# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/21 "2006-04-05T14:38:26Z")
> [@heirodule](#): > > A triangular number is the sum of all the numbers up to an including the number. > > 1+2+3+4+…+34+35+36 = 666 So a triangular number, such as 666, is one that fits the formula: (x[sup]2[/sup] + x) 2 This is a trick I learned for computing large sums of consecutive integers: Imagine you want to quickly add the numbers 1 to 100. You figure: 1 + 100 = 101 2 + 99 = 101 3 + 98 = 101 … 50 + 51 = 101 So there are 50 pairs of integers, each adding up to 101. 50 x 101 = 5,050. For 36, there will be 18 pairs of integers, each adding up to 37. The formula, (x/2) (x+1), simplifies to (x[sup]2[/sup] + x) 2 Cool. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/22 "2006-04-05T20:29:41Z")
The staff report mentioned 6.66 e3 as the floating point beast. Shouldn’t that be 6.66 e2? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/23 "2006-04-05T22:20:59Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Aaaand this is important…_why_? 😕😕😕 Another irony meter bites the dust. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/24 "2006-04-05T22:40:29Z")
Dear SDStaff Dex, you mention in your article that > [@](#): > > [P]eople are marked (or branded) on the right hand or forehead–it’s illegal to “buy or sell” without having been “branded with the name of the beast or the number of its name.” (This suggests a licensing system of sorts, possibly a reference to an economic boycott against the early Christians by the Romans. I wait for the fundamentalists to use this to condemn social security numbers.) I’m sure you realize that fundamentalists are way ahead of you, and have already trained their sights on bar codes ( [http://www.av1611.org/666.html](http://www.av1611.org/666.html) ) and their more modern cousin, as embraced by walmart, radio frequency identification (RFID) chips ( [http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70308-0.html](http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70308-0.html) ). ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/25 "2006-04-05T23:15:54Z")
> [@heirodule](#): > > 666 is the traingular of 36. > > A triangular number is the sum of all the numbers up to an including the number… And, what deems this triangular? It’s just a sum of a string of numbers! “Triangular” makes it sound like something really special. What if the sum is a four digits number? Is it still deemed a “triangular” number??? - Jinx 😕 ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/26 "2006-04-05T23:37:14Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > And, what deems this triangular? It’s just a sum of a string of numbers! “Triangular” makes it sound like something really special. What if the sum is a four digits number? Is it still deemed a “triangular” number??? > > - Jinx 😕 [Triangular numbers](http://mathworld.wolfram.com/TriangularNumber.html) ---
**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 7, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/27 "2006-04-07T16:47:41Z")
666 = 1[sup]3[/sup] + 2[sup]3[/sup] + 3[sup]3[/sup] + 4[sup]3[/sup] + 5[sup]3[/sup] + 6[sup]3[/sup] + 5[sup]3[/sup] + 4[sup]3[/sup] + 3[sup]3[/sup] + 2[sup]3[/sup] + 1[sup]3[/sup] 666 = 3[sup]6[/sup] – 2[sup]6[/sup] + 1[sup]6[/sup] 666 = 2[sup]2[/sup] + 3[sup]2[/sup] + 5[sup]2[/sup] + 7[sup]2[/sup] + 11[sup]2[/sup] + 13[sup]2[/sup] + 17[sup]2[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/28 "2006-04-07T20:43:40Z")
Somehow, I have this vision in my head of the author going to a friend who knew math and saying “I need a cool number for this thing I’m writing, whatcha got?” “Ummm…well, six hundred sixty six is pretty cool.” “Okay, thanks.” ---
**Author:** ![6\_6\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e0b2c6/32.png) [@6\_6\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6_6_6)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/29 "2006-04-07T22:24:50Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > “Ummm…well, six hundred sixty six is pretty cool.” Who am I to argue? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/30 "2006-04-10T16:56:52Z")
> [@Dex](#): > > 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. In the first place I never heard before that 6 is short of perfection. I heard in fact that it is a holy number because it is a “perfect number” ie it is the sum of its factors, one of only four such numbers known in the ancient world. [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_number) Secondly, in the ancient world surely it wouldn’t have been “six repeated three times” since Arabic numerals weren’t widely used, wouldn’t it have been written as DCLXVI? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/31 "2006-04-10T17:36:21Z")
On review I see the DCLXVI issue has been discussed in another thread : [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=365382](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=365382) ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/32 "2006-04-15T00:53:36Z")
> [@heirodule](#): > > 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. That is all very interesting but of doubtful value. **Now what was/is the question?** ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/33 "2006-04-15T07:11:01Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > That is all very interesting but of doubtful value. > > **Now what was/is the question?** Why should there be a question? The forum title is **Comments** on Staff Reports. This is a comment, and it’s on a staff report. Q.E.D. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/34 "2006-04-15T07:52:06Z")
