irb> 1 => 1 irb> 1.to_s => "1" irb> 1.to_s * 2 => "11" irb> "1" *2 => "11" irb> 1.to_s *2 => "1" # huh? #let's try that again with 2.... irb> 2.to_s => "2" irb> 2.to_s * 2 => "22" # good irb> "2" *2 => "22" irb> 2.to_s *2 => "10" # wtf? Sometimes a space makes all the difference. Ruby's #to_s on an Integer takes an optional parameter which specifies the base you are working in. In this case, passing in *2 has set our base to binary.
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