs between Findon and Angmering.

8. 280 Broadway is the address of the A.T. Stewart Dry Goods Store, the Marble Palace, and the Sun Building, located in a historic building located in the Civic Center district of Manhattan, New York City. It is notable as the first commercial building in the Italianate style in New York, and is considered to be one of the nation's first department stores.

9. In Roman numerals, 280 is written as CCLXXX and in Binary it's 100011000.

10. In numerology 280 resonates with independence, uniqueness, self-determination, coexistence, romance, diplomacy, business, establishing industry, wholeness, comprehensiveness, and all that is.

Character birthday

Princess Cynthis Manne-Trappe, a member of the royal family of Soaring, Classica, Infinitus. Cynthia was in love with Percy Nobottle, a member of another Soaring noble family. She persuaded her father to approach Percy's father with a view to arrange a marriage. Percy was an abject coward who was terrified of Cynthia from the moment they met. He ran away to avoid marrying her. At first, Cynthia thought he was going on a quest to prove he was worthy of her. She decided to follow him, because she couldn't bear to be parted from him. However, when she eventually caught up with him, it became clear to her he was a coward, and she fell out of love with him. However, by then, they were stranded in the Earth dimension and were forced to co-operate with one another to survive and ultimately find a way home.