How important is "666" to DUers?

[question everything]

Yesterday someone posted what would have start a flame war. No link, the post itself is not the issue here. However, before it was locked, most of the responses commented that the post was the poster's 666th post. No comments about the content of the post, only about it being the 666th.

I have been under the impression that DUers in general do not place any religion with its symbols highly in their lives. Many polls and surveys showed the vast majority of DUers to be secular, or atheists, etc. And, of course, in general we realize how damaging to the country it is when the leaders base their decisions - or so they say - on what their "god" have directed them to do.

The only exception here has been for Obama to invoke Jesus on several occasions, to prove to the voters for whom it matter that he was not a Muslim.

So I am curious about such a fast reaction.

Perhaps what was true when we were 100,000 strong no longer hold when we are now 130,000.

Or, perhaps it shows how too often DUers do not react to the substance but to the form: was the poster a newbie? And, often, if the post is a story, to the author or to the publication instead of to the contents of the post.

Just puzzled.

[Wetzelbill]

1. Other than being my birthmark, not important at all nt

[grantcart]

6. good to see that your back in form

[Wetzelbill]

9. I had to take a break after the election

Running for president for nearly two years is tough.

[DCKit]

27. Sheeit!! They're my initials. Maybe we're related? n/t

[EFerrari]

42. 666 is MOM on a telephone pad. That's how I used to page my kids.

lol

[Wetzelbill]

49. somehow I can see that

:)

[hughee99]

55. It's also ONO.

Perhaps Yoko is the antichrist. :)

[EFerrari]

61. But we knew that already.

:)

[Yes We Did]

56. wouldn't that be 66666?

:evilgrin:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Oh, we're all a bunch of puritanical numerologists around here.

At least according to my ouija board.

[JuniperLea]

65. My tarot cards and runes agree with your ouija board...

The crystal ball is more elusive on the issue.

[NutmegYankee]

3. I think it was just an obnoxious way to respond to a "Goodbye" thread.

DU'ers love making comments like that on those types of threads, and the post count number just presented the best approach for many. I wouldn't read much into it, since many people look at the post count of the person leaving and make a judgment call on that as to whether they've been here long or were just a short lived troll (whether valid or not).

Then again, some people don't post much, like myself.

[lamp_shade]

4. Means nothing to me.

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. A lower number than the 700 club n/t

[question everything]

Oh, I did not know we have a lower 700 club

Is it the same as lower 100? 250?

;-)

[Bjorn Against]

67. 666 is the 700 club if you round up.

[peace13]

7. We have a certain order at McDonald's that comes up as $6.66.

The cashiers always look glazed and ask if we want to change our order. It is good for a laugh because we never change it. I can understand some being mindful of the number.

[elifino]

8. Nice three game total score in bowling

[givemebackmycountry]

10. There's a reason why you call yourself question everything...

You got a lotta questions!

OK, I'll bite.
I never even noticed my 666th post, I was too busy thinking about how I was going to make it to 1000.
I think that maybe one is predisposed to think about that shit, because that is where their interests lie.
People are into all kinds of weird shit, some of it very dark, and some of it would give the term 666 a lot of importance.
Like I said, people are into a lot of dark shit.

Me, I was probably watching a ballgame, or was too stoned to notice my 666th.
I guess it's just a matter of what's important to one.

[question everything]

18. Same here. I wanted my 1,000 post to be special

it was not. Same with 10,000.

Oh well.

As for asking questions, that's how I know that I am still alive and kicking

:hi:

[richabk]

11. 666 = MOM

Back when pagers were around, that was my mom's code since MOM on a phone = 666

[EFerrari]

62. Nick, Arlo -- is that you?

:rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. Self delete.

wrong thread.

[stopbush]

13. Funny how the fact the the actual number is 616 doesn't stop

people from obsessing over the wrong number (666).

Why is that?

[question everything]

26. Actual number for what?

I've heard - and was mentioned at that thread - that 666 stands for Satan, or something. Are you saying that it really is 616? I remember when the Reagans were purchasing their new home that it had 666 on it.

[roamer65]

35. 616 is the area code for a very right wing area of West Michigan.

So will the Anti-Christ be a Rethuglican from Grand Rapids?:silly:

[Lucian]

46. Haha. I was just going to post that.

[mmonk]

48. Yep. I guess since the error became accepted, that is the new belief.

Belief, of course, isn't anything reality based anyway.

[redqueen]

52. Follow the shoe!

No, follow the gourd!

Do facts really matter with a subject like this?

[aikoaiko]

14. I have found that there is an amazing number of Iron Maiden fans on DU.

Iron Maiden -- the number of the beast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUOpUqni0_g

[JDPriestly]

15. 666 and comments about 666 are jokes.

[Dukkha]

16. beware of 668

the neighbor of the beast

[snot]

17. is this a test to see how dumb dems are?

[question everything]

28. No. Should it? (nt)

[Tashca]

19. About 28 more posts for me

Then I'll let you know how great it was!!

I figure maybe then I'll turn into the beast......that my wife always wanted;-)

[ismnotwasm]

20. In the Book of Relation?

Looking at the big picture, it doesn't mean shit after 4 and 7

And 24.


I think it's the number 42 God doesn't like for example
http://dwindlinginunbelief.blogspot.com/2006/12/42-its-not-gods-favorite-number.html


ANYway

13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/rev/13.html

But I loves me some Iron Maiden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUOpUqni0_g

[Ms. Toad]

21. A few years ago when I went to get a new license plate

for my spouse's car, they held up a plate from the storeroom doorway with 666 as the numerical portion of the plate. They expected me to reject it, as they told me several previous car owners had.

