Just as no single patch of fabric can make a quilt, there is no one number that can satisfactorily sum up a community.
Like all cities, Chattanooga isn't a lone integer but a complex equation. The statistics below, then, are by no means a comprehensive summation of Chattanooga, but together, they represent at least a slim cross section of life in the Scenic City.
And some of them are pretty strange.
WEATHER
107: Historic high temperature (June 30 and July 1, 2012).
Minus 10: Historic low temperature (Jan. 21, 1985, Jan. 31, 1966 and Feb. 13, 1899).
48: Average number of days with a high temperature at or above 90 degrees.
58: Average number of days with low temperatures at or below freezing.
9.49: Most rain, in inches, during a single day (Sept. 5, 2011).
52: Average annual rainfall in inches.
73.7: Rainfall, in inches, during 1994, the city's rainiest year.
55: Average days with thunderstorms.
27: Average days with dense fog.
5.1: Highest snowfall, in inches, to fall on Christmas Day (on Dec. 25, 1969).
18.5: Highest amount of snow, in inches, that fell on the city's snowiest day (March 13, 1993).
GEOGRAPHY
635: Altitude, in feet, of the Tennessee River downtown.
2,389: Highest point, in feet, on Lookout Mountain.
81: Distance, in miles, from the center of downtown to the geographic center of Tennessee.
137.15: Land area of Chattanooga in square miles.
6: Number of Chattanooga's "sister cities" (Hamm and Wolfsburg, Germany; Givatayim, Israel; Nizhnii Tagil, Russia; Wuxi, China; and Gangneung, Republic of Korea).
100: Number of windows, per floor, in the 21-story Republic Centre, Chattanooga's tallest building.
26: Length, in miles, of the Tennessee River Gorge, which begins five miles downstream from Chattanooga.
277: Length, in miles, of the Grand Canyon.
PEOPLE
12,000: Time span, in years, of human habitation at Moccasin Bend, according to archaeological evidence.
2,500: Estimated population of Chattanooga in 1863.
171,279: Population of Chattanooga in 2012.
36.24: Median age of Chattanooga residents in 2012.
79,607: Housing units in Chattanooga in 2012.
$134,700: Median value of the city's owner-occupied residences in 2012.
$47,667: Median household income in Hamilton County (2012).
$40,116: Median household income in Chattanooga (2012).
15: Percentage of population living below poverty level in Hamilton County (2012).
21.2: Percentage of population living below poverty level in Chattanooga (2012).
18.3: Mean travel time, in minutes, to work for Chattanoogans (2007-2011).
1,222.5: Population density per square mile in Chattanooga in 2010.
16,000: Approximate population density in Tokyo, Japan, in 2011.
HISTORY
1816: Date Cherokee chief John Ross and his brother Lewis Ross established Ross's Landing.
1838: Date that Ross's Landing officially became known as Chattanooga.
15,000: Estimated number of Cherokee who passed through Chattanooga during the Trail of Tears forced relocation in the 1830s.
12,400: Combined casualties during the Battle of Missionary Ridge that ended the Confederate siege of Chattanooga on Nov. 25, 1863.
760: Number of days Chattanooga was occupied by Union forces during the Civil War (Sept. 9, 1863-Oct. 7, 1865)
12,800: Approximate number of Civil War soldiers buried in Chattanooga's National Cemetery, America's first national cemetery when it was established in 1867.
TOURISM
72.7: Degrees of angle on the Incline Railway at its steepest point.
3,200: Approximate vertical distance traveled, in feet, per round trip on the Incline Railway.
4,400: Total altitude change, in miles, covered each year by all Incline Railway cars.
260: Depth, in feet, of Leo Lambert when he discovered the crevice leading to Ruby Falls.
425,000: Estimated combined number of annual visitors to Rock City and Ruby Falls.
59: Average year-round temperature in the Ruby Falls cavern.
1927: Year Lookout Mountain's Garnet Carter patented "Tom Thumb Golf," one of the earliest forms of miniature golf.
$2,000: Prize for winning first place at the first National Tom Thumb Open Miniature Golf Tournament held on Lookout Mountain in 1930.
$27,975: Equivalent value in 2013 dollars.
$1,000: Cash prize for the U.S. Open golf championship in 1931.
900: Number of barns in 19 states that once were painted by Clark Byers with the slogan "See Rock City."
$15: Price paid in 1937 for a pair of rhesus monkeys for the then-newly established Chattanooga Zoo.
166: Number of species at the zoo now.
12: Number of species at the zoo that are endangered in the wild.
1: Number of species at the zoo now extinct in the wild (kihansi spray toads).
795: Number of species on display at the Tennessee Aquarium.
2.2 million: Number of mysid shrimp fed each year to the aquarium's 100 seahorses.
200: Pounds of macadamia nuts eaten annually by the aquarium's macaws.
618,000: Gallons of saltwater in the Secret Reef Exhibit, the largest tank at the aquarium.
ARTS
80 feet: Approximate height of the rock bluff that the Hunter Museum of American Art sits on overlooking the Tennessee River.
5,000: Approximate number of pieces in the Hunter's permanent collection.
7: Number of months it took for Glen Miller Orchestra's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" to reach the No. 1 spot on the pop charts (Dec. 7, 1941).
20: Approximate age of Bessie "Empress of the Blues" Smith when she left Chattanooga in 1912 as part of a traveling minstrel troupe.
43: Bessie Smith's age when she died in 1937.
5,639: Attendees at this year's Bessie Smith Strut.
