Dining by the Numbers

The following three numbers have meaning tied to my dining room experience while living on campus at Cedarville University: 31, 9.5, and 1,200.

The 31 is the number of consecutive times I made it into the cafeteria (a.k.a., "Chuck's) without showing my student ID card, which was required for entry. For the record, I had my student ID with me, but I wanted to see how many times I could enter by confidently flashing a host of cards ranging from library cards to credit cards. The key here was not the card, but the confidence. Now that I think about it, this was probably during the time that I was working on a forensics speech on biometric technology that featured a part about the inadequacy of outdated security systems. I challenge any of you current Cedarvillians to best my mark, if it's logistically possible. [They might just scan the mark on your forehead now. Oh, wait, that's Antioch College.]

The 9.5 is the number of miles in height that I ascended by climbing the stairs to eat on the upper level of the dining hall. Given that I was never thrown off the balcony of the second level, it just so happens that this is also the same distance that I descended via the stairs. The bottom line is that while the total ascent was 21,132 feet higher than Mt. Everest, I ended up with a net ascent of 0 feet when accounting for descents.

The 1,200 is the number of dollars my two buddies and I could have wasted by leaving 5 uneaten grapes behind on the floor during each of the three daily meals. Note the "could have wasted" wording. I don't remember how I arrived at that calculation back in the mid-1990s, but the math works out to be 37,800 grapes in total that could have been wasted. If there is someone else out there who is willing to update the dollar amount, you could buy a bunch of grapes, count the number of grapes, divide the price per grapes, then multiply this price per grape by 37,800.

Just some food for thought.