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The Magic Spinner

What Could It Mean?

When Parker and his family leave the restaurant, Parker's mind is filled with exciting thoughts. He can't wait to show his new things to Pandish and Rusty tomorrow to see what they think.

When the Racoosins arrive back home, Parker wants to begin researching the numbers on his magic spinner.

"Mom, can I log onto the laptop while Punky takes her bath?" Parker asks.

"Okay," Mom says, "But just for 15 minutes."

"Great!" Parker shouts as he runs to the computer room. Maybe he can find out more about his Magic Spinner and what it all means. He starts by searching for information on numbers.

Ancient Numbering Systems

Soon Parker searches the words "ancient numbers" on Google. He sees images of numbers that are very similar to what's also on his spinner. Before long, he's figured out that the middle circle, the red numbers, are Egyptian numbers. And the inner circle of blue numbers are Babylonian numbers. From a part of the ancient world called "Babylon", that's now part of Iraq.

Parker keeps searching and he finds out, just like Mr. and Mrs. Ito said, that the outer circle of numbers are Chinese. Now he has solved the mystery of the numbers! But how are they used and what does it all mean?