Mysteries of the Universe, Part Four

Again, a food-related mystery. What's more, a food-related number mystery. I began this feature wondering where in the world Wrigley came up with the number 17 for the number of sticks of gum in the Plen-T-Pak. Most of that post applies to the Heinz company. Why the number 57? The Heinz company, at the time of the advent of the "57 Varieties" slogan, already had more products than that. They now have over 1100 varieties of product, according to a couple of sources. But, again, I must press the question: why 57? Was it purely randomness of thought? Was Henry Heinz trying to think of a random, peculiar number that would stick out in people's minds? Was he an Illuminatus? What "special significance" might the numbers have held for Heinz and his wife?

If the number was hit upon because of its peculiarity, I wonder if the fact that it ends with a 7 have anything to do with it. I mean, come on, you've got the 17 sticks of gum in a Plen-T-Pak, 57 varieties, and then there's the recurring 27 in many of "Weird Al" Yankovic's songs and videos. I think 7 is just a weird number, is all.

Anyways, be sure to come back again and again when, sometime in the first week of every month, I'll wrack my brains about some other deep important philosophical question or existential quandary, like Where do my socks go? How do women think? Who put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop? These and other questions which will most likely never, ever be answered, are sure to be asked on a further installment of
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Mysteries of the Universe!