# 666 is the traingular of 36 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 4, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249 "2006-04-04T14:11:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![heirodule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@heirodule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heirodule)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/1 "2006-04-04T14:11:21Z")
666 is the traingular of 36. A triangular number is the sum of all the numbers up to an including the number. 1+2+3+4+…+34+35+36 = 666 36 is the square of 6 6x6 = 36 Just another observation. Also, the book of kings records that Solomon collects 666 talents of gold in one year, and also mentions he imports egyptian horses and has alot of wives. This is generally regarded as indications of Solomon’s ‘fall’, as Deuteronomy had forbidden the kings to multiply gold, horses, or wives. So 666 in Revelation is a literary echo of that story, and links the idea with somone who is gifted and great, yet behaves wickedly and falls. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/2 "2006-04-04T14:30:35Z")
Aaaand this is important…_why_? 😕😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/3 "2006-04-04T14:52:42Z")
And in some manuscripts, instead of 666 of being used, it’s 616. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/4 "2006-04-04T15:08:21Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Aaaand this is important…_why_? 😕😕😕 Well, it’s a lot more interesting than “668: The Neighbor of the Beast.” (Not to mention the dupes in the two lists.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/5 "2006-04-04T16:26:29Z")
> [@heirodule](#): > > 666 is the traingular of 36. > > A triangular number is the sum of all the numbers up to an including the number. Yes, but what’s a “traingular” number? 😛 > [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Aaaand this is important…_why_? 😕😕😕 C’mon, dude! 666 = (6[sup]2[/sup])[sup]triangle[/sup] !!! :eek: :eek: :eek: That **proves** … uh… something or other. Some people just don’t appreciate numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/6 "2006-04-04T16:40:03Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Yes, but what’s a “traingular” number? 😛 My WAG is that it’s a mistake for “triangular”. And I don’t think there’s any great religious significance, just that it’s a nice little quirk of decimal notation, like 27 x 37 = 999. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/7 "2006-04-04T16:55:00Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Aaaand this is important…_why_? 😕😕😕 Because Today’s featured Staff Column is [What’s up with 666, the “mark of the beast”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/m666.html) and after addressing the regular hoopla about 666, it goes on to throw a whole bunch of factoids (some real) at the issue, making the OP to this thread a perfect complement to the report. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/8 "2006-04-04T17:17:52Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Because Today’s featured Staff Column is [What’s up with 666, the “mark of the beast”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/m666.html) and after addressing the regular hoopla about 666, it goes on to throw a whole bunch of factoids (some real) at the issue, making the OP to this thread a perfect complement to the report. \< SNL \>OOOH! That’s _very different_. Never mind.\< /SNL \> ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/9 "2006-04-04T17:33:35Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Yes, but what’s a “traingular” number? 😛 Amtrak’s official cell phone service provider? Yeah, I got nothin’… ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/10 "2006-04-04T17:43:22Z")
Nitpick: > [@](#): > > In the bible, six is traditionally a number of incompleteness, failure, imperfection. \*\*God creates the world in seven days, so seven is the number of fullness, completion, perfection; but six is short of perfection.\*\*The number six repeated three times (three is also a mystic number) therefore connotes failure, lack of completion, hence evil or wickedness. According to the Book of Genesis the world was created in _six_ days and God rested on the seventh.: > [@](#): > > 001:031 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was > very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. > > 002:001 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host > of them. > > 002:002 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; > and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he > had made. > > 002:003 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because > that in it he had rested from all his work which God created > and made. So why should six be a number associated with incompleteness? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/11 "2006-04-04T18:09:13Z")
