...according to Pythagoras. we've had fun here talking about the significance of the number 42, and the number 37, and so forth. but that's all jocular small potatoes; witness:

"Professor Hans-Henrik Stolum, an earth scientist at Cambridge University has calculated the ratio between the actual length of rivers from source to mouth and their direct length as the crow flies. Although the ratio varies from river to river, the average value is slightly greater than 3, that is to say that the actual length is roughly three times greater than the direct distance. In fact the ratio is approximately 3.14, which is close to the value of the number pi... The ratio of pi is most commonly found for rivers flowing across very gently sloping planes, such as those found in Brazil or the Siberian tundra."

from _Fermat's Enigma_, by Simon Singh

(there's an explanation for this, unfortunately)

-joe (perfect numbers) friday