What are there exactly 409 of? It’s such a weird number it’s impossible to guess. Which is kind of the point.
While I was enjoying this thread started by Tell Me I’m Not Crazy, I realised you can type “There are x” into Google, where x is any weird or arbitrary number you like, and see if there are any matches. ‘Weirnos’ is my term for ‘weird numbers’.
For example, would you think there are precisely 409 of anything? Well, there are. It seems there are 409 bridges connecting the 118 islands of Venice, and 409 households in Lockwood, Missouri.
What about 227 (another number I just picked at random). Turns out there are exactly 227 “rules for the male monastics in the Theravadin tradition.” And also “227 kinds of Tibetan drugs collected in Zang Yao Biao Zhun (Standard for Tibet Drugs)”.
What about 331? Who would have guessed there are exactly 331 baronies in Ireland, and 331 ports and wharves for ships (0ver 10,00 tons) in the Heilongjiang province.
I find the combinations of hits pretty weird. A numerologist should have a field day. Why is the universe arranged so that the number of households in Lockwood equals the number of bridges in Venice?
You can combine this with Googlewhacking. Is there any number you can enter as “There are x” into Google and only get a single hit?