20

20 is the number of digits we have – 10 fingers and 10 toes.
20 is called a ‘score’, maybe because in times past
when farmers were counting
their sheep or cattle,
they would count to 20
and then put a mark, or score or notch on a stick,
and then count the next 20.
A standard dartboard is laid out as 20 sectors.
numbered to help with the scoring.
The years at present start with 20  _ _
and in this (21st) century we have seen so
much development of the internet,
electirc cars, smartphones, and so on …

But now I’ve reached 20 –
I think that that’s plenty!

19
Straightforwardness’ is a word that has 19 letters.
In Roman numerals 19 is XIX
which reads the same backwards so
it is  called a palindrome.
The game of Go is usually played on a grid of 19 ×19 lines
The years starting 19 _ _  are
called the 20th century
– so much was invented then, for example
radio ,TV, fridges, computers, spaceflight.

18
In Welsh the word for 18 is ‘two-nines’ (deunaw)
in the Breton language it is ‘three-sixes’ (triwec’h)
There are 18 holes on a golf course.
In the UK coming of age
is celebrated when you are 18.
18 months is a year and a half.
The telegraph and a printing calculator
(and Morse Code)
were invented in the 19th century
that is the years starting 18  _ _
helping to prepare for the development of
the internet in the next century.

17
A haiku poem has 17 syllables,
line 1 has 5 ayllables,
line 2 has 7 syllables
and line 3 has 5 syllables.

[Haiku example:
Winter life withdrawn,
safely shielded from the cold
roots, seeds store, twigs sealed.]

17 is the sum of the first four prime numbers: 2, 3, 5, 7
You can start taking driving lessons when you are 17.

16
Caterpillars seem to have 16 legs,
but only 6 are ‘true legs’
like all insects -
the rest are called prolegs and are simpler
but help their long body grip and creep along the leaf.
The sum of the first four odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7) is 16..
In the years of the 17th century, which are the years starting 16__
Isaac Newton worked out important Laws of motion, and
telescope and microscopes were invented and bacteria discovered.

15
There are 15 players in a rugby team.
15 is 3 lots of 5, or 10 with another 5 –
like if we had 3 hands we’d have 15 fingers!
The Magna Carta, setting out many lawful rights of people
was signed on June 15 in the year 1215 (a very long time ago!)
If you add the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 it comes to 15.

14
A sonnet is a poem with 14 lines
and special line length and stress and rhymes.
In this country we still talk of our weight
as so many stones and pounds.
One ‘stone’ is 14 pounds
The moon seems to get bigger for 14 days,
and then it gets smaller again for the next 14 days.

13
There is a lot of silly talk about 13 being an ‘unlucky’ number.
When people talk like that,
they keep noticing anything bad that happens on that day
so their fears and worries get set
and they may begin to expect trouble
on the 13 day of the month,
or if staying in a house number 13.
Maybe it is because it comes after
the useful number 12.
A baker’s dozen is 13.
If some of a baker’s rolls came out
a bit smaller than others,
he could get into trouble,
so to be sure he’d given
a good amount for the price
he would often add another,
so give 13 when paid for 12.
There are 52 weeks in the year,
and as there are 4 seasons,
you could say that there are
13 weeks of spring, 13 of summer,
13 of autumn, and 13 weeks of winter
(4 lots of 13 add up to …).

12
A clock with 12 numbers on it is called an Analogue clock.
12 hours from midnight until lunchtime, and
then 12 hours til midnight again .
We used to have money as
12 pennies to one shilling.
Eggs and other food is often
sold in cartons or bags of 12
– we say ‘by the dozen’
or half a dozen which is 6..
Jesus taught 12 special disciples
and then sent out 12 with the message
to all the world
of his rising from death
to be our Saviour.

11
11: the number of players in football
or cricket teams.
Canada’s flag has a red maple leaf,
with 11 points on it
(maple leaves aren’t all exactly like that!)
Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft
to land on the moon
People sometimes say that it is the 11th hour for doing something –
they mean it is urgent, thinking of the 12 hours shown on clocks.
WW1 ended at 11 o’clock in the morning
on  the 11 day of the 11th month (November).
Rockets need to travel at just over 11 km per second
to escape the gravity of the earth.

10
Two figures represent 10.
The crab that walks
sideways seems to have 10 legs
5 on each side, and so
belong to the Decapod group of animals
(deca is from the Greek language for 10)
but their front 2 ‘legs’ are really claws.
God gave us 10 big laws
to show us the meaning of love.
No,10 Downing Street in London
is where the Prime Minister has his home
above his offices.

9
9 is the last of the ‘simple’ numbers!
We used to say that there were 9 planets
in our solar system,
but now, as he’s so small,
they don’t count Pluto
(say he’s just one of the little dwarf planets),
so that there are
only 8 in all
(take one off 9 leaves 8!)
We ring 9, then 9 again, and 9 once more
on a  phone if there is a
serious emergency
to fetch Police, Ambulance or Fire Engine
with urgency.
3 blue smarties, 3 red,
and 3 yellow - makes 9!

8
8 legs on a spider
– 4 on each side
(4 and 4 makes 8);
8 tentacles on an octopus
(like arms)
An octagon is a flat shape
with 8 straight sides
‘octo’ comes from the Latin and Greek language words  for 8.
October isn’t the 8th month of the year now,
but in the old Roman calendar
the year started in March,
and so it was.

7
7 days in every week –
the first day is Sunday,
then five school days,
followed by Saturday:
5 and 2 makes 7.
There are 7 colours in the rainbow:
red orange, yellow green blue indigo and violet;
7 white keys in the musical scale.:
C D E F G A B
or do, re, me fa, soh, lah, te.

6
6 sides (including top and bottom)
to cubes and bricks.
And every insect has 6
legs,
Collect 3 pegs and 3 pegs,
or 1 with 5,
or 4 with 2
to get 6 pegs in three different ways,
and the world was made in
6 creation days.

5
5 days for school –
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
and then Thursday, Friday;
5 fingers on each hand
(though one is called a thumb)
5 petals on a buttercup
3 sweets with another 2
makes 5 sweets altogether.

4
4 sides to a square,
4 wheels on a car,
4 legs on a chair:
2 books, and 2 more
makes 4.

3
3 leaflets on a clover leaf,
a tricycle has 3 wheels –
1, 2, 3
and every day there’s 3 main meals -
breakfast, lunch and dinner or tea.

2
2 hands to play
2 feet to take you on your way
2 eyes to watch
your feet don’t trip or slip or stray.

1
One mouth to guard,
one tongue to keep in check
as I talk;
one nose
that goes
in front
as I walk