Counting by 10s vs. 20s

[Joel S. Berson]

120 seems strange to me.  It is not a square number, as one might
expect ten tens or twelve twelves.

Joel

At 8/23/2013 11:01 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>On Aug 23, 2013, at 10:44 AM, Amy West wrote:
>
> > On 8/23/13 12:03 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
> >> Date:    Thu, 22 Aug 2013 11:48:58 -0400
> >> From:    "Joel S. Berson"<Berson at ATT.NET>
> >> Subject: Counting by 10s vs. 20s
> >>
> >> What is the received wisdom why English counts the God-given natural
> >> numbers by tens,
> > We didn't always. Like Old Norse, in Old English there is the long
> > hundred, which is actually 120.
>
>And we still have dozens of eggs, donuts, etc. (unless we're
>bakers).  Plus there are all those divisions of (clock and calendar)
>time into 12-based (duodecimal) intervals.  And geometric
>degrees.  One for each finger and one for each foot, no doubt.  It's
>only when you take the shoes and socks off that you get to the twenties.
>
>LH
>
> > And yes, I think there's evidence for
> > ten = 12 in OE. (I am more certain of this in Old Norse).
> >
>
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