# Did you know this meaning of "88"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2014, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523 "2014-07-07T10:52:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/1 "2014-07-07T10:52:09Z")
Started a thread in GQ about innocuous things that the Nazis had ruined in Germany, the numbers “88” came up. It’s neo-Nazi code, H being the 8th letter of the alphabet so 88 = HH = Heil Hitler. I came across it in a Louis Theroux documentary where he interviews some neo-Nazis who listen to skinhead [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWszjIkw80k&feature=player_detailpage#t=2165) where it crops up in the lyrics. So wanted to know how well known this association was, or how obscure as the case may be. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/2 "2014-07-07T10:55:32Z")
I’ve known it for years although I can’t remember how I found out. Any time I see an internet user name such as JoeBlow88 I’m suspicious even though it’s just as likely to be someone’s year of birth or something equally innocent. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/3 "2014-07-07T10:56:04Z")
I’ll put myself down as knowing about it for many years and not giving a shit about it for the same length of time. I think there was once a poster here who copped grief about having 88 in his/her username. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/4 "2014-07-07T10:57:11Z")
Forgive my terrible timing. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/5 "2014-07-07T11:07:19Z")
Had no idea about it until I read it in that thread in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/6 "2014-07-07T11:11:49Z")
I think I first came across it in a thread here. There’s a Doper with the username **Huerta88** that I think brought it up as a frustrating connotation… ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/7 "2014-07-07T11:29:32Z")
I learned about it here in connection with the same poster mentioned by **WordMan**. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/8 "2014-07-07T11:32:23Z")
From **Huerta88** , I knew it had to do with Nazis. No idea why. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/9 "2014-07-07T11:32:36Z")
I think I learned about it from Law & Order. Or American History X. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/10 "2014-07-07T11:35:54Z")
To tack a rider question on; would you judge someone with 88 in their user name (say, if I was **Mr. Kobayashi88** ) differently, or figure it’s just a number until proven otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/11 "2014-07-07T11:36:20Z")
I posted in that thread. I knew about 88 and 18, but 14 was a new one to me. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/12 "2014-07-07T11:37:29Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > To tack a rider question on; would you judge someone with 88 in their user name (say, if I was **Mr. Kobayashi88** ) differently, or figure it’s just a number until proven otherwise? Nah. It is far too common for someone to have their year of birth in their username. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/13 "2014-07-07T11:37:31Z")
Heard about it here some years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/14 "2014-07-07T11:42:24Z")
First I’ve heard of it, but neo-Nazis happen to be low on my watch list. However, now that I think of it, that is an excellent “secret symbol.” A marginally creative person could even design an “88” logo which resembles a swastika but still be within a plausible deniability space. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/15 "2014-07-07T11:51:55Z")
Never heard of it before now. I would assume the vast majority of 88’s I see in handles or e-mail addresses are from birth year or year of graduation or something. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/16 "2014-07-07T12:10:53Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > To tack a rider question on; would you judge someone with 88 in their user name (say, if I was **Mr. Kobayashi88** ) differently, or figure it’s just a number until proven otherwise? It seriously depends on the rest of the name - like, something Germanic or Nordic? I might look twice. Or references to whiteness, purity or power? Yeah, that’d do it. Otherwise, I’d figure it was just their birth year. Kobayashi88 gets no suspicion, Wulf88 would get a little, 14Words88 would get _all_ the suspicions, type of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/17 "2014-07-07T12:16:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Kobayashi88 gets no suspicion, Wulf88 would get a little, 14Words88 would get _all_ the suspicions, type of thing. What does “14Words” refer to? I could Google, I know, but I don’t want to go down that particular rabbit hole right now… ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/18 "2014-07-07T12:16:51Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Never heard of it before now. I would assume the vast majority of 88’s I see in handles or e-mail addresses are from birth year or year of graduation or something. +1 … or maybe a piano player? (88 keys) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/19 "2014-07-07T12:28:57Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > What does “14Words” refer to? I could Google, I know, but I don’t want to go down that particular rabbit hole right now… The 14 words in question are the white nationalist ethos “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White Children”, itself paraphrased from _Mein Kampf_ ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/20 "2014-07-07T12:46:30Z")
Once again proving how tragically unhip I am, I had no idea that any of those numbers were secret codes. Reminds me of when I was in high school - I knew 69 had some sort of sexual connotation, but it was years till I knew precisely what it was. I was very naive - so sue me. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523.md?page=2)