# "Eight, eight, the burning eight..."

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 5, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559 "2006-09-05T21:10:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559/1 "2006-09-05T21:10:23Z")

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Ok, I’ve been watching Tank Girl again. Having thoroughly sounded the depths of Dante in a previous thread I am left to ponder an even more troublesome poetic reference.

“Eight, eight, the burning eight.  
Between Sunday and Monday hangs a day so dark it will devastate.”

Origins? Or is this a Keslee original?

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**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559/2 "2006-09-07T20:46:51Z")

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[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya]

“Eight, eight, the burning eight.  
Between Sunday and Monday hangs a day so dark it will devastate.”  
Origins? Or is this a Keslee original?  
[/QUOTE]

It seems to be from the movie only:

[The Google Says…](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLH,GGLH:1969-53,GGLH:en&q=%22Eight%2c+eight%2c+the+burning+eight%22)

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559/3 "2006-09-07T23:37:33Z")

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The symbol 8 was used in The Postman and I thought it was close enough in name to be related in some apocalyptic sense. It was’nt though as it only related to the book and then the move. It was significant in the story in that it represented the apocolyptic agent. I find it likely is only something in Tank Girl.

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**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559/4 "2006-09-08T02:29:00Z")

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Then there’s the 1929 jazz record by [Luis Russell and his Burning Eight](http://www.redhotjazz.com/lrb8.html), a group out of Russell’s legendary big band. Somebody at OKeh Records was apparently reading some highfalutin’ books.

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**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559/5 "2006-09-08T02:37:21Z")

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[QUOTE=Beware of Doug]  
Somebody at OKeh Records was apparently reading some highfalutin’ books.  
[/QUOTE]  
:smack: Eejit, the OP didn’t SAY it came from Dante.

So I guess the record guy had access to 21st century television from the future.

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**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-eight-the-burning-eight/371559/6 "2006-09-08T06:27:34Z")

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Moved to CS.

- **xash**  
General Questions Moderator