Do you enjoy math? I hope so!
If not, browsing this post just may change your mind.
Welcome to the 123rd edition of the Playful Math Education Blog Carnival — a smorgasbord of delectable tidbits of mathy fun.
The Playful Math Carnival is like a free online magazine devoted to learning, teaching, and playing around with math from preschool to high school. This month’s edition features 
You’re sure to find something that will delight both you and your child.
By tradition, we start the carnival with a puzzle in honor of our 123rd edition. But if you would like to jump straight to our featured blog posts, click here to see the Table of Contents.
†Or more, depending on how you count. And on whether I keep finding things to squeeze in under the looming deadline. But if there are more, then there are certainly 36. Right?
The 1-2-3 Puzzle
Write down any whole number. It can be a single-digit number, or as big as you like.
For example:
64,861,287,124,425,928
Now, count up the number of even digits (including zeros), the number of odd digits, and the total number of digits it contains. Write those numbers down in order, like this:
even 12, odd 5, total 17
Then, string those numbers together to make a new long number, like so:
12,517
Perform the same operation on this new number. Count the even digits, odd digits, and total length:
even 1, odd 4, total 5
And do it again:
145
even 1, odd 2, total 3
If you keep going, will your number always turn into 123?
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 