Little twelvetoes

[cosmolinguist]

In the playing of Trivial Pursuit last night, Katie asked me a question about a baseball player who had six fingers on both hands and six toes on both feet. I didn't know the answer, but I was enchanted by the idea of having six digits.

I thought of--and Josh mentioned--the Schoolhouse Rock song "Little Twelvetoes." I love the song, too, it's my favorite of all the Schoolhouse Rock ones I've heard. Katie hadn't heard of it, so I told her it was about counting in something other than base ten. I think that would be cool, too.

Now if man had been born with 6 fingers on each hand, he'd also have 12 toes or so the theory goes. Well, with twelve digits, I mean fingers, he probably would have invented two more digits when he invented his number system. Then, if he saved the zero for the end, he could count and multiply by twelve just as easily as you and I do by ten.

Now if man had been born with 6 fingers on each hand, he'd probably count: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, dek, el, doh. "Dek" and "el" being two entirely new signs meaning ten and eleven. Single digits! And his twelve, "doh", would have been written 1-0. Get it? That'd be swell, to multiply by 12.

Hey little twelvetoes, I hope you're well.
Must be some far-flung planet where you dwell.
If we were together, you could be my cousin,
Down here we call it a dozen.
Hey little twelvetoes, please come back home.

Now if man had been born with 6 fingers on each hand, his children would have 'em too. And when they played hide-and-go-seek they'd count by sixes fast. And when they studied piano, they'd do their six-finger exercises. And when they went to school, they'd learn the golden rule, and how to multiply by twelve easy: just put down a zero. But me, I have to learn it the hard way.

Lemme see now:
One times 12 is twelve, two times 12 is 24.
Three times 12 is 36, four times 12 is 48, five times 12 is 60.
Six times 12 is 72, seven times 12 is 84.
Eight times 12 is 96, nine times 12 is 108, ten times 12 is 120.
Eleven times 12 is 132, and 12 times 12 is 144. WOW!

Hey little twelvetoes, I hope you're thriving.
Some of us ten-toed folks are still surviving.
If you help me with my twelves, I'll help you with your tens.
And we could all be friends.
Hey little twelvetoes, please come back home.

I once heard someone say that if they could have plastic surgery it would be to make their ears pointy like an elf because they think that would be cool. Mine would be to add another finger on each hand ... but only if I can use it like the other five.

Comments

[parakleta.livejournal.com]

It'll be great when they can add on extra fingers and make them work... there was a thing on some show ages and ages ago about how they could graft toes on when people lot part of a finger, and it kinda worked.

The extra finger thing will be great for racing motorcyclists who only have 4 digits on each hand.

[grafospasmo.livejournal.com]

Antonio "Pulpa" Alfonseca is the player you're refering to, right? He was in dark contrast to a player named Modecai "Three-finger" Brown who played in an ealier era.

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah, that's the guy! I would have named him myself had I been able to remember the name by the time I wrote this ... but my brain had been infested with trivia that day.

[grafospasmo.livejournal.com]

He pitched with the Marlins--pretty decent reliever, too.

You could put together a pretty team of players who had their share of appendage related problems--more then a few really good talents had odd numbers of fingers and toes, and a whole bunch were missing arms and legs.

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah, when I was little I remember seeing Jim Abbott pitch (for California, I think?) in one of the very few Twins games my family ever went to. That was cool.