Perhaps because 64 is a power of two, and a square and a cube, but also for
other reasons, it pops up in lots of places. Here are some of the things I’ve
associated it with over the years:¶ Crayola
64-crayon box: as a kid, this box seemed like the ultimate luxury, the
Rolls-Royce of crayons. So many colors, and the box had a built-in sharpener.
Advanced technology!¶ A chess board has 64 squares, and is used as the setting for the age-old
question about doubling: would you rather have one billion dollars, or a penny
on the first square, then double the number on each next square? It’s an
eye-opening demonstration of exponential growth and how big numbers can get.
Take the chess board: you’ll…