Bacon number facts for kids
The Bacon number is a fun way to connect actors to the famous actor Kevin Bacon. It shows how many steps, or "degrees of separation," an actor is from him. Think of it like a chain: the shorter the chain, the closer they are!
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What is the Bacon Number?
The Bacon number is a number given to actors and actresses. It tells you how closely they have worked with Kevin Bacon in movies or TV shows. The idea comes from a game called "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon".
How Does it Work?
- Kevin Bacon himself has a Bacon number of 0. He is the starting point!
- If an actor has been in a movie with Kevin Bacon, their Bacon number is 1. For example, if Actor A was in "Apollo 13" with Kevin Bacon, Actor A's Bacon number is 1.
- If an actor has never worked with Kevin Bacon directly, but they worked with someone who *did* work with Kevin Bacon, their Bacon number is 2. For instance, if Actor B was in a movie with Actor A (who has a Bacon number of 1), then Actor B's Bacon number is 2.
- This pattern continues. The higher the number, the more steps away an actor is from Kevin Bacon.
The Game: Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
The game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" became popular in 1994. College students at Albright College invented it. They were watching the movie Footloose starring Kevin Bacon. They started thinking about how many actors Kevin Bacon had worked with. The game challenges players to link any actor to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. It's a fun way to explore how connected the movie industry is!
Where Did the Idea Come From?
The idea for the Bacon number is similar to another concept called the Erdős number. The Erdős number connects mathematicians to a very famous mathematician named Paul Erdős. Just like the Bacon number connects actors, the Erdős number connects scientists through their shared research papers. Both ideas show how small the world can be, whether it's through movies or science!
