Eight, Nine, Ten

I’m surprised nobody has sent around an e-mail telling us this is the last time there will be an 8-9-10 date until whenever and there hasn’t been one since 1910. Someone is slipping. I wonder if there was any significance to 6-8-10? It’s in a recognizable sequence, meaning absolutely nothing.

When the new century rolled around, the New York Times had a banner headline saying nothing but “1-01-00.”

WLS, a Chicago radio station on 890, had ads which featured its dj’s inside the holes on the current rotary dial phones. The last three were 8-9-0. Clever, I thought.

A local undertaker bought his place from the phone company. As a favor, they gave him a sequential number (with the necessary “8” before it): 823-4567.

My internal school number used to be 811. I told people to think of it like 911 – we’ll get back to you, but just not as fast as the emergency people.

8 is a lucky number in China and a reporter for the New York Times has that, the numeral 8, as a middle name.

I can’t think of any lucky numbers we have here in the States, but we sure do avoid 13. No deck 13 on cruise ships and no room 13 in hospitals. Baaaad number.