david allio

Today’s date, 12 December 2012, has been on my personal assignment calendar for months. 12-12-12 marks one of those opportunities for a creative challenge. In other words, what is a symbolic yet creative way to present the number 12 visually?

2012 December 12 | Wednesday: 12-12-12

There are all sorts of casual ways to present the number 12. It may be the digits on a street sign or in a business name or a highway number. In contemplation, I was reminded of several sublime scenes along US Highway 12 in Washington State and of the Twelve Apostles geologic formations off the southern coast of Australia.

In sports, the number 12 may be found on a variety of player jerseys and, of course, race cars. Maybe I should have done 12 photos of different race cars driven by Bobby Allison and emblazoned with the number 12 over the years.

Then there is the word "dozen" as a synonym for twelve. Free association brings thoughts of a dozen red roses or a dozen @KrispyKreme donuts. And, I must admit that I seriously considered photos of both dozens. But the idea always came back to a single red rosebud sitting in the middle of a glazed donut – not exactly the "dozen" of my self-assigned theme.

Then I started pondering the number 12 in Las Vegas, a city known for numbers, the odds, and games of chance. Well, there is no 12 in a standard deck of playing cards. After "10" they become face cards. There is a red 12 on the roulette wheel. But what are the odds on getting a photo when the number 12 comes up – actually 1-in-37 on the European (0-36) roulette wheel and 1-in-38 on the American (00-36) roulette wheel. So, what about dice?

Aha! There is only one way to roll a 12 with a standard pair of cubes – two sixes. That parallels the uniqueness of today’s date. Add to that the fact that there is no accurate history regarding the origination of these gaming objects and I had finally found my subject – imperfect dice.

Now for a lesson in dice trivia: there is a difference between casino dice – perfect dice – and common or imperfect dice. Perfect dice have a sharp and precise cut with square edges. Imperfect dice have rounded edges and are commonly associated with board games for random number generation.

OK, so what are the odds of rolling a 12 with a pair of perfect or fair dice?

The calculation goes like this: the odds of rolling one six on a six-sided die are 1-in-6. Easy enough, so far. When a second die is added to the formula, the odds are not equal to the sum of six-plus-six. Instead, the odds are equal to multiplying six-time-six because there is only one way to make a 12 using two dice. So, the odds of rolling a 12 are 1-in-36. For the record, the odds of rolling a seven are 1-in-6 because there are six ways to make a seven with a pair of dice. Got that?

The odds of rolling six dice and getting all sixes as intended in this photograph for 12-12-12 are 1-in-46,656.
Now, how do you calculate the exposure for this tabletop micro photograph?