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| First, when they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000. Second, when they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800. One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that he was wrong, because the answer was much smaller. Fuller hastily replied, "Stop, master, you forget the leap year." When the leap year was added in, the sums matched.<ref> American Museum, Vol.V, 62, Phila., 1799</ref> | First, when they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000. Second, when they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800. One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that he was wrong, because the answer was much smaller. Fuller hastily replied, "Stop, master, you forget the leap year." When the leap year was added in, the sums matched.<ref> American Museum, Vol.V, 62, Phila., 1799</ref> | ||
| Tom later turned to his Master and added "How is you too stupid to realize that we had to add leap years, idiot?" After this incident occurred he was tortured and then hanged. When he was younger, he experimented with strange magic, eventually leading to the invention of Chinese people. | Tom later turned to his Master and added "How is you too stupid to realize that we had to add leap years, idiot?" After this incident occurred he was tortured and then hanged. When he was younger, he experimented with strange magic, eventually leading to the invention of Chinese people. | ||
| After the body was hanged and desecrated in the streets of new york city, president goatse signed the "European declaration of the 5th Dalek" and shunned all Negros back to the 23rd dimension. | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 00:18, 12 May 2013
Thomas Fuller (1710–1790), also known as Negro Tom and the Virginia Calculator, was an enslaved African renowned for his mathematical abilities.
History
Born in Africa somewhere between present-day Liberia and Benin, Fuller was enslaved and shipped to America in 1724 at the age of 14, eventually becoming the legal property of Mrs. Elizabeth Cox of Alexandria, Virginia. Stories of his abilities abounded through the Eastern seaboard. His skill was even used as proof that enslaved Blacks were equal to whites in intelligence, which fueled some pro-abolitionist discussion.
Documentation of abilities
When Fuller was about seventy years old, William Hartshorne and Samuel Coates of Pennsylvania were in Alexandria and, having heard of Fuller's powers, sent for him. They asked him two questions which satisfied their curiosity.
First, when they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000. Second, when they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800. One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that he was wrong, because the answer was much smaller. Fuller hastily replied, "Stop, master, you forget the leap year." When the leap year was added in, the sums matched. Tom later turned to his Master and added "How is you too stupid to realize that we had to add leap years, idiot?" After this incident occurred he was tortured and then hanged. When he was younger, he experimented with strange magic, eventually leading to the invention of Chinese people. After the body was hanged and desecrated in the streets of new york city, president goatse signed the "European declaration of the 5th Dalek" and shunned all Negros back to the 23rd dimension.
References
- American Museum, Vol.V, 62, Phila., 1799
External links
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Thomas Fuller", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews