It's the number of eggs that fit exactly into a 12 slot egg carton.
4
Very interesting article – but just to note eggs are in fact rarely sold by the dozen in the UK. They're sold in packs of six or occasionally nine.
Thanks, NYTiimes! I hadn't seen this before but it showed up as a "sponsored" item in Facebook, so I had to take a look. Also a huge thank-you to the reader who asked, since I'd never pondered this at all ("by the dozen" is just ingrained in my mind). Question and answer with historic backdrop are both very much appreciated!!!
1
Isn't it cheaper by the dozen?
What I'd like to know next: who (or what) is laying those extra large and jumbo-sized eggs. Because they scare me....
1
Big chickens Emlo. Big chichens !! Don't be afraid.
2
The number of factors of the number is key: you can buy a dozen, half a dozen, 1/3 of a dozen, 1/4 of a dozen, or 1/6 of a dozen and still get non-fractional eggs. You can't do that with 8 or 10.
4
That is a stretch. If you were to sell by the 8, you could buy 1/8, 1/2, 1/4, 3/4, 5/8, 3/8th. Amazingly, if you need a shorthand, it's called the number. e.g. I wan to by 7 eggs
Not a stretch at all. Dividing things into halves, thirds, and quarters is very common. When it the last time you had to divide something into fifths?
With base-10, you have 2 and 5. 2 is great, but 5 is useless. With base-8, you have halves and quarters, but no thirds. 12 is the best number for these sorts of everyday things, which is why time is still base 12.
With base-10, you have 2 and 5. 2 is great, but 5 is useless. With base-8, you have halves and quarters, but no thirds. 12 is the best number for these sorts of everyday things, which is why time is still base 12.
1
This is clearly the reason why -- disappointing that it isn't even discussed in the actual article.
This is becoming eggasperating
5
Many cultures buy eggs in a market where they are laid out in a large straw or cloth filled basket. the buyer chooses the eggs they need and puts them in their own basket. There is no carton or ready-made container that guides one to choose a certain number. It may be 3 today because you are making bread, 7 tomorrow morning for your family breakfast omelet and so forth. they are always fresh that way.
1
Absolutely fascinating! I didn't think of the connection of 12 pence to the shilling. Now, about hot dogs and buns...
7
Other foodstuffs (cookies, bagels) are also often sold by the dozen (although you can buy less)...
My understanding is that there's an added flexibility due to 12 being evenly divisible by more numbers than is the case with 10. I think that's why 12 pence make a shilling rather than 10 -- so that eggs and pennies are grouped in dozens for the same reason, rather than the eggs being 12 because the shilling is already 12.
Just putting in my sixth-dozen cents...
My understanding is that there's an added flexibility due to 12 being evenly divisible by more numbers than is the case with 10. I think that's why 12 pence make a shilling rather than 10 -- so that eggs and pennies are grouped in dozens for the same reason, rather than the eggs being 12 because the shilling is already 12.
Just putting in my sixth-dozen cents...
5
Here in Mexico, eggs are sold by the kilo or part kilo--unless one buys boxed, branded eggs, in which case they're sold by the dozen, by 18, by 24. I buy a flat of 30. An egg farmer delivers them to my door.
http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com
http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com
2
Maybe it has something to do with chickens. A hen at "peak production" in spring and early summer lays an egg every 25 hours, and when it gets to mid-afternoon, she skips a day and "resets", starting again at sunrise the next day. The combined egg production of two hens in late spring is about a dozen a week. I have also noticed that a good broody hen can effectively hatch a max of about a dozen eggs in a clutch-- so maybe in the days of free-ranging chickens in the yard, people tended to find eggs in piles of about twelve, and the measurement sort of informally standardized itself over the course of years.
3
In scientfic quarters, the decimal system seems the universal form of measurement, so we can understand each other and facilitate information across different countries and cultures; in which case, eggs sold in units of ten (instead of 12) may make more sense. Now, if you could give me an ounce of wisdom or a pound of foolishness, the former seems immensely more promising, irrespective of its weight.
Have no idea whether this has anything to do with anything, but when I give a broody hen a clutch of eggs to sit on and hatch I give her 12. It's said that that's the number a large hen can comfortably manage. Less you're not using the resource to her fullest. More and you're wasting eggs.
