77 Facts Page 3

the third page of

Septology abounds

Page 1

155	In the Biblical New Testament following the seductive Dance of The Seven Veils performed by Salome for her father King Herod, she was offered and granted whatever she so desired. Upon the advice of her mother, she opted for the severed head of John the Baptist served on a silver platter.

156	The gas helium is seven times less dense than air.

157	In an obscure Victorian text by Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, the Seven Sisters of Sleep are given as: Tobacco Opium Hashish Cocaine Betel Nut Belladonna Fly Agaric

158

In the book Voyage of the Dawn Treader, one of the ‘Narnia’ series by C. S. Lewis, there is a passage: “. . . but it cannot be told in his words because after September 11 he forgot about keeping his diary for a long time.” This book was first published in 1952, 7x7 years before September 11th, 2001.

159	Seven Churches of Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

160	In 1597 in Leigh, Lancashire, seven people were made to fast, pray and listen to constant preaching by the controversial Exorcist, John Darrell, for three to four days in a bid to cleanse them of Evil Spirits.

161	The chap (whose name I didn’t immediately find when browsing his website) who goes cluster ballooning most often in the world wrote: “For my first cluster balloon flight, I used seven, large silvery mylar balloons.”

7 balloons

162	In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol the ghost of Jacob Marley first appears to Scrooge seven years to the day after his death.

163	The Seventh Day Adventists are a sect begun by William Miller in 1831 in the USA. They worship Saturday (the seventh day) as their Sabbath. Miller preached that the world would end in the year 1843 or 1844 . . . it didn't.

164	And the Seventh Day Baptists are a Germano-American Baptist group who also keep Saturday as their Sabbath.

165

The legendary Celtic King of Ulster, Fergus Mac Roich reputedly had the strength of 700 men and in a single sitting would consume seven sheep, seven pigs, seven cows and seven deer, whilst supping seven barrels of ale, mead or wine. It also took seven women at a time to satiate his rampant passions.
(See also fact #302)

166	The Woody Allen film Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask* consists of seven sketches.

167	According to 14th- and 15th-century legend seven bishops, driven with their followers by the Moors from 8th-century Spain, fled to an island in the Atlantic, where they founded seven cities. This "Island of the Seven Cities" is still occasionally to be found on maps.

168

The Seven Years War, also known as the Third Silesian War, was waged between 1756 and 1763.
France, Austria, Saxony, Russia & Sweden versus Britain, Prussia & Hanover (Spain On one side was Frederick the Great of Prussia, assisted by England and Hanover; on the other, France, Austria, Russia, Saxony, Sweden - Spain later joined them by attacking Portugal).

169	And the Seven Weeks War was between Austria and Prussia, from 14th June to 26th July 1866. Prussia Won.

170

The Thugees were a murderous sect of robbers prevalent on lonely Indian roads. Some researchers believe that their reign of terror began in the Seventh Century. Despite their crimes generally being considered rites of devotion to the Hindu Goddess Kali, many Thugees were thought to have derived from seven different Muslim tribes. There are seven letters in the word Thugees and their violent worship was ‘officially’ said to have been wiped out by the British Empire in the year 1861 (1+8+6+1=16; 1+6 = 7).

171	Seven Deacons (first deacons of the church): Stephen, Phillip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas.

172	One person dies every seven minutes on India’s roads.

173	In 1635 Charles I created the 'Letter Office', forerunner of The Post Office proper, to carry public mail at a speed of 7mph in the summer months (and 5mph in the winter).

174	Seven Corporal Works of Mercy: To tend the sick, To feed the hungry, To give drink to the thirsty, To clothe the naked, To harbour the stranger, To minister to prisoners and To bury the dead.

175	When I bought a quartz metronome in September 2002, I was delighted to find that not only had the packaging been produced in 1997, but that the part number of the machine was QT-7.

