A book without any words but all numbers.
Japanese publishing house Nanairosha's recent offering is a strange book that has become surprisingly popular.
online photo
The book, "The Biggest Prime Number in 2017", contains just one thing -- a newly discovered prime number that has broken the record for the largest ever found, coming in at a whopping 23,249,425 digits that covers the 791 pages in the book.
The number, the 50th prime number of its type to be discovered, is 2 to the power of 77,232,917 minus 1.
online photo
In just four days, some 1,500 copies of the book were sold and it is currently out of stock at Amazon.
As numbers get larger, prime numbers, which are divisible only by 1 and themselves, become difficult to find. They become further apart, and there's no pattern to their distribution.
Even the formula for finding the Mersenne prime numbers -- named after the 17th-century French monk who studied them, Marin Mersenne -- isn't a surefire method, it's simply a way to narrow down a likelier place to find them.
online photo
2 to the power of 77,232,917 minus 1 is the largest Mersenne prime number discovered so far, obtained by multiplying 2 to the power of 77,232,917, and then subtracting 1.
It was discovered late last year by Jonathan Pace, an American electrical engineer, through a software called the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, a collaborative project of volunteers to search for such figures.
Looking for a Mersenne prime is very difficult, just like searching for a needle in a haystack, said Jordan Ellenberg, a mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
It has made great contributions in the fields of computer science and mathematics. And because of the difficulties in finding them, the Mersenne primes appear mysterious and romantic.
TOKYO (AP) — Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard reaffirmed Thursday that it is determined to acquire Seven & i Holdings, although the operator of Japan’s top convenience store chain has rejected its offer.
“We are continuing to pursue a friendly, mutually agreeable transaction,” the chairman and founder of Alimentation Couche-Tard, Alain Bouchard, told reporters in Tokyo.
Bouchard stressed that his company was pursuing a “friendly” transaction, not a hostile takeover. He reiterated his promise to retain local management, saying the merger would be good for 7-Eleven’s business.
The chain has more than 20,000 stores nationwide and more than 80,000 outlets around the world, serving an estimated 63 million customers a day, according to Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings Co.
In rejecting the Canadian company’s offer, Seven & i Holdings said it intends to boost its own corporate value. It also has raised antitrust concerns that it says will come up in the U.S.
Seven & i appointed a new chief executive this month and announced a share buyback and said it will sell its supermarket subsidiary to U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital, to help boost its value and fend off the acquisition.
Last year, Couche-Tard, which operates Circle K stores, proposed acquiring all of Seven & i Holdings shares for $14.86 per share in cash. Media reports now say the offer is for $18.19 per share, or about 7 trillion yen ($47 billion).
Seven & i has made public a letter that Stephen Dacus, its new chief executive, sent to Bouchard in September, explaining why it was rejecting the Canadian company's offer.
“The proposal is not in the best interest of 7&i shareholders and other stakeholders. We are open to engaging in sincere discussions should you put forth a proposal that fully recognizes our standalone intrinsic value,” Dacus wrote.
Convenience stores, known as “conbini” in Japan, are popular, offering various services such as paying utility bills and selling concert tickets, while selling various everyday goods.
Seven & i announced a restructuring plan last year to strengthen its U.S. business and streamline operations, closing some Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Japan. In 2023, Seven & i sold its Sogo & Seibu department stores in Japan to Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. fund, for $1.5 billion.
Couche-Tard, founded in 1980 in Quebec, offers coffee, beer, snacks, fuel and lottery tickets. It runs more than 16,800 stores worldwide, including in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama
FILE - People shop at a 7-Eleven convenience store in New York, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Alain Bouchard, chairman of Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
Alain Bouchard, chairman of Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, left, and President and CEO Alex Miller attend a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
Alain Bouchard, chairman of Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
FILE - A Vancouver Police officer talks on his phone outside of a crime scene at a 7-Eleven after a stabbing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