2
I think using "dozen" is popular because it has a nice ring and meter to it -- "give me a dozen bagels" is easier to say than "give me ten bagels or twelve bagels." From the French "douzaine" from "douze" (12). Note in French they also use dixaine (10), treizaine (13), etc., but I don't know how frequently they are used. Finally, consider a Douzaine in English: A parish council in Guernsey, consisting of a dean and twelve **douzeniers**. Try to do that with 10!
Hope readers aren't egged on by you pun.
Why not even smaller packages? Many, many people live alone and very few people still eat eggs every day for breakfast. A few eggs get used and then the rest are thrown out.
Most grocery stores carry half dozens. But eggs do keep for some time. You don't have to throw them out after a few days.
2
Eggs are actually sold by weight in the 'States. A dozen of a certain size make up the weight.
2
I think it has to do with the fact that exactly 30 dozen equals 360 ,the number of degrees in a circle ( the cross section of an egg).
2
I think that's a which-came-first (sorry) argument. The factor of 12 used in dividing a circle and in grouping eggs probably originates from the same ancient magic in Babylonia or somewhere like that.
Here in Costa Rica, eggs are packaged in units of eight, ten, twelve and fifteen. And they're sold by weight rather than by size or number in the package.
2
Often when I get my eggs home I discover I have actually purchased 11.
9
But isn't that made up for when you find one with a double yolk? Twins, so to speak.
The yolk's on you!
The yolk's on you!
1
Having just finished a year in the UK, I can say thast some of my friends there jokingly chastised me because the US is still on the English system while their country had moved to the more modern metric system. But over the year I was there I found that they've done it very selectively: height is measured in cm but distance in miles (and they haven't changed the poem about the Light Brigade to go "2.778 km, 2.778 km, 2.778 km onwards, all in the valley of death rode the six hundred...", either). And if you buy chicken it's in kg, but you pay for it in pounds and if you are on a diet you are trying to lose stone. So whether eggs come in dozens is the least of their worries if you ask me.
11
They also continue to drive on the wrong side of the road.
You're missing the most important use of a dozen of anything: its easy division. 12 can be divided into twice six, thrice four, four times three, and six times two.
Socially, that means a dozen eggs can be divided fairly far more easily, as can a dozen of anything.
In fact, the dozen is a much better number in many ways when it comes to division of length, money, or things.
Socially, that means a dozen eggs can be divided fairly far more easily, as can a dozen of anything.
In fact, the dozen is a much better number in many ways when it comes to division of length, money, or things.
18
Any number of eggs can be divided equally by scrambling.
6
I always try to explain why the metric system is flawed as it based around 10's, very few believe the notion that 12 and 16 have so many more common denominators so its easier to use. With 12 / 16 / 36 you can leave many numbers in rational form or reduce them to simple fractions which is much easier to deal with.
But I am an engineer... what would I know about cranking out equations.
You have my vote.
But I am an engineer... what would I know about cranking out equations.
You have my vote.
1
Eggs are now sold in 10s, 12s, 15s, 20s, 30s and 6's.
2
And 18s and 24s.
In the US, one of the sneaky ways that that prices are raised, is not to raise prices at all, just sell a smaller package of the same product for the same price. No price increase here! But inside the box are 10 eggs instead of 12. Eggceptionally clever.
5
To make a pound cake, you need a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter, and a pound of eggs, which handily, is a dozen. Imagine losing the poetry of that to the metric system... a 454 gram cake?
10
Of course, a kilogram cake would be over twice (2.2x) as large. There's a reason to switch right there.
1
"Let’s just say it’s not an eggs-act science." Dad-joke NYT pun of the day. Love it. Bravo!
8
Not eggs-actly what I thought..
2
Interesting article, and thank you both for your eggs-planation!
1
In Mexico eggs are sold by weight, not by number.
3
In Brazil eggs are normally sold in packs of 12, 6 or 30 units. But if want to buy fewer eggs, you can buy for unit.
3
It's fun little questions like these that makes my day. Its always good to also focus on the weird funny things in life, just like this article. I don't get why other countries also sell eggs by the dozen or that a carton of eggs are 12 eggs.
2
12 is divisible by 2,3,4, and 6. That's why. Yeesh! Much of the world used a base 60 system. 12 is a divisor of 60.
Remnants of the system persist in our clocks and points of the compass.
