Today there are 108 days left in the calendar year and, among the list of living centenarians, three have reached the age of 108 years: the aerospace engineer James C. Floyd, the dancer and choreographer Eileen Kramer, and the former politician and writer Ma Shitu. The number 108 is considered sacred by the Dharmic religions Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and in Homer’s Odyssey, 108 is the number of suiters interested in his long-suffering wife, Penelope. The distance between the Earth and the Moon is also about 108 times the diameter of the Moon. Finally, and as we contemplate the World Series this time of year, there are 108 stitches in an official MLB baseball.
NCPA
