# History of Infinity Day: Why is it on August 8? > HISTORY OF INFINITY DAY: AUGUST 8 Infinity Day, also known as Universal & International Infinity Day, is a commemoration held on the 8th day of the 8th month of each year to celebrate and promote Philosophy and Philosophizing for the… > URL: https://billpetro.com/history-of-infinity-day-august-8/ > Last modified: 2026-08-08T19:56:15+00:00 Reading Time: 2 minutesInfinity symbol. Image: [Wikipedia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Infinite.svg/640px-Infinite.svg.png) ## HISTORY OF INFINITY DAY: AUGUST 8 Infinity Day, also known as **Universal & International Infinity Day**, is a commemoration held on the 8th day of the 8th month of each year to celebrate and promote Philosophy and Philosophizing for the ordinary person.   Table of Contents Toggle - [Why 8 is significant](#Why_8_is_significant) - [Where Did We Get The Infinity Symbol?](#Where_Did_We_Get_The_Infinity_Symbol) - [8 light minutes is Farther than you Think](#8_light_minutes_is_Farther_than_you_Think) - [Origin of Infinity Day](#Origin_of_Infinity_Day) - [Related](#Related) ### Why 8 is significant - 8 is the atomic number of Oxygen. - 8 is the maximum number of electrons that can occupy a valence shell in atomic physics. - 8 people were saved in the Flood at the time of Noah. - 8th day: Jesus was circumcised, as the *brit mila* is held for Jewish boys. - 8 is the number of legs a spider or octopus has. - 8 is the number of planets in the Solar System. (Pluto got demoted to a dwarf planet) - 8 is 2 cubed. - 8 follows 7 but stops before 9, making it the only non-zero perfect *power* that is one less than another perfect *power*. - 8 is the basis of the octal system, each digit representing 3 bits. A byte is 8 bits. - 8 eights: (88 + 88888) / 8 = 2108263, is a prime number - 8 displayed horizontally is the symbol of infinity; its symbol is also called a *“lemniscate”*: ∞   ### Where Did We Get The Infinity Symbol? **John Wallis**, an English mathematician, is credited with introducing the infinity symbol and its mathematical meaning as we now know it in 1655 in his *De sections conicis*, or “On Conic Sections.” However, he did not explain his choice of this symbol. Conic sections. Image: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Conic_Sections.svg)   But **Isaac Newton** read his book and wrote in his *Two Treatises of the Quadrature of Curves*, p. 355: *‘About the beginning of my mathematical studies, as soon as the works of our celebrated countryman, Dr Wallis, fell into my hands, by considering the Series, by the Intercalation of which, he exhibits the Area of the Circle and the Hyperbola…’*   John Wallis. Image: [Edward Worth Library](https://mathematics.edwardworthlibrary.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Wallis-portrait.jpg)     ### 8 light minutes is Farther than you Think 1 Astronomical Unit, by nagualdesign. Image: [Wikimedia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Astronomical_unit.png)   The distance from the Sun to the Earth is **8 light minutes**. In other words, it takes 8 minutes for the Sun’s light to reach the [Earth](https://billpetro.com/history-earth-day/), about 93,000,000 miles, or 1 AU (Astronomical Unit). By car, it would take 237 years to drive from Earth to the Sun. *Safety first*: to avoid getting burned by the Sun, drive at night.   ### Origin of Infinity Day The Free Advice Man. Image: [The Free Advice Man](https://thefreeadviceman.yolasite.com/resources/TheFreeAdviceManDB.jpg.opt607x445o0%2C0s607x445.jpg) Infinity Day was first conceived and created by **[Jean-Pierre Ady Fenyo](https://thefreeadviceman.yolasite.com/)**, a philosopher, poet, journalist, and science-fiction author. As a sidewalk philosopher, he gained recognition in 1987 as “The Original New York City Free Advice Man” (see [The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1987/08/17/1987_08_17_018_TNY_CARDS_000345786#ixzz0mnnTTUnS) magazine’s August 17, 1987, issue). He has since become known as a celebrity there. Infinity Day began in 1987 and has been celebrated worldwide through peaceful, nonviolent, and lawful demonstrations, promoting philosophical inquiry, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, and ethical values in society. Thereafter, the founder took it to various cities in the US and Europe. He now lives in London.   *What significant 8s do you know?*   Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian [billpetro.com](https://billpetro.com) *[Subscribe](http://g003.enterprise.ipost.com/billpetrofriend/prefs)* to have future articles delivered to your email. 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