# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/81 "2014-07-08T19:54:05Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I learned about it here in connection with the same poster mentioned by **WordMan**. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/82 "2014-07-08T22:57:42Z")
I’ve known about all these since the mid-late 1990s. It’s not new. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/83 "2014-07-08T23:15:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Every number is used as a “code” by someone. The issue is- is the code so common we should care? In this case, the answer is **NO**! The question is not “should we care”. Yes, sometimes it is absolutely important we care, depending on the circumstances. How wide spread it is or isn’t is not relevant. The question is “when should we care” the answer is: generally, not often, but if it pings your radar that something is off about the person, make note of it. If my child came home with a friend who had 88 written all over his books or as a symbol, you bet I’ll perk up. As username on a general info message boards it’s much less important. The key isn’t if the code is important to us. The key is if the code is important to the user. To ignore that bit info because it shouldn’t be important is naive. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/84 "2014-07-08T23:20:47Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > The question is “when should we care” the answer is: generally, not often, but if it pings your radar that something is off about the person, make note of it. If my child came home with a friend who had 88 written all over his books or as a symbol, you bet I’ll perk up. > > The key isn’t if the code is important to us. The key is if the code is important to the user. To ignore that bit info because it shouldn’t be important is naive. Because somehow a person with the batshit crazy ideas of a freaken\* Nazi \*will be so hard to spot that you need to decypher codes like 88? :dubious: Those dudes are just _a little_ obvious. As soon as they open their mouth you can spot them. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/85 "2014-07-08T23:27:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Because somehow a person with the batshit crazy ideas of a freaken\* Nazi \*will be so hard to spot that you need to decypher codes like 88? :dubious: > > Those dudes are just _a little_ obvious. As soon as they open their mouth you can spot them. Not always. Sometimes kids do stuff like that for shock value. Sometimes they keep the pretty smile and nice manners for the adults around them and then try to toss in nasty, racist comments when the group is hanging out together. Some kids are naive and think it’s not that big of a deal when their new friend starts making subtle, anti semitic comments to slowly get someone to join the group. Do you really think they’re all walking around in nazi garb? How so you know who is the subtle neo-nazi- you got radar? The reason they use such codes is to help identify themselves and sympathizers when out in public/work/school. Seriously- it’s not a secret code that tells them to Drink Your Ovaltine. This is how they self identify and it’s done because it works for them for their own purposes, not the ones we think they’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/86 "2014-07-09T00:13:20Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > The 14 words in question are the white nationalist ethos “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White Children” Walt Jr and Holly? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/87 "2014-07-09T00:33:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Because somehow a person with the batshit crazy ideas of a freaken\* Nazi \*will be so hard to spot that you need to decypher codes like 88? :dubious: > > Those dudes are just _a little_ obvious. As soon as they open their mouth you can spot them. Not at all. Many hardcore, card-carrying bigots are really good at hiding their real thoughts. You’re buying into the standard stereotype that neo-nazis are knuckle-dragging, redneck, Southern trainer-park denizens. This is both lazy thinking and naive. Once I spent several days (in a work-related context) working alongside a guy who was intelligent, professional, courteous, and very polite to minorities we encountered during the course of day-to-day interactions. And he hailed from Boston, or somewhere like that. On the third or fourth day I found out that he was an actual, real card-carrying member of a fairly well-known white supremacist organization. Not the only time I’ve run into people like that. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/88 "2014-07-09T00:38:44Z")
I knew it. It’s also a cute text-speak shorthand for “bye bye” in China (88 would be pronounced “ba ba” and has lucky connotations.) ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/89 "2014-07-09T02:25:05Z")