$9.5 billion: Total ticket sales for films starring Chattanooga-born Samuel L. Jackson, the Guinness World Records holder for actor with highest career box office sales.
$9.3 billion: Combined gross domestic products of Fiji, Liberia and the Cayman Islands.
8: Grammy Awards won by Chattanooga-born Usher Raymond IV.
53: Percentage of the 55 musicians in the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera who play stringed instruments.
$2.2 million: Approximate annual operating budget of the CSO.
87: Number of musicians that performed with the CSO in 2012 during Mahler 5, the ensemble's largest concert.
93: Number of bands that played at Riverbend this year.
50,000: Approximate number of admission pins sold for Riverbend in 2011.
107,200: Number of tickets sold to concerts at Track 29 since it opened September 2011.
22: Number of sell-out shows at Track 29 since 2011.
TRANSPORTATION
101: Number of "wildlife strike incidents" occurring at Lovell Field Airport in the last five years.
46: Number of those incidents involving mourning doves.
1890: Construction date for the Walnut Street Bridge.
2,376: The span, in feet, of the Walnut Street Bridge.
15: Number of years the bridge was closed to traffic before reopening in 1993 as pedestrian-only.
3 million: Approximate number of passengers carried annually by the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority.
31: Number of stations in the Chattanooga Bicycle Transit System network.
1908: Year the Chattanooga Choo Choo terminal was built.
85: Height, in feet, of the dome in the terminal lobby.
50: Number of trains served every day at the Chattanooga terminal at its height before passenger service ended on Aug. 11, 1970.
880: Length, in miles, of surfaces maintained by the Hamilton County Highway Department.
38: Number of deaths in 2012 due to vehicle collisions in Hamilton County.
209: Vehicle/deer collisions in Hamilton County in 2012.
17: Position of Tennessee on the League of American Bicyclists list of bike-friendly states.
32: Number of vehicle collisions with bicyclists in Hamilton County in 2012.
TECHNOLOGY
3,859: Twitter followers of Mayor Andy Berke (@AndyBerke).
63,885: Twitter followers of Little Debbie (@LittleDebbie).
55,000: EPB customers who have subscribed to the utility's fiber optic Internet, TV and phone service as of 2013.
$10 million: Estimated cost to provide a tablet device to every student in Hamilton County by 2014.
13.1: Power, in gigawatt hours, generated by the 33-acre, 33,600-module solar park at Volkswagen's Chattanooga assembly plant.
152,400: Number of Volkswagen Passats produced by the factory in 2012.
EDUCATION
82.7: Percentage of Chattanoogans who have attained at least a high school diploma.
25.6: Percent of Chattanoogans who have a college degree.
1893: Date The Baylor School was founded.
1905: Date McCallie School was founded.
1906: Date Girls Preparatory School was founded.
78: Number of schools in the Hamilton County system.
2,952: Number of teachers employed in Hamilton County in 2012.
41,214: Number of students enrolled in the Hamilton County system in 2012.
18.9: Average ACT score in Hamilton County in 2012.
19.2: Statewide average ACT score in 2012.
81.2: Percentage of Hamilton County seniors who graduated in 2012.
12,500: Estimated current enrollment at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
143,268: Number of books in the Chattanooga Public Library branch downtown.
4,131: Number of e-books in the Chattanooga Public Library system.
HEALTH
3: Position of Chattanooga on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation's 2013 list of the 10 worst places for spring allergy sufferers.
16.8: Percentage of the white population in Hamilton County who were age 65 or older in 2010.
4,047: Live births in Hamilton County in 2011.
9.7: Infant mortality rate in Hamilton County per 1,000 births (2010).
59: Percentage of Hamilton County teens who spend three hours or more a day watching TV, playing video games or using computers.
20: Percent of Hamilton County teens who reported being bullied in school.
266,648: Outpatient visits to the Erlanger hospital system (fiscal year 2011-2012).
55,000: Number of TennCare enrollees in Hamilton County (2013).
5.4: Number of hospital beds, per 1,000 residents, that are available in Hamilton County (2012).
97.8: Number of primary care physicians available in the county, per 1,000 residents (2012).
30: Percentage of Hamilton County residents who are obese (2013).
RELIGION
125: Height, in feet, of the tallest of three crosses erected at The Crossing Church in East Brainerd in August.
122,300: Membership numbers in Hamilton County of the Southern Baptist Convention, the city's most populous religious group (2010).
8,958: Sunday services held at First Presbyterian Church since its founding on June 21, 1840.
6,710: Members of Abba's House, Chattanooga's largest church congregation (as of 2010).
60.3: Percentage of Hamilton County residents who are members of a particular religious body (2012).
FOOD
1932: Date the first Krystal restaurant opened on Cherry and Seventh streets.
103: World record number of Krystal hamburgers eaten in eight minutes by Joey "Jaws" Chestnut" during the 2007 Krystal Square Off competition in Chattanooga.
4: Awards won at the World Beer Cup (in 1998, 2002 and 2004) by Big River Grille and Brewing Works beers.
41: Number of brewers who had suds on tap at this year's Southern Brewers Festival.
1,000: Annual brewing capacity, in 31-gallon barrels, of the Chattanooga Brewing Co.
1 million: Approximate number of MoonPies made at the Chattanooga Bakery every day.
14: Pounds of marshmallow used in "the world's largest MoonPie," a 55-pound, 40-inch wide, 45,000-calorie behemoth the Chattanooga Bakery prepares for special events and festivals.
1,500: Estimated number of farms within 100 miles of Chattanooga.
28: Number of downtown restaurants, farmers markets and food artisans that use regionally grown ingredients.
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.