Why 28 dots?

We all have questions that nag at us. These questions have driven philosophers since the beginning of humanity, and the quest to answer them has resulted in everything from Kant’s Schema to Ockham’s Razor to even more noble thought exercises. However, I know many of you have jobs, hobbies, and families, and you may not have the time to sit in a quiet place and think about the grandest question of all. So, I am here to answer it:

“Dude, what’s up with the 28 dots?”

First, let me say that I appreciate your candor and the casual nature with which you asked the question.

Second, the 28 dots refers to the Center’d logo, which you will note has 28 dots. But peel the onion: Why does the Center’d logo have 28 dots?


The Center’d logo is based on what people smarter than me call a ‘Centered Nonagonal Number’. According to Wikipedia , a centered nonagonal number is a centered figurate number that represents a nonagon with a dot in the center and all other dots surrounding the center dot in successive nonagonal layers. More simply put, 28 is the number of dots that yield a dot in the center (representing you), an inner nonagon of dots (representing your friends), and an outer nonagon of dots (representing your places).


But that isn’t all, it turns out that 28 has some interesting, almost mystical properties:

• 28 is the second perfect number after 6
• 28 is a Stormer number, which isn’t as scary as it sounds
  
• 28 is a happy number
  
• 28 is also the fourth magic number, but leading scientists agree it is much more magic than the others
• Finally, 28 is a Keith number, which is really cool if your name is Keith

Now, I will agree with you that if you are not a mathematician or a scientist, these facts may not do much for you. This may surprise you, but I am neither a mathematician nor a scientist. So, I have even more facts that will shock and delight you. I should mention that in this context, usage of the term ‘facts’ means that I made them up. So, the validity of these statements will be mostly coincidental:

• The original version of the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ was actually the ’28 Days of Christmas’. The final verse involved ’28 hamsters jazzercising’. It was later edited down due to the fact that the song was roughly 3 hours long
• In the final scene of ‘Lost in Translation’, Bill Murray can be seen whispering something into Scarlett Johansson’s ear. We are kept from hearing this final message. Analysis of the video has shown he said ‘It’s all about 28, you know? Seriously man. 28.’
• There are precisely 28 steps between each Starbucks in the city of San Francisco.

So there you go. Our logo is representative of the experience we want to create for you. We want to help you connect with your friends, help you find places that are important to you, and make plans involving those friends and places. Hence 28 dots. Mystery solved.

Shea Knight
Experiencifier
Center'd

Hello, and Welcome to the Center'd Blog

We’re still working on putting the finishing touches on our site, but wanted to give you the scoop on what we’re up to since a lot of people have been asking. We didn’t mean for word of our exploits to get out quite this soon, but we’re certainly excited about the interest in our product!

So, here’s what Center’d is all about: We aim to make planning easier. From basic local activities like figuring out what to do this weekend to more complex plans like organizing a school event that needs volunteers, we will provide the tools to get it done. We want to help you connect to people you know, discover new places to go and things to do and plan any event or activity.

Center’d evolved from a concept (formerly called Fatdoor) that aimed to bring neighbors together in an online community. We have kept much of the functionality of the original site, while also adding planning tools focused on helping you get things done more easily, and without the pain of endless email chains, phone messages and parking lot conversations….

While we have expanded beyond the original idea of connecting neighbors, the notion of being a good neighbor is still very important to what we’re doing. It’s even one of our core values. We like to think of all people as neighbors, and ultimately we believe that if you treat everyone like a neighbor, the world will become your neighborhood.

We’re working hard behind the scenes on the first draft of the new site and will update everyone as soon as it’s polished and ready to roll in a few weeks.

We look forward to seeing you on Center’d soon!


Jennifer Dulski
Co-Founder and CEO
Center'd