TITLE: Is '$10$' a magical number or I am missing something?
QUESTION [281 upvotes]: It's a hilarious witty joke that points out how every base is '$10$' in its base. Like,
\begin{align}
    2 &= 10\ \text{(base 2)} \\
    8 &= 10\ \text{(base 8)}
\end{align}
My question is if whoever invented the decimal system had chosen $9$ numbers or $11$, or whatever, would this still be applicable? I am confused - Is $10$ a special number which we had chosen several centuries ago or am I missing a point?

REPLY [5 votes]: I've always assumed it was the number of fingers on the human hand that originated the decimal system.  I sometimes make people feel better about their age by saying something like, "Hey, if humans has 6 fingers on each hand you'd still be in your thirties."