A **traingular number**? I’m glad you asked. On the US east coast, one of the minorities is a smattering of people who speak **Gullah**. The train systems make an effort to have a **traingular,** or Gullah translator on each train. The **traingular number** is the minimum number of Gullah speakers the railroad has to employ as a courtesy to its Gullah-speaking customers. That’s one of the reasons it’s so costly to run a railroad. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/12 "2006-04-04T18:09:31Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > Nitpick: > > According to the Book of Genesis the world was created in _six_ days and God rested on the seventh.: > > So why should six be a number associated with incompleteness? > [@Genesis 2](#): > > [sup] **1** [/sup]And the heavens and the earth are completed, and all their host; > > [sup] **2** [/sup]and God completeth by the seventh day His work which He hath made, and ceaseth by the seventh day from all His work which He hath made. > > [sup] **3** [/sup]And God blesseth the seventh day, and sanctifieth it, for in it He hath ceased from all His work which God had prepared for making. The word translated “completed,” here (from “Youngs’ Literal Translation”) is often translated “finished,” but the sense of “completed” is understood. Note that passage claims that the _work_ was completed (or finished) on the seventh day and that God “sanctified” that day (or “hallowed” it in other translations). In Jewish theology, the completion and resting were part of the whole creative act and when they went to devise their numerology, seven was reckoned as the whole number. Had not God rested and blessed that final day, the creative act, itself, would have been incomplete. ---
**Author:** ![heirodule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@heirodule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heirodule)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/13 "2006-04-04T19:31:39Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Because Today’s featured Staff Column is [What’s up with 666, the “mark of the beast”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/m666.html) and after addressing the regular hoopla about 666, it goes on to throw a whole bunch of factoids (some real) at the issue, making the OP to this thread a perfect complement to the report. Why thank you! 🙂 (I would have edited my 'traingular" typo, but there is no edit function as far as I can see. And then I would have missed the delightful train gullah translator explanation) ---
**Author:** ![Cforn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7feea3/32.png) [@Cforn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cforn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/14 "2006-04-04T19:44:52Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > \< SNL \>OOOH! That’s _very different_. Never mind.\< /SNL \> Let’s be fair, Bosda. I don’t see how the OP claimed anything in the post was “important”. It is just the sort of tidbit that gets thrown into discussions like these. Topics like this naturally lend themselves to thoughts about numerology, artifacts of number sequences and jokes (among many other things). As such it was _at least_ as “important” as anything else being said here. One could argue that, at minimum, the post was civil and added an idea that some found interesting or curious. And was factual rather than speculative to boot. As opposed to, shall we say, a pointless and snide comment that adds no value whatsoever? ---
**Author:** ![heirodule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@heirodule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heirodule)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/15 "2006-04-04T19:58:11Z")
also saying 6 squared is 36, is saying that if you write out 36 dots in rows of 6 dots each, you’ll have a square of dots. So a triangular number can be conceved as what you get when you lay out all the ‘dots’ of the number in a triangular pattern, and the height of the triangle is the same as the base. ```auto . . . . . . . . . . ``` The triangular of 4 = 10. ---
**Author:** ![heirodule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@heirodule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heirodule)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/16 "2006-04-04T20:02:20Z")
> [@Cforn](#): > > Let’s be fair, Bosda. > I don’t see how the OP claimed anything in the post was “important”. > > It is just the sort of tidbit that gets thrown into discussions like these. > Topics like this naturally lend themselves to thoughts about numerology, artifacts of number sequences and jokes (among many other things). Yes. I really just shared it as an additional consideration (after following the link at the bottom of the article where it said “comment”) as to why 666 is a significant symbolic number. It has 3 6s in its decimal notation, but also is related to 6x6 (the triangular of the square). So if the valence of 6 = imperfection, 666 has it in spades. ---
**Author:** ![the\_only\_bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b2d939/32.png) [@the\_only\_bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_only_bunny)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/17 "2006-04-05T06:11:08Z")
Isn’t the entire math system based on 6 (360 degrees in a circle, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute)? ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/18 "2006-04-05T13:57:15Z")
> [@the only bunny](#): > > Isn’t the entire math system based on 6 (360 degrees in a circle, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute)? I know that some units contain 60 divisions because it is divisible by so many integers (2,3,4,5,6, etc.). I’ve never heard of 6 considered in this sense. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/19 "2006-04-05T14:10:24Z")
The other reason for 360 degrees in a circle is that it’s close to the number of days in a year, so makes some astronomical calculations easier (if you are doing them on clay tablets or papyrus, rather than on an electronic calculator). ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/20 "2006-04-05T14:36:15Z")
See [What’s up with numerology?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mnumerology.html), the explanation of 12’s and 360’s in our various measurements (imperial measures, calendar, etc) is the ancient Babylonians, covered in the first few paragraphs of that Staff Report. It’s referenced in the Staff Report on 666. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249.md?page=2)