QT-7

176

There are seven letters each in the names America, Lincoln and Kennedy. Now follows seven sets of coincidences linking these dead presidents:

Abraham Lincoln studied law and campaigned for civil rights. He was elected to Congress in 1846 and as president in1860. John F. Kennedy studied law and campaigned for civil rights. He was elected to Congress in 1946 and as president in 1960.
Lincoln was succeeded by Andrew Johnson (born in 1808). Kennedy was succeeded by Lyndon Johnson (born in 1908). Both served in the US Senate. There are seven letters each in Senator and Johnson.
Lincoln’s secretary, John Kennedy, advised him not to go to the theatre. Kennedy’s secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, advised him not to go to Dallas.
Both Presidents were fatally shot in the head on a Friday with their wives present. Both reputedly felt anxiety over assassination earlier in the day.
The wives, Mary Lincoln and Jackie Kennedy both had children who also died whilst their husbands were in the White House.
Lincoln was killed in Ford’s Theatre. Kennedy was killed in a Ford Lincoln convertible.
John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre and hid in a warehouse. Lee Harvey Oswald apparently shot Kennedy from a warehouse and was discovered sitting in a theatre. Both men were themselves assassinated before they could be tried in court.

177	Seven Penitential Psalms (to be said on Fridays during Lent): Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143.

178

In the ‘Dingo baby’ case of 1980, the family at the centre of the incident were Seventh day Adventists. The eventual trial to determine whether the baby was indeed taken off by a dingo or murdered by her mother lasted seven weeks. The mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was eventually released from prison on 7th February, 1986.

179	Legend states that whilst the church tower in Canwdon, Essex still stands then seven witches will always be active in the village.

180

The seven archangels are named as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Jophiel, Chamuel, Zadkiel and Uriel. In 2002 the Vatican issued a bull stating that only the first 3 can be venerated by Christians. The last 4 are banned as they are only mentioned in the apocryphal Book of Enoch, a text removed from the official Bible.

181	The number seven was significant in Sorcery as it represented the seven visible planetary bodies, these being: The Sun The Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn

182	Seven babies lost to me before birthing. One husband gone to terrible sickness. Another dead on the battlefields of Spain.

Seven babies lost to me before birthing. One husband gone to terrible sickness. Another dead on the battlefields of Spain.

183

There were seven children in the television series The Waltons:
John Boy (played by Richard Thomas from 1972-77 and by Robert Wightman from 1979-81), Mary-Ellen (played by Judy Norton-Taylor), Jim-Bob (played by David W. Harper), Jason (played by Jon Walmsley), Erin (played by Mary Elizabeth McDonough), Ben (played by Eric Scott) and Elizabeth (played by Kami Cotler).
The show ran from 1972 until 1982 and there have been seven feature-length TV Movies; the word ‘Waltons’ is made up of seven letters.

184	Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy: To convert the Sinner, To instruct the ignorant, To counsel those in doubt, To comfort the sorrowful, To bear wrongs with patience, To forgive injuries and To pray for the living and the dead.

185	Following complaints that there was “no difficulty in buying stamps on the island of Guernsey, but no receiving office to take in the mail”, a local blacksmith, John Vaudin, cast seven boxes in 1852. One of these can still be found in Union Street, St Peter Port.

186	Tiresias, the great blind prophet of Greek myth was said to have lived seven lifespans. During this time he interrupted a pair of mating snakes and as a result was transformed into a woman for seven years.

187	At the start of their career, the German 'Goth' band, Garden of Delight, revealed their plans to release seven albums only, each containing seven songs only and released over a period of seven years.

188

In the seventh book of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events entitled The Vile Village, a water pitcher decorated with a design comprising seven crows is given to the Baudelaire children in their jail cell. This occurs on page 178 of the book (1+7+8 = 16. 1+6 = 7.) The name Snicket and the word Village both contain seven letters. As does the word ‘letters’.

189	My nail clippers have the legend 777 embossed on the top lever.

190	Robert Maxwell was one of seven siblings, and was quoted as once saying that he did not have a pair of shoes of his own until he was seven.

