picture-2Say what you will about mathematicians, but those guys never quit coming up with new numbers. There hasn't been a new letter since J was added in 1947, but the math people continue churning out new numbers like every day. Case in point, there's now a number named after Stephen Colbert.

A Colbert number is any megaprime whose discovery contributes to the long sought-after proof that k = 78557 is the smallest Sierpinski number. These are whimsically named after Stephen T. Colbert, the American comedian, satirist, actor and writer. There are currently only five known Colbert Numbers:

19249.213018586+1 (**) 3,918,990 digits (#)
27653.29167433+1 (**) 2,759,677 digits (#)
28433.27830457+1 (**) 2,357,207 digits (#)
33661.27031232+1 (**) 2,116,617 digits (#)
5359.25054502+1 (**) 1,521,561 digits (#)

Oh, that's what those are called? Here I've just been calling them "megaprimes whose discovery contributes to the long sought-after proof that k = 78557 is the smallest Sierpinski number thingies." Good to know.

Anyway, in honor of Stephen's number, enjoy some math-related Colbert clips after the jump.

The Colbert Report airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30pm / 10:30c.