Numbers: 14

TODAY'S date is 14 October. Fourteen is also the cabalistic number of change and transformation, it being the number of days the moon takes to change from new to full. It is the number of days in a fortnight, pounds in a stone and cards in each suit of a standard tarot pack.

Fourteen is also:

The weight in ounces of the largest known hen's egg;

The age at which both St Pancras and Rin-Tin-Tin died;

The wattage of the human brain in deep thought;

The days an ant can survive underwater;

The number of sounds the letter 'e' can represent in English;

The average length of an okapi's tongue in inches.

The Numbers Game

You would have no trouble working out '26 L of the A' as Letters of the Alphabet, but these might be a little more taxing:

1 P in a P T

12 L of H

14 L in a S

212 B P of W in D F

501 R (N O) that B L S.

A year's subscription to Games & Puzzles magazine will be awarded to the first five correct answers opened on the morning of Thursday 20 October. All entrants will receive a specimen copy of the magazine. Entries should be marked 'Numbers' and sent to: Pastimes, The Independent, 40 City Road, London EC1Y 2DB.