Remnants of the system persist in our clocks and points of the compass.
10
When it comes to roses, not 8 or 10, a dozen please.
There is something to be said for simple aesthetics.
There is something to be said for simple aesthetics.
5
my 2 chickens each lay 1 egg a day that's 14 a week between my family and a few friends we rarely have a dozen eggs in the house
3
In Germany we still use Feet and inches to build houses in as they are sensible units of measure for large structures. The European unit of measure is the Meter and millimeter. What use is such a small unit of measure as the Millimeter to anyone when building a house??
We also use British Standard Water Pipe using Whitworth threads??
We also use British Standard Water Pipe using Whitworth threads??
10
Did you ever hear of centimeters?
4
Have you ever tried to fit a window into a frame that was cut 1 mm too small?
As an engineer who designed buildings in foreign countries it is customary to label drawings in millimeters - not meters or centimeters. I don't know why - but it's the standard, and I agree with Eric, it's silly.
This is unlikely, given how widespread the "dozen" is. In France, as in many other countries, eggs are normally sold in packs of 6 or 12, although you can, indeed, commonly find boxes of 4 or 10 now. Eggs are, of course, not the only product so sold - it is still most ordinary to buy oysters by the dozen. At markets, people will often still buy a dozen or demi-dozen of whatever they want, from tomatoes to apples, if they don't know the weight they want.
It just goes back to medieval 12-based measurement systems, and given how used people are to them and the absence of any drawback, why change?
It just goes back to medieval 12-based measurement systems, and given how used people are to them and the absence of any drawback, why change?
8
In a related piece of trivia, did you know that the ever efficient French make their omelets with only one egg?
That is because one egg is un oeuf
That is because one egg is un oeuf
51
Ugh.
2
Which was approximately the sound I made when I got this. Well done!
1
A duodecimal numbering system can also be counted with the fingers: count each of the three phalanges of the four fingers using the thumb as a pointer. This was the traditional method of finger counting in societies with a base 12 numerical system. The number twelve probably comes from the 12 yearly lunations or moons that were the basis of the earliest calendars.
7
In Mexico we buy as many as needed. Maybe in some countries people cannot afford to buy or keep a dozen at a time.
4
One correction: It would have been quite difficult in the first century for the systems to commingle since Anglo Saxons did not arrive until the 5th Century! The Romans arrived in the first century, and the Anglo Saxons came in the 5th as the Romans were leaving.
14
Denmark sells eggs in 6-8-10-20 cartons but 12 does not exist... They have imported all of their culture since the vikings, so is it truly cultural origins or random chance packaging?
The more interesting thing is the size of eggs in europe are so tiny. A 10 pack of large eggs in europe is barely 6 eggs when cooking. I guess when you have to eat soft boiled eggs for breakfast, you really dont want that much!
The more interesting thing is the size of eggs in europe are so tiny. A 10 pack of large eggs in europe is barely 6 eggs when cooking. I guess when you have to eat soft boiled eggs for breakfast, you really dont want that much!
3
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"The more interesting thing is the size of eggs in europe are so tiny."
Or, is it, like so many other things, that the size of eggs in the U.S. is so BIG?! :-)
Grammar cop, here, too. It's "the size... is" and not "the size... are". Also, Europe is capitalized!
Still, appreciated the information about the
way eggs are sold in Denmark-- not by the dozen!
------------------------------------
"The more interesting thing is the size of eggs in europe are so tiny."
Or, is it, like so many other things, that the size of eggs in the U.S. is so BIG?! :-)
Grammar cop, here, too. It's "the size... is" and not "the size... are". Also, Europe is capitalized!
Still, appreciated the information about the
way eggs are sold in Denmark-- not by the dozen!
------------------------------------
3
In the open air famers markets you can buy any number of eggs and in various sizes.
Just about every grocery store here offers eggs in six packs. Now if they would only start baking half-sized loaves of bread.
11
In Vietnam, eggs and many other things are sold by the "chuc", a set of ten. Confusingly, however, in some parts of the country a "chuc" can mean 12.
7
The preference for verbosity is puzzling. For example, people will say "half a dozen" when they could say "six" (saving 3 syllables); or "a baker's dozen" when they could say "thirteen" (saving 3 syllables); or "several dozen" when they could say "tens of" (saving 2 syllables). Often it feels like dozen is "street math" while ten is "school math", and people seem more comfortable with street math.
