# How'd he do that? (Numbers with overbars) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 28, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278 "2014-07-28T21:27:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/1 "2014-07-28T21:27:47Z")
In the OP of this Pit thread: [7777777 and .999… == 1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=729358), **Stealth Potato** places a digit with a bar over it: > [@7777777 and .999... == 1](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7777777-and-999-1/693964/1): > > That 0.9̅ is another notation for 1 . . . My purposes in this ATMB thread are to investigate and ask: How’d he _do_ that? I find that I can duplicate the feat by copying-and-pasting from the original, and I can then edit that to produce other digits and other characters with overbars: But 0.8̅ isn’t another notation for 1 . . . But how does one create that notation in a post in the first place? I am further noticing that there are anomalies and inconsistencies in the placement of the overbar above the digits. Nor is 0.77̅7̅7̅7̅7̅7̅7̅ another notation for 1 . . . Nor is 0.7̅7̅7̅7̅7̅7̅7̅ another notation for 1 . . . Why the anomaly in the above line? 0.4̅4̅4̅4̅4̅4̅4̅4̅ 0.8̅ 0.7̅ 0.6̅ 0.5̅ 0.4̅ 0.3̅ 0.2̅ 0.1̅ 0.0̅ 0.a̅ 0.A̅ 0.z̅ 0.Z̅ Why is it inconsistent about the placement of the overbar above the character? (Note the placement above the digit 4 in the above lines, and above the 7 also.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/2 "2014-07-28T21:40:02Z")
I would like to save the above line with ALL the digits with overbars into a plain-text file, from which I can copy-and-paste it into posts as needed. This will be useful for all future discussions of the value of 0.999… or 0.9̅ as we may now write it. 0.9̅ 0.8̅ 0.7̅ 0.6̅ 0.5̅ 0.4̅ 0.3̅ 0.2̅ 0.1̅ 0.0̅ 0.a̅ 0.A̅ 0.z̅ 0.Z̅ As it appears in by plain-text file, the overbar is NOT over the digit, but next to it like this: 0.9 ̅ 0.8 ̅ 0.7 ̅ 0.6 ̅ 0.5 ̅ 0.4 ̅ 0.3 ̅ 0.2 ̅ 0.1 ̅ 0.0 ̅ 0.a ̅ 0.A ̅ 0.z ̅ 0.Z ̅ Nevertheless, copying-and-pasting it into this post seems to work. Go figure. I still wonder how **Stealth Potato** did it in the first place. By direct keyboard entry of the Unicode? Looking at the HTML Source View, it appears as ̅ immediately following the digit. But you can’t just type it in that way, and 773 isn’t the right way to enter it at the keyboard. When I try that, I just get: ݳ which doesn’t look right at all. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/3 "2014-07-28T22:34:53Z")
The bar does not show up on my phone. (Android with Chrome) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/4 "2014-07-28T22:40:17Z")
OSX Mavericks and Firefox here. The overbar shows up, but only barely: It’s really hard to see on most digits. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/5 "2014-07-29T00:32:54Z")
Firefox here… Looks like a 1 to me. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/6 "2014-07-29T00:55:21Z")
For me, the overbars are showing up in Chrome (on my PC), but not in Internet Explorer, where I’m just seeing the box-looking character that shows up when it doesn’t know how to display a character. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/7 "2014-07-29T01:01:33Z")
Same for me. No overbars in IE - just little WTF boxes from the dregs of some character set. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/8 "2014-07-29T01:17:51Z")
They show up in Firefox. I don’t know how they’re made though. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/9 "2014-07-29T03:39:09Z")
Showing up just fine on Safari on an iPad, and in Chrome on my whateveritis laptop. The HTML is no more illuminating regardless of where I look from. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/10 "2014-07-29T04:23:35Z")
My second post inadvertently seems to show how it’s done. I typed ampersand pound-sign 773 semicolon expecting it to appear in the post as ampersand pound-sign 773 semicolon because the vBulletin code, as far as I’ve ever known, fixes the text that way. But in my post (#2) above, that actually showed up as an overbar character, and it was on top of the blank space just before it. Lemme try that again, just so’s I can better believe me eyes: 1̅ 2̅ 3̅ 4̅ 5̅ 6̅ etc. On my broswer (older version of Linux, older version of Gnome, older version of Firefox) the overbars show up almos just fine, except it’s a little inconsistent about just how far above the digit it appears – mostly, clearly above the digit, but sometimes it’s sitting right on top of the digit without any pixels separating them. For digits with flat tops like 5 and 7, then overbar becomes barely visible in that case. All you folks who can’t see it, what does it look like in **Stealth Potato** ’s OP, which I linked in Post #1 above? Is it just a blob there too? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/11 "2014-07-29T13:12:41Z")
