The number of ways to choose 3 out of 8 objects or 5 out of 8 objects, if order does not matter.
The sum of six consecutive primes (3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 13 + 17)
a tetranacci number[2] and as a multiple of 7 and 8, a pronic number.[3] Interestingly it is one of a few pronic numbers whose digits in decimal also are successive (5 and 6).
A partition number – the number of distinct ways 11 can be represented as the sum of natural numbers.
An Erdős–Woods number, since it is possible to find sequences of 56 consecutive integers such that each inner member shares a factor with either the first or the last member.[5]
Plutarch[7] states that the Pythagoreans associated a polygon of 56 sides with Typhon and that they associated certain polygons of smaller numbers of sides with other figures in Greek mythology. While it is impossible to construct a perfect regular 56-sided polygon using a compass and straightedge, a close approximation has recently been discovered which it is claimed[8] might have been used at Stonehenge, and it is constructible if the use of an angle trisector is allowed since 56 = 23 × 7.[9]
Brazilian politician, Enéas Carneiro has an odd way of repeating the number of his party, "Fifty-Six" (cinquenta e seis, in Portuguese), making it a widely repeated jargon in his country.
56 Stuff, an international art community and a record label.
Department 56 designer of collectibles, giftware and seasonal decorations such as miniature village houses.
People
Shirley Temple, as a child, wore 56 curls in her hair. Curls were set by her mother, who thus made sure of the exact number.
Isoroku Yamamoto, named "Isoroku" because his father's age was 56 at his birth, and "Isoroku" is an old Japanese term meaning 56.
In the Los Angeles postal district, Zone 56 (now the ZIP Code area 90056) is one of few that is not within the Los Angeles City Limits (90020 and 90044 are others).
56 is the number of the French department Morbihan.