7
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Paul, enjoyed the comment. OTOH, if eggs are typically sold by the dozen, it makes sense to ask for "half a dozen"-- i.e., half a package!
Similarly, a "baker's dozen" is a tribute to the baker, who throws in a extra item (or two) and keeps the key referent of a "dozen". Note: one doesn't ask for a "baker's dozen"; one just ends up receiving it!
Now, for fun, let's start a discussion of the meaning of "bi-weekly" and "bi-monthly"!! :-)
They ought to be unambiguous (especially given that we also have the prefix "semi-" and the wonderfully useful, though archaic, "fortnight") but, alas, they no longer are.
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Paul, enjoyed the comment. OTOH, if eggs are typically sold by the dozen, it makes sense to ask for "half a dozen"-- i.e., half a package!
Similarly, a "baker's dozen" is a tribute to the baker, who throws in a extra item (or two) and keeps the key referent of a "dozen". Note: one doesn't ask for a "baker's dozen"; one just ends up receiving it!
Now, for fun, let's start a discussion of the meaning of "bi-weekly" and "bi-monthly"!! :-)
They ought to be unambiguous (especially given that we also have the prefix "semi-" and the wonderfully useful, though archaic, "fortnight") but, alas, they no longer are.
-----------------------------------
1
Perhaps because the "street math" when talking about everyday things such as eggs makes the mundane tasks we must do less boring, more familiar and friendly. I imagine, eventually, that "school math", merely saying the number, might take over yet another one of our old customs of describing the things in our lives the way our parents, and grandparents did.
I still say "see a picture" instead of "watch a movie" for instance. I prefer to keep some of the customs from the 20th Century or before, than to reduce our language to what fits into a text message, or is more desirable for the math-minded. (No disrespect intended to mathmeticians, as my son is one of them.)
I still say "see a picture" instead of "watch a movie" for instance. I prefer to keep some of the customs from the 20th Century or before, than to reduce our language to what fits into a text message, or is more desirable for the math-minded. (No disrespect intended to mathmeticians, as my son is one of them.)
Oops I think I misspelled *mathematicians*! Clearly, I am neither expert in science/math nor literature. Sorry about that, Paul, and thanks for your contribution to the discussion regarding the verbosity of defining the number of items.
There are 12 months in the year. Clearly, there are mathematical reasons for a dozen being popular in many cultures that are much earlier than the rather suspect explanation in the article. The fact that 12, as someone mentioned, is divisible by 2,3,4 and 6 makes it a very convenient number. This also provides for several possible spatial distributions (1x12,3x4,6x2,6+4+2).
7
Egg-sellent article.
15
SORRY, missed one
Spinage, and other sweet Herbs small with Becf-fuet j season them with Salt, Cloves and Nutmeg beaten, and mingle them well together with the Yolks of half a dozen Eggs; spread these upon your Collops, tye them together, spit them and ...
cooks and confectioners dictionary 1723.
Spinage, and other sweet Herbs small with Becf-fuet j season them with Salt, Cloves and Nutmeg beaten, and mingle them well together with the Yolks of half a dozen Eggs; spread these upon your Collops, tye them together, spit them and ...
cooks and confectioners dictionary 1723.
2
"It 'will then be proper to give them five or six gallons of good strong wine, and force them with the whites of a dozen eggs, with a spoonful of sand produced from the sawing of marble, or a small spoonful of table salt of the basket kind. Bottled ."
A Practical Treatise on Brewing, 1805
that's the oldest mention on Google books
Probably something more definitive in the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language which sites usage by date.
A Practical Treatise on Brewing, 1805
that's the oldest mention on Google books
Probably something more definitive in the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language which sites usage by date.
2
It comes down to simple practicality.
12 is divisible by 2,3,4 and 6 (and of course, 1). If someone doesn't want to, or can't afford to buy a whole lot, a dozen gives the most options for selling smaller lots.
12 is divisible by 2,3,4 and 6 (and of course, 1). If someone doesn't want to, or can't afford to buy a whole lot, a dozen gives the most options for selling smaller lots.