I see it in Chrome but not IE10 (Windows 7). ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/12 "2014-07-29T17:03:55Z")
So I guess the conclusion for me and **Stealth Potato** is that we should avoid doing this, the better to accommodate those benighted users who are still stuck with IE and certain other browsers. Oh well. It was, after all, a clever thought, wasn’t it, to use the actual mathematical notation for a mathematical discussion, wasn’t it. Too bad. Now, if only we could embed Teχ into our posts! Just think of the interminable discussions, just as interminable as 0.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999… that we could have then. Okay, so maybe it’s just as well we can’t. Shame. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/13 "2014-07-29T17:31:03Z")
̆v̆ ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/14 "2014-07-29T18:17:20Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > ̆v̆ Works for me – I see the letter v with a [breve](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breve) symbol over it. I would guess the all the same users who can see my overbar symbols are the ones who can see this. And the users who can’t, can’t, amirite? BTW, looking at the HTML source for this, I see: ampersand pound-sign 774 semicolon twice in there: Once just before the “v” and once just after. (Did you knowingly type it like that yourself, **njtt**?) But I only see one breve symbol in your post, above the v. But in this text input box where I am composing this post, I see it twice (before and above the v). Go figure. ETA: So, shall we all join hands and agree that 0.9̆ ≈ 1 ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/15 "2014-07-29T20:43:09Z")
I guess rendering of Unicode combining characters is still too difficult for some browsers! Works fine for me on Chrome and Firefox on Linux, but the overbar totally fails to appear on Android Chrome. Gosh, guys, it’s only been a standard for, what, two decades? :smack: Unicode isn’t entirely faultless here though; they have separate characters for digits inside _five_ different styles of circle, but no precomposed digits-with-overbars. There’s even a gorram _cat face_ Unicode symbol (U+1F431, 🐈 ) but no lined digits. There _is_ a CSS style for overline, but unfortunately there is no way to use it in a post. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/16 "2014-07-29T22:07:16Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > ̆v̆ Bottom boob and a very small waist? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/17 "2014-07-29T22:31:57Z")
In the OP’s overbars, they appear on my screen to be just about even with the top of the digit character, and slightly fainter, with the net result for most of them looking like a digit with a Frankenstein skull. In **njtt** ’s breve-V post, I see two sharp and clear breve symbols, one directly over the V as it (presumably) should be, and one to the left of it and actually extending outside the frame of the post. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/18 "2014-07-30T01:04:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In the OP’s overbars, they appear on my screen to be just about even with the top of the digit character, and slightly fainter, with the net result for most of them looking like a digit with a Frankenstein skull. In **njtt** ’s breve-V post, I see two sharp and clear breve symbols, one directly over the V as it (presumably) should be, and one to the left of it and actually extending outside the frame of the post. Well, you know what they say is the great thing about standards – that there are so many to choose from. But some of the oddball results being described in this thread seem to display an absence of any standards whatever! My overbars are _mostly_ clearly above the digits, but some (just a few) of them (and it’s inconsistent which ones) are the way **Chronos** describes. **njtt** ’s v-breve definitely has _two_ breve HTML codes ( & #774; ), one before the v and one after it. But as displayed by my browser, only the second of these (the one after the v) is displayed, above the v. The first one just isn’t shown. Except when I quoted it a few posts above, in the input text box, both appear. That’s probably because it’s the first non-blank thing in the post, and there’s _nothing before it_ and I suppose browsers differ on how to deal with _that._ ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/19 "2014-07-31T16:54:34Z")
I see the overbars high enough to be distinct, but lagging behind the digit somewhat. I see two breves over the V, but lined up with the top corners of the V, not offset. I’m viewing in Chrome. ```auto _ 0.99 ``` That should work in all browsers, but has the disadvantage of requiring the code tag and using blank lines above the numbers. Plus, composing is tricky. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howd-he-do-that-numbers-with-overbars/694278/20 "2014-07-31T17:59:08Z")
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