For some people, numbers are just that, numbers. But for others, there is a deeper story hidden within the numbers. That is the case for David Teitel, a cashier working in a health store in Toronto. He lives with a mental illness for more than 40 years, waiting to be accepted to clinical trial.
He lives alone in a messy apartment, and works as a cashier since 1980s. He enjoys sharing facts about history, sports statistics, and much more with his customers. And they all know him for his numbers knowledge.
His story has been part of the documentary “The Numbers Guy”, filmed several years ago. He started his career in customer service after dropping out of school and struggling with mental illness. He also suffers from hepatitis C.
For David, there is magic in numbers, the sort of magic most people cannot and do not see. He tells the numbers and stats to anyone who listens.
“The very first time that I correlated a customer’s total to a fact just came out of my mouth: 3.43, Don Mattingly’s batting average for the 1984 Yankees … I was just relying on the facts that were already in my head”.
His parents first noticed his talent when he was just four years old.
