This publication represents a fundamental body of knowledge about the origin of numbers and numerals, the development of number sequence and numerical language - the main work of the German mathematician Karl Menninger. The author, in an accessible form, mostly in the form of entertaining stories, leads the reader to the concept of number, gives a multifaceted analysis of the origin of numbers and their development in different cultures. Of particular interest is the story about ancient counting devices: primitive counting sticks, cords with knots from ancient Peru, complex finger gestures that were once used as numbers, counting boards with tokens, abacus... Many illustrations and tables that compare Numbers and their writing in different languages help the perception of text.