# DER 1138!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-1138/53087>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 4, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-1138/53087 "2001-02-04T06:26:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-1138/53087/1 "2001-02-04T06:26:00Z")

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This is my 1138th post. A rather obscure number, true, that is a reference to an obscure film by a not-so-obscure (now) director. The movie is [THX 1138](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0066434), directed by George Lucas and released in the year 1970. Oddly enough, I’ve never seen the film. Maybe this will be my excuse to find the damn thing.

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**Author:** ![King\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-1138/53087/2 "2001-02-04T06:58:29Z")

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Ok. I’ve heard that THX (the sound system) is named after Tomlinson Holman, the audio engineer. If this indeed in true, is THX from THX-1138 also named after Mr. Holman?

I remember seeing the movie when it came out. I was around 10. The end was quite shocking to me, sort of along the lines of Planet Of The Apes. I saw it again a few years ago and if memory serves I was disappointed. There are people who think that this movie is Lucas’ best film. I found it boring.

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-1138/53087/3 "2001-02-04T08:37:01Z")

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**Royal Rodent** :  
On the trivia page attached to the IMDb it says that the THX-1138 is a mnemonic derived from one of Lucas’ old phone numbers. Glancing at a touch-tone phone, this implies that his number was 849-1138. Is 849 a valid San Francisco prefix?