Fun With Numbers

Which country is better suited than Britain to produce a TV show about India's pivotal role in world history as the "birthplace of numeracy", and what Britisher better than a Python to host such a show?

It seems to me that BBC has perfected the art and craft of producing TV shows that combine diverse topics like Science, History, Architecture and Geography (coincidentally abbreviates as SHAG.) And so the Beeb rolls out another very promising show called "The Story of 1" about the history of numbers, hosted by Terry Jones (who, we are told, employs "slapstick, quirky humour and learning".)

I wish my math teacher employed more slapstick and less slap and even less stick.

It is now a well-established, scientifically proven fact that the Pythons always insert themselves in Pythonesque situations, and fanboys like me will always find an exactly corresponding situation from one of their films or TV shows.

Here's Terry, then:

"The numerals we use are from India. We think they are Arabic but they aren't," he says.

"We travelled miles to a temple to find the place where the first ever zero had been written on to a wall," he says. It was a Pythonesque quest.

"When we got there it was locked and the gatekeepers were on holiday," he explains.

"Anyway, we managed to get into the right room and looked at this inscription and it was early Hindi writing.

"But without a guide we had no idea what it said or which one was the nought."

The words "Joseph of Aramathea" and "aaaaarggggggghhhhh" are still ringing in my head.

Will the kind lady at Within/Without do us a favor and post a little review of the show?

A good example of Terry's "quirky humour" at the end of BBC's article.