191	The seven planets of the soul are: Fire Earth Water Air Mist Flowers Wind

192	In Graeco-Roman myth, the seventh labour of Herakles (Hercules) was to rid the island of Crete from the scourge of a great white bull.

193	Seven Os of Advent (to be sung in the week leading up to Christmas): O Sapientia, O Adonai, O Radix Jesse, O Clavis David, O Oriens Splendor, O Rex Gentium, and O Emmanuel

194	The actor Brad Pitt appeared in the films Seven and Seven Years in Tibet, and in numerous paparazzi photos he has been snapped wearing several different t-shirts all displaying designs incorporating the number seven. (See also fact #2)

Seven

195	The Ballistic Planetarium at Buenos Aires, in the work of fiction Beyond this Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein, is a machine to calculate the position of any body in the solar system, at any time, past or future, and give results accurate to seven places.

196	And in the novel The Star Beast, also written by Robert A. Heinlein, an oath is sworn to the seventy-seven seven-sided gods of the Sarvanchil.

197	The seven heavens of Islam are: Pure silver Pure gold Pearl White gold Silver Ruby & garnet Divine light

198	To accidentally smash a glass vase means seven years good luck.

199

The seven methods of Ligature - causing impotence through Witchcraft - were outlined in 1608 by Francesco Maria-Guazzo as being:

A couple could be made to hate each other
They could be kept apart though hindrance
The emission of semen could be blocked
The semen could be rendered infertile
The ability to gain erection could be hampered
Potions could be utilised to render women infertile
Genitalia could be caused to wither or seal up. Some Witches were accused of hiding male members in nests up trees

200	Humans have seven bodily orifices, not including eye sockets.

201	In Egyptian myth, the dark goddess Sekhmet has seven demon servants collectively known as the Bau (the arrows).

202	The mysterious Dobhar-Chu (water-hound or king otter) of Irish folklore is regarded by some to be the seventh cub of a common otter litter.

203	In 1711, seven women were arrested on Magee Island, Antrim, Ireland and charged with causing (through magic) 18-year-old Mary Dunbarr to vomit pins, buttons, cotton, yarn and feathers.

204	Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord.

205	My ‘virus checker’ update program displays a row of seven small identical images – a floppy disk with wings. Each disk has seven small red triangles circling it.

7 flying floppy discs

206	On 21st August, 2002, a package I received from the Swiss band Bidoche Musique contained seven identical stickers.

207	There are seven players in a game of Quidditch – three chasers, one keeper, two beaters and a seeker. (see also fact #556)

208

The Brothers Grimm could be accused of being obsessed with the number seven, as shown by the following seven facts:

In addition to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, they also collected tales entitled The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids and The Seven Ravens.
Hans, The Youth who Went to Learn to Shudder, had to spend a night under a gallows on which hung seven executed criminals (or, as the Brothers nicely put it, ‘Seven men who’d married the rope-maker’s daughter’).
In The Good Bargain, a dim peasant argued with frogs over the seven dollars he’d been paid for a cow.
The Brave Little Tailor could kill ‘seven at one stroke’, be they unicorns, giants or whatever.
Seven dragons were slain in The Two Brothers.
In Hans in Luck, Hans decided to leave to seek his fortune after serving his master for seven years.
The servant-girl who thought she had spent 3 days in the company of The Elves had actually been away from home for seven years.

209	The State of Texas in the USofA adopted lethal injection as means of execution in 1977. The offender on Death Row is usually pronounced dead approximately seven minutes after the lethal injection begins.

210

The 15th Century Theologian, Johannes Nider categorised the seven symptoms of Maleficia (Black Magic) as being:

Causing harm by inspiring love
Causing impotence and sterility
Stirring up hatred
Inducing madness and disease
Injuring property or animals
Causing loss of life
Raising storms and air-borne poisons

211	In the summer of 1999 in Hebden Bridge, whilst on the towpath of the Rochdale Canal, I was attacked by wasps and stung seven times – on the hand, arm, shoulder and chest. I didn’t like it.