3
Counting by the dozen goes back a long way. ctaylor in Indianapolis has it right--12 has more divisors (1, 2, 3, 4, and 6) than 10 (only 1, 2, and 5). The ancient Babylonians understood this when they developed a system based on 60: "It has been conjectured that Babylonian advances in mathematics were probably facilitated by the fact that 60 has many divisors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30 and 60 - in fact, 60 is the smallest integer divisible by all integers from 1 to 6), and the continued modern-day usage of of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 (60 x 6) degrees in a circle, are all testaments to the ancient Babylonian system. It is for similar reasons that 12 (which has factors of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6) has been such a popular multiple historically (e.g. 12 months, 12 inches, 12 pence, 2 x 12 hours, etc)." --from http://www.storyofmathematics.com/sumerian.html.
58
I am pretty sure 12 months and 360 days comes from basic astronomical phenomena. Perhaps this is where the ancients got their inspiration, which I am also sure is not a novel thought.
4
I surmise that the counting system of the Babylonians is based on using the thumb to count the finger joints of the right hand (total of 12), and the individual fingers of the left hand to keep a tally. This enables a count up to 60.
Martha, great web site--thanks
The dozen is the divine. Lets face it. The decimal system is worthless. If we had it to do all over again, we'd go with base 12. Divisible by 2, 3, 4 and 6. A circle of 360 degrees is a beautiful thing that can be sliced into so many equivalent sections. Are we truly to be constrained the number of fingers and toes most of us have? A couple of cosmoradiological interventions and we'll all have twelve fingers and toes, and banish the loathsome decimal tyranny forever.
24
"It made sense to sell them that way because one egg could be sold for a penny or 12 for a shilling, which was equal to 12 pennies."
The 12-pence shilling did not exist before the merger with Scotland in 1707, at which time a dozen eggs cost about 5 pence in Great Britain (according to estimates by the economist Gregory Clark). It makes a nice, neat explanation but the historic evidence does not support it.
The 12-pence shilling did not exist before the merger with Scotland in 1707, at which time a dozen eggs cost about 5 pence in Great Britain (according to estimates by the economist Gregory Clark). It makes a nice, neat explanation but the historic evidence does not support it.
52
The 12-pence shilling coin first appeared in 1550; it existed as money of account long before that.
When they stormed the Bastille they not only sought to kill the aristocracy the pitchfork crowd also sought to kill any vestige of the old "Imperial" system, replete with measurement in 12.
12 inches anyone, which is a foot? Replaced by the rebellious heathen with our near standard Metric system, of everything in groups of 10. I work with both systems. Believe me, trust me, It's beautiful!, working in groups of 10 are infinitely easier than to break down measurements into 12 inches to the foot, then inches divided into halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, thirtysecondths, sixtyfourths. Get it?
12 inches anyone, which is a foot? Replaced by the rebellious heathen with our near standard Metric system, of everything in groups of 10. I work with both systems. Believe me, trust me, It's beautiful!, working in groups of 10 are infinitely easier than to break down measurements into 12 inches to the foot, then inches divided into halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, thirtysecondths, sixtyfourths. Get it?
16
I am so sick of having to carry a dozen eggs home. I can't wait until they change to a convenient 10 pack, I felt the same way when they lightened my bag of sugar from 5 pounds to 4 and when a half a gallon of ice cream was no longer a half a gallon. Thank you so much for making my live easier, food producers of America!
18
Great comment! Of course those food producers adjusted the prices according to the new weights, didn't they?
3
And they lightened your wallet by still charging you for 5 lbs of sugar when there were only 4.
7
Notice that the quantities got smaller but the prices didn't :)
1
They're sold by the dozen because the carton has space for twelve. Any fewer would be inefficient.
46
This sounds like chicken/egg reasoning to me..
1
The volume knob on my speakers goes to 11!
And manhole covers are round because manholes are round.
3
I thought that the Egyptians were the ones to go to a base 12 counting system. This may have been picked up by the Romans and then transported to Britain.
4
Twelve men on a jury, twelve months to the year, twelve tribes of Israel, etc. etc.
Twelve was anciently a number symbolic of wholeness.
The idea of 12 eggs for 1 shilling seems absurd. In 1550 eggs were 2 pence a dozen, in 1650 4 pence a dozen; in the 1750 about the same; by 1850 they were up to 8 pence a dozen, and you didn't have to pay 12 pence for a dozen eggs until nearly 1900.
Twelve was anciently a number symbolic of wholeness.
