A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1138

How can one but appreciate the symmetry of arithmomania with its six vowels and six consonants forming six syllables? And that’s not counting the three as, two is, and one o.
-Paul Wiese, La Crosse, Wisconsin (pgw1015 gmail.com)

I count steps (sometimes in Spanish as well as English), words on road signs, letters in words. I calculate average speed on trips, and ETA based on the average speed. Gas mileage every fill up.
But I’m not sure what my salary is.
Go figure -- I do.
-John A. Gibney, Jr., Richmond, Virginia (john_gibney vaed.uscourts.gov)

When I was a little boy, my mother caught me counting the pages of a book. “Don’t you see that the pages are numbered?” she asked. I replied, “Maybe they have got it wrong.”
-Sergio Pawlowsky, La Bisbal d’Empordà, Catalonia, Spain (pawlowskysergio gmail.com)

I have always counted things, from the number of patterns on wallpaper to the stairs I climb, the number of storeys in a building, even the amount of fence palings I’m looking at now... then, if the pattern isn’t perfectly symmetrical, it messes with my OCD. Oh, what a conundrum!
-Chris Bone, Pegasus, New Zealand (chrysalis6nz gmail.com)

Architect here. I silently calculate the angles between everything in a room as well as square footage, height, width and distance and sometimes if applicable, axial dimensions and movements (like a revolving door), as well as potential motion calculations of fixtures and objects like a balcony if I’m in the room for long enough. My brain launches into this activity involuntarily. Gave up decades ago trying to stop it.
-Katarina Lang, Phoenix, Arizona (langbarisonisong gmail.com)

Years ago, say...1972...I was a dinner guest at a small party at which the great NY Knicks player Jerry Lucas was present. He said he could tell you exactly how many steps there were from every locker room to every playing floor in every gym in America. Also, he was memorizing the Manhattan telephone book. To prove it, I took the book, opened it to a random page, counted down to something like the 17th name in the second column, and he said who it was.
-Taddy McAllister, San Antonio, Texas (taddymc gmail.com)

When cutting fruits or vegetables, I count the pieces as I slice them.
-Utpal Mazumdar, Calgary, Canada (utpal.mazumdar gmail.com)

There I was, standing on the corner of a busy intersection in town, counting the seconds while standing on one leg waiting on the walk sign. A couple passing by gave me a funny look, then volunteered that the husband also counted the wait time.
Curious, I asked if he also counted the gulps of water when he drank. Yes, the wife sighed. Everything!
-Chevy, South Hadley, Massachusetts (i_humanist msn.com)

Once at a concert I noted to my friend there were 25 violins on the stage. Asked what I was going to do with that knowledge, I replied, “Square it.” I track distance and elevation gain on hikes. That way I know how tired to be.
-Jamie Painter, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Elevation 7198’, Population 89,008 (jamesrpainter gmail.com)

In a church, I’ll count the number of arches on the aisle; in a concert hall, the number of bulbs in the chandelier.
It all counts.
-Judah Rosner, Washington, DC (jlr4206 gmail.com)

I count the people in the choir at church, the number of people in each section of an auditorium, the number of redheads, blondes, brunettes in a meeting, number of people with tennis shoes vs leather or polished shoes, etc.
-Brenda Worthington, Tulsa, Oklahoma (bwlawyer gmail.com)

When I was younger, I had outta’ control arithmomania. When I told my optometrist, that I had memorized the serial numbers of his equipment he told me that if any of it was ever stolen, he’d contact me right away.
-Dr. John M. Styers, Owatonna, Minnesota (yakuzalord69 gmail.com)

My arithmomania is about dates. For example, when I read “A Thought for the Day” on AWAD, I mentally calculate the age of the person who is quoted.
-Shelley McCoy, Knoxville, Tennessee (mccoyshelley gmail.com)

As well as the examples you mentioned, when stopped behind a car at a traffic light, I will try to figure out the factors of the license plate number, or determine if it is a prime number.
-Gary Witkin, Earleville, Maryland (witkin comcast.net)

I confess to a sub genre of same in that I compulsively try to divide the number of letters in words or phrases, advertising slogans, etc. into a whole number, but without actually counting the letters first. Madness takes many forms...
Madn esst akes many form (s) no good (4 letters per group leaves 1 left). Madne sstak esman yform (s) no good (5 letters per group leaves 1 left). Mad nes sta kes man yfo rms -- aaaahhhhhhh.
-David Clapperton, Carlisle, UK (daclap hotmail.com)

Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy One Up! -- Stealing is the name of the game.

When waiting at a grade crossing for a train to go by, I count the number of cars.
At least on the CSX line that runs near my house, the advent of the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), a radio-controlled but unmanned locomotive placed in the middle of the train.... seems to have allowed trains to become much longer. A few years ago, the maximum length train I could remember might have been 110 cars. Now, I’m counting trains that have 140-170 cars. The APUs give the engineer better control of a longer train, because of the weight of the unit and the acceleration and braking power positioned a half-mile away from the front.
There’s something about the concept of a mile-long moving thing, where the locomotive is in one town and the last car (sadly, no longer the caboose) is in another, that intrigues me. A long train is the made-real concept of being in two places at once.
-Marc Chelemer, Tenafly, New Jersey (mc2496 att.com)

I too count the number of stairs (they never change in my house, but I keep counting!). When I realized what I was doing I started saying the alphabet instead, but l then converted it back to what number the letter was in the alphabet, so back to square one! I try to take the elevator when l can!
-Janet Thompson, Cornwall, Canada (janet_1234 hotmail.com)

I look for interesting numbers on my digital timepieces, such as 12:34 and 5:13 (my birthday), and when I see something like 12:35, I think “Aw, missed it by a minute.”
-Rogers George, Newark, Delaware (rogers.george gmail.com)

When watching a Broadway show, I always find myself counting the actors or dancers on stage during a big crowd scene or ensemble number.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

I was getting radiation for cancer for 30 days last summer, and I caught myself trying to count the dots in the ceiling tiles in the radiation lab. I stopped myself.
-Susan Jones, Canton, Connecticut (susandjones27 me.com)