You likely trip over primes every day without realizing it. Contrary to prime folklore, primes are not mysterious or unfathomable. There they are: 1 (Yes, 1 was a prime once, but has fallen from grace), 2 the only even prime, 3, 5, 7, 11, . . . . A prime occurs when no preceding number can be divided into it (without a remainder of course). No one could write down every prime in a book, because there is always another one. Primes are fascinating and interesting once you get to know a few -- and that is why this book was compiled from the wit and wisdom of prime addicts the world around. The primes don't require it, but you can get downright superstitious about them -- for example, as a math teacher I left home for my first class at exactly 7:11, and left school for home at precisely 3:13 -- lots of primes in that one, 3, 13, 31, and 313 itself, all primes, not to mention that 3+1+3=7. Donald Duck loved the number and put it on his auto as his license plate number. Therefore, we prime addicts call it the "Number of the Duck" and it is worshipped in some places. Some primes can be turned upside down, reversed, taken apart, put back together, and even bent (see Carlos Rivera's The Prime Puzzles & Problems Connection), and also check out Neil Sloane's On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences: search on Primes. G. L. Honaker Jr. introduced me to all of this and ruined my life -- even forced me to writing a book about primes. Get a life and look at Prime Curios! the book, but since everything isn't in a book, look also for Prime Curios! on the Net. Although it is legendary that G. H. Hardy didn't care for anything useful in math, prime numbers are quite useful: when conversation turns dull, or the party weakens, begin talking about prime numbers and watch the eyes glaze over! And if you want to start an argument, just insist that 1 is prime! and I do! Everyone important will go home and you can get to bed.