The idea of 12 eggs for 1 shilling seems absurd. In 1550 eggs were 2 pence a dozen, in 1650 4 pence a dozen; in the 1750 about the same; by 1850 they were up to 8 pence a dozen, and you didn't have to pay 12 pence for a dozen eggs until nearly 1900.
20
I question whether, in Roman or medieval times, an egg would have cost as much as a penny. We think of pennies today as worth almost nothing, but in ancient times, they were worth far more in relative terms. Perhaps an economist or historian could weigh in on this.
1
I lived in Paris until last year, and eggs sell in boxes of 10 at Carrefour.
2
Likewise, I can buy a carton of 10 in Sweden.
2
10 to a carton in Japan as well.
And in Germany, where I lived last year, they are 10 to a carton.
An "eggs"-act science." LOL That's a great yolk! I can hear the chicks all laughing. At least those who are able to come out of their shells after they've been cooped up and hen-pecked. Sorry. I know that did go over easy. I'm just a hard-boiled middle aged guy.
Al Bumin
Al Bumin
33
Please, don't give the egg producers any ideas.
A pound of coffee is down to 12 ounces, the half-gallon of ice cream, is now 48 ounces and the orange juice is 59 ounces. Not to be out done, the 5 gallon tub of blacktop is down to 4.75 gallons.
So shhh.
A pound of coffee is down to 12 ounces, the half-gallon of ice cream, is now 48 ounces and the orange juice is 59 ounces. Not to be out done, the 5 gallon tub of blacktop is down to 4.75 gallons.
So shhh.
18
Indeed! When the EU banned selling eggs by the dozen and ruled they must be sold by weight, brexit was bound to happen!
3
In markets , almost in any markets around the world, eggs sold in loose form, usually in baskets and you pick how many you buy, then when the eggs move to supermarkets then come the dozens . I've always wondered !
6
Sorry, no. I am Italian and eggs are sold by the dozen there too. So nothing to do with the very strange British monetary system.
Maybe because 12 can be divided by so many other numbers? Who wants 1/6 of a dozen of eggs?
Maybe because 12 can be divided by so many other numbers? Who wants 1/6 of a dozen of eggs?
6
Sorry, no. I live in Italy and my supermarket (PAM) sells eggs in groups of 12, 6, 4 and 2.
1
Bars in New York starting serving 20 oz. "Pints" of on tap beer a couple of decades back in distinctive 20 oz. Pint Glasses following the English Imperial pint tradition. Then many bars started serving 16 oz. "Pints" in similiar looking but smaller glasses but for the same price as the 20 oz. pints. To those in the know, these became known as "cheater pints". Extrapolating to eggs, a dozen is a dozen, but why not sell only a carton of ten for the same price? The customer will benefit by feeling "less mathematically confused".
4
6 is a factor of 12. It is not a multiple of 12.
13
Chickens lay eggs in groups of three. And humans always use three eggs when they make omelettes. However, we sell eggs in groups of twelve, because when you egg somebody's house, you need at least a dozen to really slime them but good to get even with what the person done did, the dirty rat.
13
My chickens don't lay eggs in groups of three. They never lay more than one a day, and they don't lay every day. But the do lay beautiful eggs, three today, and four the two previous days in green, white, a pinkish tan, brown, and chocolate brown. The color of the shells have no impact on the flavor of the eggs.
Actually, they could get to 156. A full left plus a full right.
So where does the 12 come from in the first place? Many ancients counted on their fingers and didn't use the half witted 10 fingers as we do but used the phalanges of the fingers, the little bones themselves, and they used the thumb as a place holder. They counted to 12 on one hand and then with each inter joint of the other representing one completed count on the first (the units) hand, could get all the way to 144. Not to shabby.
6
Ah, that explains why I am half witted and my twin is not, I still use 10 fingers but my twin uses the phalanges of the fingers so could add twice as many.
3
We live in a digital world. A dozen (12) = 1100.
3
I think you're confusing digital with binary.
1
I think you're confusing digital with decimal.
In some of those countries you have to get a mortgage to buy an egg.
In Mongolia eggs are sold individually, or in boxes of six or ten. No one seems to be aware of the concept of a “dozen”.
3
Also in Italy, common egg pack size is 6 followed by 10.
