Welcome New Year in the Square

The New Year will receive its traditional Audlem welcome tonight with fireworks and church bells. It all happens in the Square at, well, midnight.

A few thoughts to occupy all as the fireworks explode. 2013 is a mathematical rarity: a year whose digits, when rearranged, can form a simple arithmetic progression: i.e. 0123.

The last such year was 1432 and the next will be 2031, after which we will have to wait until 2103 for the next one. Please let us know, of course, if our calculations are incorrect.

You will also be delighted to know that 2013 has been declared the European Year of Citizens according to the European Commission. We are not entirely sure what that entails, or indeed why all the other years have not been. But, we are sure we speak for all in expressing our gratitude to the Commission.

2013 will also be The Year of Statistics, according to a set of learned societies and also The Year of The Mathematics of Planet Earth according to another group of scientific societies – and if that doesn't excite you, what will?

And on the subject of statistics, how many people to do you have to assemble in an Audlem pub before there is:

• a more than 50% chance two people will share the same birthday?
• a 95% chance two people will share the same birthday?
• a guarantee that at least two will share the same birthday?
• there is probably at least one Manchester United supporter?

Note – in this context birthday means day and month, not year.

If answers can be provided, that will settle at least one local family's (friendly) argument that ran throughout the Christmas celebrations.

Incidentally, we have added a Comment section to this news piece, a facility now available for selected stories on the new-look AudlemOnline. We hope to hear from you – as always, comments are moderated.

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