212	In The Simpsons Halloween Special IX, when the alien Kang comes to Springfield declaring that Maggie Simpson is his daughter, he proposes taking her home to his planet - Rigel-7.

213	In Springfield’s Nuclear Power Plant, Homer Simpson works in sector 7G (G is the seventh letter of the alphabet). Sector 7G is referred to in the episode where Homer gains 61 pounds (6+1=7) in order to qualify as disabled and so be able to work from home.

214

Homer’s also stated as working in sector 7G in the episode where he meets his mother, who he believed to be dead. She had actually gone on the run after being the only identified member of ‘The Springfield Seven’, a hippie gang which had attacked and neutralised Mr. Burns’ chemical warfare laboratory.

215	And in the same episode, when Lisa and Grandma Simpson are playing saxophone and guitar, singing ‘How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man’, Homer immediately answers ‘Seven’.

216

In the episode from which the following picture is taken – the one concerning the Springfield chapter of MENSA – The Comic Book Guy has the line: “Inspired by the most logical race in the Galaxy, the Vulcans, breeding will be permitted once every seven years. For many of you, this will mean much less breeding. For me, much, much more.”

Gazebo #7

217	Seven Sorrows of Mary: Simeon's prophecy, The flight into Egypt, The loss of the Holy Child, The road to Calvary, The Crucifixion, The taking down of the cross and The entombment.

218	There is a company operating in the area where I live called Seven Days Frozen Foods, whose delivery vehicles are painted red with a large white 7, circled, as their logo. If I said they were following me, I’d appear paranoid (wouldn’t I?).

219

In an e-mail I received in October, 2002, Chris J Jones wrote, “Strangely enough, the freezer (seven letters!) that you and Dave delivered all those years ago, lasted seven years, seven months, seven days, seven hours, seven minutes, and although I can't be too sure of the seconds, I think they were in the region of seven .”
(I’m not too sure what happened to it next. Maybe it spontaneously combusted).

220

Upon her deathbed, Lady Isabella Tichbourne predicted misfortune befalling the Hampshire house of Tichbourne upon the portent of seven sons followed by a line of seven sisters being born into the family. After 600 years (therefore in the seventh successive century) this prediction came to pass during the seat of Sir Henry the seventh Baronet Tichbourne and, indeed, bad luck did seemingly pursue the family from that time.

221	The Seven are the original members of EFTA (the European Free Trade Association formed in 1959). They are: Austria Denmark Norway Portugal Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

222	The Seveners are an Islamic sect that honour Isma'il, the seventh Imam.

223	Whilst I was typing this, John Peel played a song on BBC Radio 1 called Seven Nation Army.

224	After assembling all the relevant parts – printed inlays, jewel cases, booklets, discs - of the Wrack and Roll CD by Blunt Instrument (Pumf 434), I had seven booklets surplus to requirements.

225	In the biblical tale of Balaam and the Angel, the Mesopatamian priest Balaam sacrifices seven oxen and seven rams upon seven altars dedicated to Baal. This is done in a bid to stop Israeli forces marching on Palestine.

226	The seven senses of the ancient world are: Animation Feeling Speech Taste Sight Hearing Smelling

227	Opposite sides of a standard dice always add up to seven.

228	On Saturday 28th September 2002, I went to have some (saffron yellow) paint mixed so I could touch-up the rust spots on my van. When the guy in the shop gave me a page out of his enormous paint chart book to go and match the shade on the page with that of my van, the page number was seven.

229	The number of my house is 25, the digits of which total seven, and directly opposite is number 34, the digits of which also total seven. If you try and tell me that’s a coincidence I’ll call you a liar.

230	Your fire drill assembly point number is 7.

Your fire drill assembly point number is 7.

231	17^th September 2002 – 5.37pm. There are seven small children playing in the road outside my house. They’re screaming and are much too loud.

This is 77 facts about the Number 7 page three