1
I don't know where dozens came from, but as I was shucking corn a couple of years ago, I realized that if you fit them together in a pile with four on the bottom you get to ten when you get to the top. I wonder if the base 10 comes from this, rather than the number of fingers that we have. Is math basically flawed because we use the base 10? Would we understand the universe better if some of our basic concepts of math were different?
8
NO. The system is BASE-12.
Before 1971 there were 240 PENCE in 1 pound.
12 PENCE equaled 1 SHILLING.
There were 20 SHILLING in 1 pound.
(now there are still 20 shilling in one pound but the shilling is worth only 5 pence).
Metric is base 10
Imperial is base 12 BECAUSE 12 is equally divisible by 1,2,3,4, AND 6. That makes the base and it's fractions easier to compute, with, say, a bunch of eggs.
Base 10 is only equally divisible by 2 and 5.
Before 1971 there were 240 PENCE in 1 pound.
12 PENCE equaled 1 SHILLING.
There were 20 SHILLING in 1 pound.
(now there are still 20 shilling in one pound but the shilling is worth only 5 pence).
Metric is base 10
Imperial is base 12 BECAUSE 12 is equally divisible by 1,2,3,4, AND 6. That makes the base and it's fractions easier to compute, with, say, a bunch of eggs.
Base 10 is only equally divisible by 2 and 5.
Not many of us shuck corn, but mostly all of us have our ten fingers with us 24/7 and for that reason I don't think we can get over base 10. It's so basic.
Those 10 fingers are always with us and always will be, no matter which century we're in and in which part of the globe we inhabit and that seems to secure the future of base 10. Having been born and bred in Brooklyn, I never did any corn shucking, but I always have the fingers ready to assist.
Those 10 fingers are always with us and always will be, no matter which century we're in and in which part of the globe we inhabit and that seems to secure the future of base 10. Having been born and bred in Brooklyn, I never did any corn shucking, but I always have the fingers ready to assist.
4
You have "discovered" triangular numbers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_number
An equilateral triangle with n items at the base, piled up as your ears of corn, also has n items on the other two faces. The total number of "ears of corn" with n on the bottom is given by the formula T(n) = (n(n+1))/2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_number
An equilateral triangle with n items at the base, piled up as your ears of corn, also has n items on the other two faces. The total number of "ears of corn" with n on the bottom is given by the formula T(n) = (n(n+1))/2.
9
In France, eggs are also sold in boxes of 4, a convenient quantity for a couple or a single person. Not surprisingly, their use-by dates tend to be fresher.
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In Mexico, eggs are sold by the kilo or half kilo and in a plastic bag (at least in Guerrrero).
5
HRC got an email explaining all this but she deleted it. DWS was heard saying 'what difference does it make?' Go Trump!
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You are in the wrong forum, we are discussing eggs, not idiots.
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Pathetic.
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Drumpf will end up with egg on his face.
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Spanish and French recognize the unit of measurement called "decena" (10) and docena (12), thanks to our common Roman heritage.
But Brits created a pound that was worth 20 shillings and a shilling that was worth 12 pence -- which was American currency until 1795. Yanks are as likely to abandon the dozen as we are to go back to the pound.
But Brits created a pound that was worth 20 shillings and a shilling that was worth 12 pence -- which was American currency until 1795. Yanks are as likely to abandon the dozen as we are to go back to the pound.
7
Actually, the lsd system of coinage was developed by Charlemagne.
I'd much rather continue purchasing eggs-by-the-dozen [sometime half-dozen] than the current "value-added" model of 5 oz of tuna and 1.5 & 1.75 Gallon container of ice cream.
18
Tuna used to be 7 and then 6 ounces. It was 6 ounces for many years.
Now it is FIVE ounces. The problem is...that is not enough to make two tuna fish sandwiches. They will be skimpy at best. The old 7 ounce can would make THREE small sandwiches. Now you get about 1.5 sandwiches. If you have another person, you may have to open a second can OR extend the tuna with celery or onions or something to "stretch" it.
It is infuriating, but what can you do? And yes a HALF GALLON of ice cream went to 1.75 and today 1.5 gallons, meaning it is pretty small for a family. Coffee went from a pound, to 14 ounces, to 12 ounces, to 11 ounces and some today are TEN ounces a package.
We are being royally cheated and who does anything about?
