who knows forty-three?

there is a motorcycle club called Doof Clenas Motorcycle Collective, who ride their Harleys on Highway 43's. To become a member, you need to post a photo of yourself with motorbike next to a highway 43 sign. (the D = 4 and the C = 3) 

there is no M43 motorway in the UK

(I am not making any of this up. but just in case you don't believe me, here's their website)

who knows forty-two?

42 children were mauled to death by the bears miraculously created by Elisha when they jeered at him "Go away baldy!"
no. of Ahaziah's men who Yehu killed when he was getting rid of Ba'al worship and the House of Ahab in the Northern Kingdom
42 name of God, as mentioned in the Talmud and kabbalah
the Gutenberg Bible has 42 lines per page
Lewis Carroll has 42 illustrations in Alice in Wonderland, and the number 42 is encoded throughout
angle, when rounded to whole number, that a rainbow appears

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of course, the answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe & Everything

who knows forty-one?

Rehovam, son of Shlomo, was 41 when he began to reign as king. and began his reign by setting harsh taxes and giving reason for the people to leave and form the Northern Kingdom of israel and follow Yerovam ben Navat
Asa reigned for 41 years in Judah
Jerovam ben Yoash, reigned for 41 years in Northern Kingdom of Israel

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symphony no.41 was the last symphony of Mozart

who knows forty?

forty is very biblical... lots of forty, because 40 = a lot. It is a complete unit, significant and ordered. (unlike the chaotic & grotesque 60...)

days & nights of rain/water falling & rising in the Flood
age Moshe left Egypt, then 40 years with Yitro, then led the Israelits for 40 years
no of days Moshe was up Mt Sinai to receive the first set of tablet, theat he then smashed, then spent another 40 days up Mt Sinai praying for the people to be forgiven, and then went up for another  40 days to receive the second set of tablets.
Saul, David and Shlomo all reigned for 40 years
40 se'ahs in a mikvah
R. Akiva was 40 when he started to study Torah

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no of weeks of human pregnancy

who knows thirty-nine?

no. of main categories of work that is prohibited on Shabbat, derived from 39 types of work that went into building the Mishkan.
King Asa, king of Judah, suffered from a foot disease when he was 39 but did not turn to God but to healers.
actual number of lashes stuck when the Sanhedrin sentenced someone with the punishment of 40 lashes

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similar thing is found in Ancient Rome. The citizens would hit their slaves 39 times, calling it forty save one.
The 39 Steps, novel by John Buchan, film by Alfred Hitchcock. And the number of stairs in my house. which is very pleasing, if slightly tiring when climbing up to my studio at the top of the house.
Neither Cleopatra, Amelia Earhart, Che Guevara, Dylan Thomas, Martin Luther King Jr nor Malcom X saw their 40th birthdays, all dying, or disappearing, aged 39.

who knows thirty-eight?

no. of years the ancient Israelites travelled from Kadesh Barnea to crossing the Zered wadi. During which time all the men of military age who had left Egypt died in the wilderness.

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Carravaggio and Charlotte Bronte died aged 38.
(as did Louis XVI of France, he was executed)

who knows thirty-seven?

normal human body temp is 37°C
no. of plays by Shakespeare

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a tv channel reserved for radioastronomy in the US