Dice

Dice are small objects, usually cubes, with a different number of dots on each face, used to produce random numbers. On a standard six-sided die, the numbers on opposite faces always add up to seven: one is opposite six, two is opposite five, and three is opposite four.^[1] Every die is therefore secretly about the number 7, whichever way up it lands.

Age

Dice are among the oldest gaming objects known. Dice around five thousand years old have been found at sites in the Middle East and South Asia, including the Burnt City in Iran, along with ancient game boards.^[2] People have therefore been arguing over whether a roll counted for about five thousand years.

The singular is die and the plural is dice, though dice is now widely used for one as well. Grammarians have argued about it for years, which is the second-oldest dice dispute.

Pips

The dots on dice are called pips. On many Chinese dice the one and the four are painted red, for reasons connected with luck and tradition. On Western dice all the pips are usually the same colour, and the one is often made larger, or drilled deeper, so that the die is still fair once the extra holes on the six are taken into account.

• 1 + 6 = 7.
• 2 + 5 = 7.
• 3 + 4 = 7.
• Total of all faces: 21, which is three sevens, for anyone keeping count.

See also

• Cube – its shape
• Number 7 – its secret
• Dot – a pip, essentially
• Four-leaf clover – another way to try your luck
• Playing card – the other way to lose at games

References

1. Roll, R. (1999). Always Seven. Cube Press.
2. Burnt, C. (2007). “Five Thousand Years of Rolling”. Ancient Games 6: 1.
3. Pip, P. (2012). Die or Dice? Grammar Books. 2nd roll.