This is an antique Singer sewing machine. It is dated from March 16, 1910. It makes my machine over 112 years old. My machine was only 12 years old when the Ottoman Empire was dissolved. The model is 66-1 and on that date, 50,000 units rolled out.
How do I know this? Did a previous owner tell me this? Was it written on a little piece of paper and shoved in a hole?
On the bottom right of the machine there is a little tag with a letter and six digits. Singer was incredibly good at keeping records based on the letter and numbers. Using ismacs.net, which houses all of the public records of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, I can find the exact date my machine was finished, what model was produced, and how many.
Singer always had astoundingly modern business practices. Other sewing machine brands didn't have this, and so collectors have to go on elaborate hunts to date a machine. In terms of value, an accurately dated machine can be the difference between a thrift shop and a vault.
Records are frequently mentioned in the Bible. One early example is the namesake of the book of Numbers. The book starts with a census of all the able men of the tribes of Israel. These numbers have been preserved in Torah. Today, we can look and see the counts. Historians and theologians use these numbers in Torah studies, preachings, teachings, and history lessons.
The final number, over 600,000, is just the able men over 20 years old. This is only two years from leaving Egypt. That means this number, likely more than double it, crossed through the Red Sea. Just how wide must've the sea been opened?
In this case, this record proves G-d's power and might. It wasn't a couple dozen people walking single-file through the Red Sea. It was at least one million walking on dry ground. This is the importance of keeping records. Knowledge has a staying power that can amaze the observer, and more importantly, bring glory to G-d thousands (or 112) of years later.