Yep, I learned about it after a Pit thread in which one poster pitted another for having the number “88” at the end of his name. The pitted poster hadn’t even ever posted, as far as I knew, prior to the pitting. He was being pitted on name alone. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/90 "2014-07-09T03:08:42Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > … or maybe a piano player? (88 keys) > [@astorian](#): > > Until a few minutes ago, “88” meant nothing to me except the number of keys on a piano. > [@JKellyMap](#): > > I had no idea. I associate the number first with the keys on a piano… You know what, folks, we should adopt 88 as a symbol of racial harmony, as in _Ebony & Ivory_. If nothing else, it would cause a lot of frustration to skinheads with an 88 tattoo, which has to be a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![OurLordPeace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e8c25b/32.png) [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/91 "2014-07-09T03:21:52Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > See, when I first heard it was associated with Neo-Nazis years ago, I had assumed it was due to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8.8_cm_Flak_18/36/37/41). Weird the associations the mind comes up with. That’s usually mentioned as being part of the Nazi connotations, as well. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/92 "2014-07-09T09:11:17Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > See, when I first heard it was associated with Neo-Nazis years ago, I had assumed it was due to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8.8_cm_Flak_18/36/37/41). Weird the associations the mind comes up with. Yep, that’s what I assumed it was due to, as well. I learned the numerology bit here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/93 "2014-07-10T01:24:30Z")
I’ve heard it before, possibly here. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/94 "2014-07-10T03:58:46Z")
I knew about it BUT I learned it in a previous thread here, I’ve never encountered it anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/95 "2014-07-10T05:17:09Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > This isn’t “backward masking”, or Satanic Ritual Abuse, this is the use of a symbol by a group of people to self-identify. Having an “88” tattoo is exactly like having a swastika tattoo, except for being slightly more subtle. An important distinction though, is that the swastika is only ever really used in the west\* to refer to / represent Nazism. Whereas 88 is used for many things. Basically, any situation where 87 would just leave us wanting, but 89 would be excessive (and decimal points aren’t invited to the party). It’s true if I saw a _tattoo_ of 88 I’d think there was a good chance the person was some kind of white supremicist. But in general, 88 means 88 to me, or maybe 1988. Similarly I wouldn’t care (or assume the person was racist) if they had AH or HH in their user name. - Here in china though it remains a pretty common buddist symbol. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/96 "2014-07-10T15:06:57Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > You’re buying into the standard stereotype that neo-nazis are knuckle-dragging, redneck, **Southern** … Don’t forget the northern ones. I hate Illinois nazis! Like **IvoryTowerDenizen** says, they want you to know they are nazis. Why ignore what they are telling you? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/97 "2014-07-10T16:22:11Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Not at all. Many hardcore, card-carrying bigots are really good at hiding their real thoughts. You’re buying into the standard stereotype that neo-nazis are knuckle-dragging, redneck, Southern trainer-park denizens. This is both lazy thinking and naive. > > Once I spent several days (in a work-related context) working alongside a guy who was intelligent, professional, courteous, and very polite to minorities we encountered during the course of day-to-day interactions. And he hailed from Boston, or somewhere like that. On the third or fourth day I found out that he was an actual, real card-carrying member of a fairly well-known white supremacist organization. > > Not the only time I’ve run into people like that. There’s no such thing as a intelligent bigot. That’s a oxymoron. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/98 "2014-07-10T17:37:22Z")
88 miles per hour! Uh oh. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale might be Neo-nazis. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/99 "2014-07-10T17:42:17Z")
I never heard of it until I read a story in 2010 about a [Virginia man denied a vanity license plate](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/28/AR2010042805335.html) 14CV88 for that reason. And I’ve never heard of it since. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/100 "2014-07-14T13:34:50Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > It’s true if I saw a _tattoo_ of 88 I’d think there was a good chance the person was some kind of white supremicist. But in general, 88 means 88 to me, or maybe 1988. Indeed. \*\*\*Context \*\*\*is our friend. I do not see the reasonable support for presuming that the meaning of an appearance of the number 88 _anywhere, anytime, regardless of circumstance_ to be _by general default_ the lunatic-fringe-group meaning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523.md?page=6)