For years now, the number 14.4 has wafted through my conscious and tortured me with its failure to reveal its origins. It’s one of those familiar things, and I pronounce it in my head as “fourteen-four.” Why is fourteen-four so familiar in my head? What does it refer to?

187, 211, 459, 1170.12(a)-(d) and 667(b)-(i) are familiar to me because they’re California Penal Codes for murder, robbery, burglary, and the premise of the 3-strikes law. Is 14.4 a Penal Code? I don’t think so because it’s something so familiar that I’d retained it in my subconscious. Is it Pica on a typewriter? Is it a standard measurement of something? But it’s such a imperfect number. Not 14 and a HALF, not FIFTEEN. What could it be? The length in inches of a legal piece of paper? No, that’s 8.5″ by 14″.

I think at some point, I had figured it out in a conversation with someone. But I’m not sure because right now, I have no idea what the hell 14.4 is. Do any of you out there know?