An equation that shows that multiplying
two positive whole numbers doesn’t
always make the product larger, and it also shows that the product of
two positive whole numbers can be less than its sum.
Isn’t the mathematical sentence 1 × 1 = 1 a numerical curiosity or oddity that should puzzle or excite elementary school
teachers, students, and
parents, because it shows the idiosyncratic or magical properties of
whole numbers?