# Fahrenheit four-five-one or four fifty one? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519 "2008-05-16T03:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/1 "2008-05-16T03:44:30Z")
I had always called Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit four-five-one. I was born and raised in England, if that matters. My son, at high school in the US, has been taught Fahrenheit four fifty one. Which do you say? Is there a geographical difference.? Google searches show 643 occurrences of four fifty one and 624 of four-five-one, so probably a statistical tie. According to [this interview](http://www.geocities.com/area51/zone/9923/ibrad.html), Bradbury himself called it four fifty one, but later changed to four five one. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/2 "2008-05-16T03:53:27Z")
Four fifty one. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/3 "2008-05-16T03:57:38Z")
four five one is an area code. four fifty one is a numerical value. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/4 "2008-05-16T04:04:26Z")
Four fifty-one here. Never heard it any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Ducktail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@Ducktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ducktail)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/5 "2008-05-16T04:13:07Z")
I’ve only ever heard four-five-one. That’s definitely how we were saying it when I read it for class sophomore year of high school. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/6 "2008-05-16T04:17:31Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] Four fifty-one here. Never heard it any other way. [/QUOTE] Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/7 "2008-05-16T04:25:32Z")
Since the title refers to a temperature, and thus a specific numerical value, why not four fifty-one? The only reason I usually see to pronounce numbers as each individual digit is if it’s a serial number or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/8 "2008-05-16T04:28:50Z")
[QUOTE=Leaper] Since the title refers to a temperature, and thus a specific numerical value, why not four fifty-one? The only reason I usually see to pronounce numbers as each individual digit is if it’s a serial number or something like that. [/QUOTE] Although I’ve never heard it referred to as such, why wouldn’t it be “Fahrenheit Four Hundred Fifty-One”? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/9 "2008-05-16T04:30:24Z")
I learned the pronunciation from Bradbury himself, 35 or so years ago. Four Fifty One. Anything else is revisionism, even from Ray. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/10 "2008-05-16T04:39:55Z")
Doesn’t the opening narration in the movie use “Fahrenheit Four Five One”? I would swear to it, but surprisingly enough, YouTube doesn’t have a video of the opening titles. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/11 "2008-05-16T05:42:29Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Although I’ve never heard it referred to as such, why wouldn’t it be “Fahrenheit Four Hundred Fifty-One”? [/QUOTE] I’ve wondered that myself. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/12 "2008-05-16T07:34:41Z")
Another vote for “Fahrenheit four fifty-one.” If somebody asks me my weight, I’m more likely to say “one seventy-five” than “one hundred seventy-five,” but I certainly wouldn’t say “one seven five.” ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/13 "2008-05-16T07:52:01Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Although I’ve never heard it referred to as such, why wouldn’t it be “Fahrenheit Four Hundred Fifty-One”? [/QUOTE] Why, that’s what I call it. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2008, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/14 "2008-05-16T09:46:39Z")
I’ve always said “four hundred and fifty one”, because leaving out the “and” would make me sound American, and a get enough flack for the “Math” habit I’ve picked up. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/15 "2008-05-16T11:00:54Z")
Another four fifty-one here - born and raised in NW PA, 12 years in VA, 2 years in Maine, 2 years in San Diego, 10 years in New Orleans/MS and 7 years in Seattle, and I’ve never heard it called four five one before this thread. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2008, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/16 "2008-05-16T11:14:41Z")
Fahrenheit four hundred fifty one is how I always said it. I’ll try to remember Fahrenheit four fifty one is the way it was meant to be. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/17 "2008-05-16T11:14:45Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Although I’ve never heard it referred to as such, why wouldn’t it be “Fahrenheit Four Hundred Fifty-One”? [/QUOTE] I have never heard it pronounced that way either, but surprisingly Google gives 649 references, which edges it slightly ahead of the other two. “Fahrenheit four hundred and fifty one” gets only 22. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/18 "2008-05-16T11:15:57Z")
In the UK, I’ve only ever heard it as ‘four five one’. In fact, until I read the OP, I had never heard it any other way… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/19 "2008-05-16T12:26:51Z")
I’ve only heard is as four five one. That was how it was pronounced in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519/20 "2008-05-16T12:41:25Z")
Four five one here. Four fifty-one seems to make no sense: it would be four hundred and fifty one. I think this is standard this side of the Atlantic: 22 Squadron is not twenty-two but two two, and 633 Squadron was six three three, not six thirty-three. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-four-five-one-or-four-fifty-one/449519.md?page=2)