Nobody loves me :(

Zero is actually quiet a remarkable number. Although at first it didn't make it into the list of 'Natural numbers' (counting numbers), later thanks to Indian mathematicians (around seventh century A.D.) it took on great importance as a place holder. I tell my primary school pupils the sad story about zero: he was very insecure, believing no body loved him: "People just look straight through me as if I wasn't there". Some enquired "Show yourself", but poor zero just couldn't represent himself! Later, number one stumbled upon him and as they stood side by side they took on a whole new meaning. Welcome to TEN ! What else can we say about zero. It represents 'nothing' yet it creates a gap of 2 between -1 and +1. That's a real curiosity. It can also mean 'NO' as in 'Zero Tolerance'. You can feel zero! It is slightly warmer than -1 oC and slightly colder than 1 oC. It is in fact essential for counting. It's your starting point. And of course how would you have 'lift off' without zero. So please don't go dissing zero again. We salute you.