Running Numbers

A scholarly look at the digits that matter.

by Nick Norlen

Don't believe Philadelphia has a thriving library, more than enough teachers and an already-existent casino scene? Running Numbers bets you it does.

11 Minimum number of other states that have a place named Philadelphia, including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Happy April Fools' Day. Now be prepared to pay up.

11.5:1 Student-to-teacher ratio at Marion County High School in Philadelphia, Mo. The high school is actually housed at the same location as Marion County Elementary School, which, I'm sad to say, has a scandalous student-to-teacher ratio of 12.3:1. Now if our Philly just had that same ratio of teachers to students.

13 Number of books that every single resident of Philadelphia, Tenn., could check out at once without exhausting that town's public library's 7,466-volume collection, according to stats at librarytechnology.org. Don't worry, there's more to do in Philly, Tenn., than read — on March 28, the Ninth Annual Tri-State Arm-Wrestling Championship will be held at the town's Philadelphia School, which will be the recipient of all proceeds. Um, budget crisis solved.

700 Approximate number of people who live in Philadelphia, N.Y., according to an urbandictionary.com post by "The Philly Warrior," who also notes that his Philly has "a supermarket and two gas stations. That always have the same price. And we're not in Pennsylvania. And we don't make cream cheese." Look on the bright side, Philly Warrior: You're not in Jersey.

Hey ... can I get your digits? I want to hear about the numerals you need to see. Let a number-runner know at runningnumbers@gmail.com