SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBER 5
booklet compiled by Lalitha Venkat for Anita Ratnam (Artistic Director, Arangham Dance Theatre)
Source: Internet
GENERAL
* There are five vowels in the English alphabet:
a, e, i, o and u.
* The five oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and
Antarctic) with the five parts of the geographical world: Europe, Asia,
Africa, America, Oceania.
* The five senses are sight, smell, sound, touch and taste.
* The five basic tastes are sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami.
* Almost all amphibians, reptiles and mammals which have fingers or toes, have five of them on each extremity.
* Pentameter is a verse with five repeating feet per line; iambic pentameter was the most popular form in Shakespeare.
* In Manichaeism, 5 has a central position: the first man had five
sons; there are five elements of light (ether, wind, water, light, and
fire) and a further five of darkness. The body has five parts; there are
five virtues and five vices.
* The medieval knight had five virtues - generosity, courtesy,
chastity, chivalry and piety as symbolized in the pentagram device on
the shield of Sir Gawain.
* The word "punch" comes from the Hindustani for five - paanch.
* Pancha Pandavas - the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his
two wives Kunti and Madri - Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and
Sahadeva.
* Pancha Tantra - Five Wise Lessons: India's most famous collection of fables
* The Constellation of Cepheus: Cepheus, The King (Latin Cepheus,
from Greek Kepheus), has been known for thousands of years. Its shape is
a large pentagram, rather like a child’s drawing of a house with a
steep roof. The constellation is westward of Cassiopeia W or M shape.
The five main stars of the pentagram are in the southwestern part of the
constellation’s official boundaries. It is rich in clusters and nebulae
since the Milky Way passes through Cepheus.
 
* The emblem of the Olympic Games is composed of five interlocking
rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red respectively) on a white
field. This was originally designed in 1913 by Baron Pierre de
Coubertin, the founder of modern Olympic Games. The symbol
represents the five parts of the world willing to accept healthy
competition.
* Olympic mascots on a Plasma screen in Beijing airport. There is a
story to go with the mascots. The "Fuwa" are like little children
who come from all parts of China. Fuwa also represent popular animals -
the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow and the Olympic
Flame.
* ‘The Garden of Cyrus’ (1658) by Sir Thomas Browne is a Pythagorean Discourse based upon the number 5.
* There are 5 Great Lakes - An easy way to remember these is the word HOMES - Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior.
* The most destructive known tornadoes rate an F-5 on the Fujita scale.
* The most destructive known hurricanes rate as Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
* In the United States legal system, the Fifth Amendment to the
United States Constitution can be referred to in court as "pleading the
fifth", absolving the defendant from self-incrimination.
* The number necessary to make a majority decision in the U.S Supreme Court.
* An informal term for the British Security Service, MI5
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