> [@heirodule](#): > > 666 is the triangular 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. Welcome to the boards. 🙂 Although your maths is accurate, I think you’ve missed the Biblical point. You’ve had to stretch to associate 666 with Solomon. The \*\*true link \*\* is with another Biblical person: And Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests and said unto them “Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the Ark of the Lord.” Note the reference to **horns** - clearly meaning the **Devil**. Note how the **Devil** is put **before** the \*\*holiest object in Christendom \*\* (The Ark of the Covenant) Clearly Joshua was a Devil-worshipper, and it was the Devil that destroyed the walls of Jericho and **tempted Joshua to slaughter every man, woman, child and animal in the city**. The proof (link with 666): Joshua is the **6** th book of the Bible. The above is Joshua **6** verse **6**. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/35 "2006-04-15T14:11:49Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Why should there be a question? The forum title is **Comments** on Staff Reports. This is a comment, and it’s on a staff report. Q.E.D. my error, GQ, mea culpa! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/36 "2006-04-15T15:04:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Joshua is the 6th book of the Bible. The above is Joshua 6 verse 6. That is amusing, but it should be noted that chapters were not imposed on the original texts. The earliest record of chapter divisions in the New Testament date to the early 13th century (and were not standardized among copies for another couple of centuries) and verses were not numbered until the publication of a parallel Greek and Latin study volume in 1551. The Tanakh/Old Testament was divided into “meaningful passages” (called _parashoth_) sometime before the first century, but the imposition of the chapters that we recognize, today, did not occur until they were inserted into versions of the Latin Vulgate, (also around the thirteenth century) from which they were inserted into Hebrew and Greek copies to permit ease of study. So, even if we imagine that God inspired the author of Revelation to make a reference to Joshua, we then have to assume that God did not want anyone to know about the reference for over 1100 years. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/37 "2006-04-15T17:59:45Z")
> [@glee](#): > > And Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests and said unto them “Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the Ark of the Lord.” > > Note the reference to **horns** - clearly meaning the **Devil**. I should also note that the ram’s horns (or “shofar”) were specifically NOT symbolic of the devil, but were horns blown to announce special or especially holy occassions. ---
**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 15, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/38 "2006-04-15T19:51:50Z")
Oh, well, if you’re gonna use **logic** and **common sense** and refer to history, what good is that when we’re talking serious mysticism? ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/39 "2006-04-16T02:09:35Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > So a triangular number, such as 666, is one that fits the formula: > > (x[sup]2[/sup] + x) > 2 > > This is a trick I learned for computing large sums of consecutive integers: Imagine you want to quickly add the numbers 1 to 100. You figure: > > 1 + 100 = 101 > 2 + 99 = 101 > 3 + 98 = 101 > … > 50 + 51 = 101 > > So there are 50 pairs of integers, each adding up to 101. 50 x 101 = 5,050. > > For 36, there will be 18 pairs of integers, each adding up to 37. The formula, (x/2) (x+1), simplifies to > (x[sup]2[/sup] + x) > 2 > > Cool. This trick brought to you by Gödel. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249/40 "2006-04-16T07:12:40Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > That is amusing, but it should be noted that chapters were not imposed on the original texts. The earliest record of chapter divisions in the New Testament date to the early 13th century (and were not standardized among copies for another couple of centuries) and verses were not numbered until the publication of a parallel Greek and Latin study volume in 1551. The Tanakh/Old Testament was divided into “meaningful passages” (called _parashoth_) sometime before the first century, but the imposition of the chapters that we recognize, today, did not occur until they were inserted into versions of the Latin Vulgate, (also around the thirteenth century) from which they were inserted into Hebrew and Greek copies to permit ease of study. > > So, even if we imagine that God inspired the author of Revelation to make a reference to Joshua, we then have to assume that God did not want anyone to know about the reference for over 1100 years. As I expect you know, I’m an atheist. :eek: But if I were to believe in this stuff, I certainly would have no problem with God doing the above. After all, he faked the fossil record and planted misleading astronomical evidence just to test our belief in Creationism… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/666-is-the-traingular-of-36/351249.md?page=3)