My spouse enjoyed that license plate, and the reactions it got, for years. Unfortunately, when the next version of plates came out they only had two digit numerical portions, so she had to settle for 66. Not nearly the impact of 666.

[8 track mind]

22. It has a profound meaning to me

It's the title of the greatest Progressive rock album ever made!

666: the Apocalypse of St. John

It's by an obscure Greek band by the name of Aphrodite's Child. Came out in 1972.


Eight Track Mind encourages you to read more about it!
http://www.amazon.com/666-Aphrodites-Child/dp/B000007TVK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1231200296&sr=1-1

[AndyTiedye]

31. I Have That One

[8 track mind]

40. man what an album!!!! The 4 Horsemen is my fav! n/t

[orleans]

23. we tease in a sarcastic manner. n/t

[Kip Humphrey]

24. Emperor Nero holds no sway in my life.

[anigbrowl]

25. Meh, just one of those curiosities,. Same way mathematicians like 1729.

[question everything]

30. I didn't know mathematicians like the number 1729

Not a primary one since it divides by 7...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Look it up.

It's the Hardy-Ramanujan (sp?) number.

[EOTE]

51. How incredibly interesting.

As per usual, Wikipedia has a very thorough page on this. As a big Futurama fan, I'm surprised that I missed the references to the number, maybe I just didn't know what to look for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1729_(number)

[Lyric]

29. Not at all. The 700 Club is far worse here on DU than 666.

700 Club = Having somewhere between 700 and 799 posts.

I've seen people post frantically to get out of the 700 Club.

:hi:

[4 t 4]

32. wasn't that the poster that had been here for 10+ years

even though the site isn't that old ?

[GentryDixon]

34. It was my post office box

in the 1950's.

[originalpckelly]

36. Three guys hugging? Or fucking?

:shrug:

[originalpckelly]

37. $6.66 what is the price that LITERALLY rang up a few days ago at Starbucks?

It's definitely awkward to have something ring up to $6.66. :evilgrin:

[cynatnite]

38. That's how much is in my checking account right now n/t

[JFN1]

39. As much as my fear of Zeus' lightning...

n/t

[MrSlayer]

41. I want all of my posts to be considered my 666th post.

It is that important to me.

[Joe the Liberal]

43. The number means nothing to me..........

It's just a number and nothing more, I know what it means (the number of the beast). For it to have any meaning you would have to believe in religion, which I don't. It holds no importance in my life, religion is all nonsense and 666 holds no more meaning than 555, 444, 333, 222, 111 ect....

[trusty elf]

44. Not terribly important!

In the cosmic scheme of things, I would rate it right up there with 665 or 667. :silly:

[TWiley]

45. A black cat and a mirror is FAR more important

[WeDidIt]

47. 668 is far more important

The Neighbor of the Beast is much more interesting.

Of course, there's always 333, all the GREAT TASTE of the Beast with half the calories.

[Soylent Brice]

50. ...

:spray: :rofl:

i'm choking on my lunch. does anyone here know the hemilich!!

[VP505]

53. If its in front of

some zeros on a check, its important to me, otherwise not so much.

[redqueen]

54. It's only imporant to me as a popular symbol. Not very.

If someone's 666th post was used to do a 'flame out' by a freeper type, that wouldn't surprise me one bit.

[LibDemAlways]

57. I have those three digits on my license plate. Didn't

request it. Just the luck of the draw.

[Jennicut]

58. I only think of its an Iron Maiden song, other then that...

[Marr]

59. Numerology is fascinating.

Human beings are always looking for order and pattern-- and creating it where it doesn't exist. Whether it's building houses from the landscape or putting our crayons into some kind of color system or separating music into separate genres, we have to convince ourselves that there is some sense to things.

I think numerology and astrology are the kinds of noises that an inquisitive human mind makes in the absence of scientific understanding. When I meet a person who's involved in these sorts of things, I can't help but think we've lost a potential scientist.

[mochajava666]

60. It's hard to avoid seeing patterns and order in things,

even when they don't really exist. Numerology is just another manifestation of that impulse. I remember reading about "Gosh Numbers" in a sci-fi series by Pohl(?). The numbers were 0.5 degrees, minus 40 degrees, 137, 2025, and 10 to the 39th. All of them have more than one "significant" meaning, like minus 40 degrees is where Celsius and Fahrenheit are the same.

As for 666, I loved The Omen and Omen II; but like The Godfather, there shouldn't have been a third movie. I'm also an atheist, but Armageddon is a pretty compelling story. Being atheist also didn't prevent me from getting the crap scared out of me from The Exorcist. Great movie, bad sequels.

666 is also the vehicle number of the Ford Excursion that my environmental research company uses to run errands. Irony is pretty cool, too.

[JuniperLea]

64. I think it's human nature...

A part of our natural self-preservation system.

Even Bush knew to duck twice... the mother ducker must have some human brain stem activity after all.

[JuniperLea]

63. I'd like an explanation...

As to why the number 111 periodically shows up in droves in my life... and is completely absent in others.

It showed up no less than 14 times in my checkbook during one month in 2001... $111 for groceries... $111 for a couple of bills... 111 in a check number... etc., and was completely absent in my checkbook for the remainder of the year.

I think if I were looking for it, I'd see it more often, and not in flurries.

I take it you are no fan of feng shui either:)

[GreenTea]

66. "Important"? Zero, Zero, ZERO!

Zilch, Zero, not all, means absolutely fucking nothing!

[chowder66]

68. Try Gematria....

Many scholars believe this was the system used as code to mean Nero. I tend to side with those scholars. Congrats to the one poster who Nero holds no sway over.