17 June is Yellow Pig Day, which is unfortunately not celebrating a Yellow pig. Instead, Yellow Pig Day is design to celebrate the number 17, and its significance in Mathematics.
Yellow Pig Day originated when two students, Michael Spivak and David Kelly, were researching the number 17. 17 is the sum of the first 4 primes, the smallest number that is a sum of 2 powers of 4 (1, 16), and also the most likely response when asking somebody from a number in the range 1 – 20. This number is present in many areas of mathematics and caused these students to become obsessed with its nature.
These two students eventually conceptualised a Yellow Pig, that has 17 toes, 17 eyelashes and 17 teeth. This became the mascot of Yellow Pig Day – The Yellow Pig. Shortly after this obscure creation, Yellow Pig Day was chosen to be celebrated on the 17th of June.
Over Time, Yellow Pig Day has become a huge event, with yellow pig merchandise being sold alongside dedicated jokes and songs. To celebrate Yellow Pig day, many people create Paper Mache Yellow Pigs, and do 17 acts of kindness.
Have a great Yellow Pig Day, that is if you don’t have Heptadecaphobia.