Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield a significant fact

Fun Facts about Montana

Interviewer (Tamsen): Why do you think that the year 2026 might turn out to be a special year for Montana?

Ahmad Jones: Well, 2026, divided by 2 is 1013, and these four numbers add up to 5.

Tamsen: What significance does the number 5 have in relation to Montana?

President Abraham Lincoln

Jones: Let’s start with page 1 of The Independent Record, for 11-9-1889, the day after Montana’s birth as a state. The reporter wrote that “Montana is the brightest gem in the constellation of stars that is known throughout the globe as the greatest nation on earth.” When we draw a star it usually has five points. Now, for example, take the outer letters that make up Montana. The first letter, M, is the 13^th letter (which adds to the number 4) and the last letter, A, equals 1. So, the numbers 41 or 14 are significant in Montana’s case. Both the first and last letter reduce to 5.

Tamsen: And?

Jones: Montana’s first and second syllables or beats both end with the letter N and this letter is the 14^th letter, which also amounts to 5. Another reference to 5 is the number 23, which adds to 5, now for a  more tangible context, do you remember who the 23^rd president was?

Tamsen: Grover Cleveland…no it was Benjamin Harrison but what does he have to do with this topic?

Jones: President Harrison issued a proclamation declaring Montana a state in the union. And he signed the proclamation, in the Executive Mansion, according to most papers, at 10:40 am, which is another reference to the number 14 who’s sum is 5.

Tamsen: You’re kidding, right?

Jones: You can read it in most papers, especially in The Anaconda Recorder and New North-West, for 15 November 1889. Now, if you add that date you get 1 9 1 5…

Tamsen: Anything…significant about those numbers?

Jones: Well, the year 1915 was significant, in that the State of Montana created two entities: Phillips and Prairie Counties, and that took place on the 5^th of February. And that year had an acceleration in  population growth.

Tamsen: Alright! I guess there is some intimation of a pattern here but I want to learn something, Ahmad, that’ll really be of interest. So, anything else?

President Benjamin Harrison 

Jones: Right! Weel, up till now I’ve just presented a few, maybe, interesting fun facts but here’s something very useful for those who appreciate recurring patterns, number theory and even meaningful coincidences. I mentioned President Harrison’s Montana statehood proclamation, given on 11-8-1889, but I didn’t mention that Montana became the 41^st state and I also didn’t mention that President Abraham Lincoln, through the Organic Act of 1864, had declared Montana an incorporated territory of the United States.

Now, in the number 1864, the first number is 1 and the last number is 4, which is 14 again with the result being 5 —

Tamsen: I need more than…—

Jones: But wait, there is more, the two middle numbers, 8 and 6, also add to 14, so within that year, one could say that the beginnings of Montana statehood were symbolically and energetically established. Also, if you add the 5^th month, 26^th day and 1864, when the Organic Act was born, you get 1895, which adds to 23.

Tamsen: The number 5 again.

Jones: And 23 is a reference to the future president who would sign that proclamation, on behalf of Montana.

Tamsen: Benjamin Harrison, Okay, okay, now I’m getting more interested. So, what do all of these, what some may call, synchronicities, mean? Am I supposed to believe in numbers?

Jones: No! I don’t.. believe in numbers, there’s nothing to believe but I think it is something to notice, maybe to know a lot about. For example, and this is somewhat of a different topic, do you remember the year when Egypt was given partial autonomy by the British?

Tamsen: My major was history, so that would make the year… 1922 right?.

Jones: Right! Now, there’s a 29.5 to 30-year cycle, which is the time it takes for the planet Saturn to revolve around the Sun, And if we add that 29.5 year cycle to 1922, we get to the year 1952, which is when the King of Egypt was ousted by the Free Officer’s Club, headed by Nasser. Now 29.5 years later, in 1981, President Sadat was assassinated and 29.5 years later, Hosni Mubarek was ousted from office, in 2011. So, as you can see, these cycles can be measured and their corresponding critical, but not always, outcomes documented. Anecdotally speaking, this cycle appears as a nodal point in time, which, as I said can be measured. Egypt’s next Saturn cycle is in 2039. Now this value occurs in business, which, by the way, isn’t always as dramatic as the previous example. I can tell you of many countries, whose geopolitical status, were rearranged, using this one time measurement. There are countless others. So, would you like to know a few more things about the numbers 1 and 4 and Montana?

