Prime numbers – those indivisible by anything but 1 and themselves – have captivated mathematicians for millennia. These fundamental building blocks of arithmetic hold secrets about their distribution, and the search for larger primes continues to drive research. But beyond pure mathematics, prime numbers occasionally intersect with popular culture, internet phenomena, and even the realm of the macabre. Here’s a look at some extraordinary examples.
The Sheldon Prime: A Sitcom-Inspired Discovery
In a 2010 episode of The Big Bang Theory, physicist Sheldon Cooper declared 73 his favorite number. His reasoning: 73 is the 21st prime, its reverse (37) is the 12th, and 7 × 3 = 21. This seemingly arbitrary selection sparked a mathematical investigation. Mathematician Christopher Spicer, along with his students Jessie Byrnes and Alyssa Turnquist, wondered if any other “Sheldon primes” existed with similar properties.
Their search through the first 10 million primes found none. Later, Spicer and Carl Pomerance proved conclusively in 2019 that 73 is indeed unique. The proof, involving complex calculations and approximations, was so rigorous that The Big Bang Theory even acknowledged it by including parts of the equation on a whiteboard in a later episode. This demonstrates how a casual television reference can unexpectedly fuel genuine mathematical exploration.
The Viral Enigma of “6-7”
In 2025, the internet became briefly obsessed with the digits “6-7.” This meme, pronounced “six-seven,” spread across social media platforms with no apparent reason or meaning. Despite attempts to uncover hidden codes or inside jokes, it remained purely a phenomenon of digital repetition.
The number 67 itself is mathematically interesting: it’s prime, a “super-prime” (as 19, its ordinal position, is also prime), and part of a sequence called “sexy primes” (primes six apart). It also appears in the “lazy caterer’s sequence,” which calculates the maximum number of pieces a disk can be cut into with n cuts – 67 pieces with 11 cuts. Yet the meme’s viral spread had no connection to these properties. It simply was.
The Belphegor Prime: Mathematics and the Macabre
Beyond mere curiosity, prime numbers can also venture into unsettling territory. Harvey Dubner, a dedicated prime hunter, discovered the “Belphegor prime”: 1,000,000,000,000,066,600,000,000,000,001. The name refers to a demon and the number’s structure incorporates the infamous “devil’s number” (666).
Dubner found that adding zeros around the 666 sequence doesn’t produce primes…unless you insert exactly 13 zeros. This creates a prime number of formidable length, linking mathematics to demonic symbolism. It remains unknown if even larger iterations – with 666,666 zeros – also yield primes.
Ultimately, prime numbers reveal the surprising ways mathematics intertwines with culture, chance, and even the darker corners of human fascination. Their seemingly simple nature belies a world of complexity, mystery, and occasional viral absurdity.
