Dear George,
Last night at midnight I turned 87. A record of sorts — the oldest I’ve ever been. According to numerologists, 87 is an angel number (a divine message from the spiritual realm). 87 centers on creativity and expression, signaling that one should use their creative skills in art, music, and writing to express themselves and develop their talents. Here are some of the other things I’ve learned about 87.
AGE 87 FACTOIDS
Approximately 2,204 Americans turned 87 today. Only 2% of Americans are age 85 or over. Of persons born in 1937, about 22% are still alive. People who survive to reach their 87th birthday are more likely to be women, white, higher socioeconomic status, more education, married, and from the West or the Northeast. 87 year old women are expected to live another 5.8 years; 87 year old men, 4.9 years. At age 87 one has lived for 762,000 hours, their heart has pumped 60 million gallons of blood, they’ve yawned 320,000 times, and they’ve perspired 8,000 gallons of sweat. About 22% of 87-year-olds have dementia, and 90% have some form of cardiovascular disease. On the brighter side, 87-year-olds typically report greater happiness than they experienced in middle age. Only 1% say that their lives turned out worse than they expected.
THE MANY MEANINGS OF 87
The number 87, of course, encompasses much more than a birthday year. If you google “87”, it turns out that it is connected to countless aspects of our lives and worlds. My theory is that one can learn what age 87 portends by examining what’s associated with this mysterious number. Thanks to Google, here are some of the many examples.
AIRLINE UPROAR: Recently customs officials arrested a woman who arrived on a flight to Bangkok with 87 live animals taped to her body, including marmosets, bushbabies, barred owlets, green iguanas, Nile monitors, tortoises, and snail-eating turtles.
ALCOHOL: Retail alcohol sales increased 87% during the first year of the pandemic.
BAD BREATH: 87% of women won’t go on a second date with a man if he had bad breath on their first date.
BIRTHING: In Ireland in 2013 Maria Jones-Elliot went into labour four months early and gave birth to twins who were born 87 days apart, a world record.
CANNIBALISM: The 87-member Donner party was infamous for resorting to cannibalism when trapped by heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
CAT MALTREATMENT: Citing unfit conditions, authorities removed 87 cats from a home in Rosamond CA; removed 87 cats in Sedalia MO; 87 in Winsted CN; 87 in Salem OR; 87 in Hales Corner WI.
CHILDREN: In 2022 the CDC found that 87% of kids tested had toxic weedkiller in their urine.
DISASTERS: 87 years ago the Hindenburg airship exploded in New Jersey, resulting in 36 fatalities.
DOGS: 87% of owners say that having a dog makes them a better version of themselves.
FATHERHOOD: Between 1725 and 1765 Fyodor Vasiliev, a Russian peasant, fathered 87 children with two wives.
HEROISM: A Crimean Tatar woman named Saide Arifova saved 87 orphaned Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Crimea.
HOMICIDE: 87 people died from smoke inhalation in the Happy Land Social Club homicides in New York City in 1990.
ICE CREAM: At any given time 87% of American households have ice cream in the freezer.
KILLER HIPPOS: Up to 87% of hippo attacks on human beings are fatal.
LONGITUDE: The longitude of my birthplace and home town, Menominee, Michigan, is 87 degrees.
MARRIAGE: A 61-year-old Indonesian man known as “Playboy King” has been married 87 times to 46 different women.
MARRIAGE BANS: At the beginning of World War II, 87% of school boards would not hire married women as teachers.
MATH FERVOR: 87% of Calculus students consider calculus an exciting subject.
MERCY KILLINGS: Donald Harvey confessed to killing 87 patients while working as an orderly at Cincinnati’s Drake Hospital and other area locations.
OIL SPILLS: The BP Oil Spill pumped crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in history.
PARTY AFFILIATIONS: 87 registered Democrats and 0 registered Republicans occupy editorial positions at NPR.
PEEING: 87% of dogs do not like to go out to pee in the rain.
POLITICIANS: Pennsylvania has 87 election deniers in its legislature, more than any other state.
POLYGAMY: According to former church members, Warren Steed Jeffs, Arizona cult leader, has 87 wives.
POPE IN THE NEWS: In March 2024 87-year-old Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Rome prison.
POWER OF PRAYER: 87% of Americans who pray say that at least one of their prayers was answered over the past year.
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: Americans are 5% of the world’s population and take 87% of the world’s prescription drugs.
PRIVATE HABITS: 87% of people pick their nose when they’re alone.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT: 87 women accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.
SORE FEET: 87% of people have painful feet at some time in their lives.
SPERM DONORS: Dutch sperm donor Ed Houben sleeps with women to help them conceive naturally and has fathered 87 children to date in Australia, Israel, Britain, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland.
SPORTS VIOLENCE: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease, is found in 87% of American football players’ brains.
TELEVISION ADDICTION: 87% of American children exceed the daily screen time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
VACCINATIONS: A German man was paid 87 different times to get Covid shots.
WAR: Russia has lost 87% of the active-duty ground troops it had prior to launching its invasion of Ukraine.
HEALTH: Jeff Bezos paid $87 million in 2024 for his third waterfront estate in the Miami area.
I have to say, 87 is a complex, multi-faceted number. Health, wealth, and happiness, on the one hand. Disease, death, and disaster, on the other. The negatives are a little more frequent than the positives, but it looks like there are very different life paths that 87-year-olds can take. I am going to adopt an optimistic approach. I am delighted to be around for age 87, and so far it’s every bit as pleasant as 86 and 85. Starting this moment, I am charging forward into the year ahead.
Love,
Dave