<< crickets >>
Now it is FIVE ounces. The problem is...that is not enough to make two tuna fish sandwiches. They will be skimpy at best. The old 7 ounce can would make THREE small sandwiches. Now you get about 1.5 sandwiches. If you have another person, you may have to open a second can OR extend the tuna with celery or onions or something to "stretch" it.
It is infuriating, but what can you do? And yes a HALF GALLON of ice cream went to 1.75 and today 1.5 gallons, meaning it is pretty small for a family. Coffee went from a pound, to 14 ounces, to 12 ounces, to 11 ounces and some today are TEN ounces a package.
We are being royally cheated and who does anything about?
<< crickets >>
8
7/3 < 5/2
Bagels (and perhaps other bakery items) are also sold by the dozen, at least at bakeries.
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Buying a dozen freshly baked bagels makes no sense except for large or extended families. Whose going to eat all those bagels at one sitting? Overnight....they're stale.
4
Never heard of soup. It's where stale bread used to go. It fattens soup good!
Try putting the surplus in the freezer.
It is simple. In order to get a baker's dozen, you have to start with a dozen.
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a baker's dozen is 13, not 12.
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True, but I gather that RPM meant you START with a dozen and then add one more.
that's the point.
I think I just heard Donald Trump say that the Romans never invaded England.
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JK: That comment is so, so funny! We're talking laugh out loud funny.
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LOL !
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Thank you! Somehow I just needed to insert that into an article that had nothing to do with the election. I wasn't sure the NYT would print it! You guys made my day, and I'm glad I could make you laugh. JK
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Beside penny and shilling example, a dozen can easily be divided into more equal pieces than 10. 12/12=1; 12/6=2; 12/4=3; 12/3=4; 12/6=2. A dozen of eggs can be divided and sold five ways. Whereas 10 divides only three ways. 10/10=1; 10/2=5; 10/5=2. I would assume this applied to bakers and other professions that sold small numbers of items.
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I was hoping someone would say this. This is also the argument for using a base 12 math system rather than a base 10. Unless you like counting on your fingers!
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I believe the idea of 360 degrees in geometry is based (pun intended, I guess) on the same idea.
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Or base 60, as they did in Mesopotamia.
Eggs are sold by the dozen all over Latin America and in Spain too. In markets they are also sold in cartons, same as in the USA. I think the dozen has more to do with the ease of packaging and transporting.
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Also in Latin America this is very usual. At the extreme that in Brazil the number 6 is also popular called "meia" (half) to indicate half dozen, probably in a direct reference to eggs packaging.
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all sorts of things are sold by the dozen or packed in shipping packages of 12/24. In college I worked in an health and beauty aids warehouse. Everything came in sleeves of 6, of which 2 constituted a unit that was in turn packed in cases of 12 and 24.
It isn't just eggs that come this way.
It isn't just eggs that come this way.
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Anything in odd numbers is hard to package.
In South America they sell them by the dozen, but the follow the decimal system for everything, could it be because of their shape and the way you can put them in a basket or something like that?
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When I teach the word "dozen" to students here in Japan, I ask them what it means. Often they know it means a group of twelve. Then I ask what we buy by the dozen, and they almost never know or guess cans of beer, which has occasionally been the case with those teeny cans. I tell them about the eggs (and I throw in "gross" for pencils and the like for good measure) but I have never been able to give them a good reason why. Thank you for this plausible explanation.
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You forgot the stone, hundredweight, dram, peck, and score.
Four Score = 80, as in the French "quatre vingt."
Four Score = 80, as in the French "quatre vingt."
Expect it to happen soon. In their continuing effort to gauge the public in ways that are deceptive companies have been reducing quantities while maintaining prices. Formerly 32 ounce jars are now 28 ounce or 26 ounce. Big containers like cereal boxes or aspirin bottles have less and less in them when opened. The essence of modern marketing is deceit and manipulation. The business sector leads them all, even lawyers and politicians and used car salesmen, in the big lie.
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The needlessly big cereal boxes also add to the production cost passed on to the consumer and to the bulk the consumer is forced to carry home with him.
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But with cereal you are buying the box. The cereal comes free with the box and you also pay for the advertising. The manufacturers are likely to pay more for the box than the cereal and more for the advertising than the box. Plus eating the box would probably be better for you or rather not as bad.
I want my Maypo.