Monday, August 1, 2016

Stranger than fiction!


Twelve bananas maketh a dozen, not six or nine or seven,
I wondered why, that seemed so strange, as I looked upward to heaven,
The stars told me the story of the zodiac signs, à la twelve,
The sun and moon with their twelve-hourly clock, further made me delve.

 
The Chinese, Hindus, Hebrews, Gregorians, in twelve they measure their year,
Twelve Olympian God’s and twelve Jyotirlingas, say you’ve nothing to fear.
Twelve Alwars have the Vaishnavites and Twelve Imams succeeded Muhammed,
Twelve apostles carried forth Jesus’ work, after His blood was shed,

Twelve Swarastanas in Hindustani and Carnatic, form a musical octave,
The function keys, the telephone and face cards, yeah! twelve are what they have.
Twelve pies made an Anna, twelve ounces a Troy pound,
Twelve pence made a shilling, and a foot, twelve inches long!

Twelve cranial nerves and twelve pairs of ribs, make the human body strong,
Zwölffingerdarm, as the Germans say, the intestine is twelve inches long,
Twelve’s a single-morpheme name in English, did you have a clue?
And in math, a sublime number and superfactorial too!

Ain’t all that interesting, ain’t that stranger than fiction?
Twelve Rashis are what, will make your life’s prediction!
From math to science and English, to art and God above,
Isn't it strange how everywhere, the number Twelve well behoves!


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Written for the prompt "Stranger than Fiction" as a part of the 'Bar-A-Thon' - a  week-long blogging marathon for bloggers. If you'd like to participate, or read what other bloggers have to say, visit the BAR for more details. 
 I'm with #Team Crimson Rush :)







23 comments:

  1. Wow! This made for such a fascinating read!!
    A fab take on the prompt, Shubhangi! :)

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  2. Wow!I had no idea about this!
    Thank you for such an enlightening take on the prompt! Loved it!:)

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  3. Shubhangi, you are simply amazing! Fascinating trivia that you made sound so much fun through the verse form. Loved it!

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    1. I almost published it as a longish post, but it sounded so boring! That's why the poem to pep it up a bit! Thanks Kala!

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  4. I love the information you put in your posts! Absolutely!
    And yes, it's quite strange how things work so perfectly!

    Cheers
    Geets

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    1. Thank you Geets...Yep, and we don't even notice these minute things!

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  5. Now that is truly stranger than fiction and quite amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you Suzy! facts are indeed a lot stranger than fiction!

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  6. Brilliant! And I always thought seven is what ruled the world. Such a wonderful read this was. :-)

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    1. hmm, i'm sure there are some interesting facts about seven, makes me want to try and find out! Thanks Rekha!

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  7. this is brilliant !! You got so much knowledge :D Absolutely loved reading it :D

    Destiny's Child

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  8. Some observations! Never noticed the significance of number 12 till now. Well put together!

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  9. Amazingly intricate and beautifully written. You're quite the mathematical poetess, aren't you? :)

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    1. hahahaha...yeah? Mathematical poetess has quite a zing to it, no? Thanks Shailaja!

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  10. Never knew so much facts about the number 12!
    I just knew that there were 12 Gods and Goddesses at Mount Olympus, when they had their summer and winter solstice councils! Great Take on the prompt! :)

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    1. Thanks Mithila! My son told me the exact same thing! you know..that potterhead?

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  11. Absolutely loved your post Shubhangi. So much about the number 12 and how little I knew. Fabulously done. What a take on the prompt. This also looks like - What you don't know :)

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    1. Awww...thanks Parul! and yea, right, it could as well have been 'what you don't know'! didn't realise till you pointed that out!

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  12. Love the power of Twelve. It has been spelled so well and struck the right chord. Amazing, stunning and speechless:)

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