Tamsen: Alright, I’ll play. Let-er-rip

Jones: Great! Now Abraham Lincoln was born 12 February 1809. If we add the day, month and year we get:

        2
12
1809=
 1823

and the sum of 1+8+2+3 equals 14…Montana is a unique place in the family of states, which may partially explain why 14 is somewhat ubiquitous. Add the 11^th month, 8^th day and the year 1889, when Montana came-into-being as a state and you get the number 1908. Now, the square root of 1908 is…

Tamsen: Don’t leave me in suspense.

Jones: The square root is 14.0712473. By the way, when Joseph Kemp Toole, in Helena, took the oath of office, as governor of the State of Montana, a 2:00 pm, on 8 November 1889, he also possessed this number 14. His name, if you substitute each letter of the alphabet, for its numbered position, equals 185, the sum of which amounts to 14. So, Montana’s birth as a state is somehow in resonance with this value. I have many more of these references but I trust this will suffice for now.

Tamsen: Not yet, how about one more fun fact.

Jones: Will do, President’s Lincoln and Harrison were instrumental in bringing Montana to statehood, so it was fitting that the combined numerical values of Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Harrison, using a number for each of the letters of their names, amounted to exactly 293, whose sum is 14. Also, the proclamation that made Montana a state was named “proclamation 293 Admission of Montana into the Union.” And that proclamation was forged on 22 February 1889. And if you add day, month and year of that, you get 1913, which—

Tamsen: Equals 14. Ahmad, that’s pretty good. Doesn’t that beat all. Okay, I’m a pragmatist, how is this information useful or is this just mental gymnastics?

Jones: Maybe they’re both. I shall make answer by saying that 14 isn’t a prime number, because it can be divided, just like Montana territory was divided or separated from Idaho, in 1864. I trust you can see the analogy here. But 41, standing for the 41^st state, is a prime number, which fits in well with Montana’s status as a state that can’t be divided.

It is interesting that these sets of values, the two presidents, the name Montana, Proclamation 293, Governor Joseph Toole and our state’s numbered position among the 50 states, expresses more than quantities—as numbers do— but also highlights a natural geometrical expression or entanglement with those historical realities, germane to the march-of-events that lead to statehood. For now, let’s consider this… anomaly, as Back to the Future’s Doc Brown would say, as an interesting curiosity of concurrent events, framed by dates and keyed to historical persons and our wonderful state whose name reminds one of that saying: “If you’re lucky enough to live in Montana, you’re lucky enough.” The naturalist, John Burrows wrote, “Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield a significant fact.” And these facts are part of why I said earlier that 2026 may well be an important year for Montana. One way to measure this is just to notice what’s different and not the same, this year, as compared to previous years. This is not prediction but an opportunity for all Montanans, to notice what is useful and helpful for the good of all in Montana, including its industries, leadership, public services, air, water and land.

Tamsen: Do you have time for one more, we have two-minutes left?

Jones: Yes, so, the days elapsed, between 8 November 1889, when Montana’s constitution went into effect, and 1 July 1972, when Montana’s new constitution came into being, were 30,185 days. Now the 185, equals 14 and is the numerical equivalent of the letters of Joseph Kemp Toole, the first governor of Montana. It can also be read as 82 years, 7 months and 23 days…23 days. All in all, Montana’s 41^st position germane to the other 49 states, was embodied in its name.

Tamsen: Right! The first and last letters. Wow! You know, these were very fun, fun facts. I don’t what any of this may mean, I’ll think about these over a Mocha but I enjoyed the rhythmic delivery of these facts. It was entertaining and definitely, something to notice. Thanks for sitting with me today, I’d like to learn more, will you come back, Ahmad?

Jones: Certainly, Tamsen. Thank you for having me and it would be my pleasure.

Kevin “Raphael” Fitch, has written several books, highlighting geo-political cycles, in the U.S., all 54 African nations, and eastern Europe. Ahmad Jones is featured in Raphael’s suspense thriller, The End Zone: An Ahmad Jones Novel. All references to Montana history were culled from books and historical newspaper articles. For more info please visit www.afrasbp.com