# Lost 1.18 "Numbers" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600 "2005-03-02T15:48:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**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:** [March 3, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/181 "2005-03-03T20:48:47Z")
> [@sj2](#): > > Dude, Pandora (Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1869) TOTALLY looks like Hurley holding a battery. Dude. Seroiusly. šŸ˜ƒ A particularly feminine one, butā€¦dude, it does! šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/182 "2005-03-03T20:49:47Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > A lot of boxesā€¦ > ā€œYouā€™ve opened the box!ā€ > (Pandoraā€™s box?) > Hurley ownes a box company in Tustin > Locke works for the box company > Locke? Box? Lockbox? > Is the metal object a box? I want to get into Kateā€™sā€¦whoa! :eek: Anyone catch Sawyer calling Walt ā€œShort Roundā€? šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/183 "2005-03-03T20:51:17Z")
> [@sj2](#): > > Dude, Pandora (Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1869) TOTALLY looks like Hurley holding a battery. Dude. Seroiusly. šŸ˜ƒ Dude, I totally missed that. [She has Hurley hair](http://www.physics.hku.hk/~tboyce/image_gifs/pandora.jpg). (Wasnā€™t he wearing it that way in this episode?) ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/184 "2005-03-03T20:57:11Z")
Careful, folks. Weā€™re about to go over our ā€œdudeā€ ration for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/185 "2005-03-03T20:59:52Z")
> [@watsonwil](#): > > - I loved the end of Hurleyā€™s patience. ā€œIā€™m getting me some answers!ā€ Did anyone else yell ā€œAMEN, BROTHER!ā€ at the top of their lungs after this speech? Itā€™s nice of the writers to acknowledge once in a while that they know theyā€™re driving us nuts. As for the numbers, well, all I know is that if I were a writer, Iā€™d pick a completely random, meaningless sequence of numbers, put them out there, and laugh my ass off at all the dorks on the internet trying to find meanings for them. (Is it worth mentioning that the numbers are listed in order of value, from smallest to largest? I wonder why that is.) And I thought the humor of Hurleyā€™s bad luck flashbacks worked. Hurley is, more than anyone else, the comic relief of the show. It fits that his flashbacks were humorous, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/186 "2005-03-03T21:18:04Z")
And another thing (Iā€™m having a hell of a time posting this right now - the hamsters are on break or something): If a guy at a listening post in Australia was able to pick up the numbers transmission with no special effort, why has no one apparently picked up the distress call thatā€™s been playing for 16 years on the exact same tower?? The first part of that pretty seriously implies that the island is physically located here on Earth, and theyā€™re not in some other dimension or Purgatory or what have you. IMHO, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/187 "2005-03-03T21:23:41Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > And another thing (Iā€™m having a hell of a time posting this right now - the hamsters are on break or something): > > If a guy at a listening post in Australia was able to pick up the numbers transmission with no special effort, why has no one apparently picked up the distress call thatā€™s been playing for 16 years on the exact same tower?? > > The first part of that pretty seriously implies that the island is physically located here on Earth, and theyā€™re not in some other dimension or Purgatory or what have you. IMHO, naturally. Actually, he heard it somewhere in the Pacific. He and the guy who ended up at the hospital were stationed there. He got out of the service and got married, then he used the numbers to win the bean contest. At that point the bad luck started and he moved to Australia to get away from it. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/188 "2005-03-03T21:24:37Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > If a guy at a listening post in Australia was able to pick up the numbers transmission with no special effort, why has no one apparently picked up the distress call thatā€™s been playing for 16 years on the exact same tower?? They never said the listening post was in Australia. That is just where Tom ended up. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/189 "2005-03-03T21:24:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I agree, except for the white light part. I think the last shot will be Boone and Locke climbing down into the hatch, and Locke taking a final look around the outsideā€¦his head disappearsā€¦ā€œTo Be Continuedā€¦ā€ šŸ˜ƒ Actually, I have heard (and I donā€™t know how accurate this is) that the last shot of the season will be exactly the same as the first shot of the seasonā€¦Jackā€™s open eye, falling into the pupil. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/190 "2005-03-03T21:28:02Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > If a guy at a listening post in Australia was able to pick up the numbers transmission with no special effort, why has no one apparently picked up the distress call thatā€™s been playing for 16 years on the exact same tower?? My swags: - Numbers were coded, voice transmission is analog and possibly weaker - CFL degraded the signal strength during the process of trying to hack into the system and change the message - Whatever power source that runs the transmission is weakening - Transmission is focused very narrowly (microwave?) and can travel a long distance in a tight path but does not broadcast to a wide area (imagine a spoke verses a wheel) Since the island is the source there me some short range leakage broadcast. CFL may have inadvertently or purposefully redirected the beam path. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/191 "2005-03-03T21:29:39Z")
Or dumb luck. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/192 "2005-03-03T21:29:40Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > If a guy at a listening post in Australia was able to pick up the numbers transmission with no special effort, why has no one apparently picked up the distress call thatā€™s been playing for 16 years on the exact same tower?? > > The first part of that pretty seriously implies that the island is physically located here on Earth, and theyā€™re not in some other dimension or Purgatory or what have you. IMHO, naturally. Well, itā€™s out in the middle of nowhere, basically. Sometimes the atmosphere can bounce transmissions a bit farther than they normally go, perhaps thatā€™s why he caught it that time. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/193 "2005-03-03T21:29:49Z")
And what **UncleRojelio** said ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/194 "2005-03-03T21:30:52Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > If a guy at a listening post in Australia was able to pick up the numbers transmission with no special effort, why has no one apparently picked up the distress call thatā€™s been playing for 16 years on the exact same tower?? Are we sure the listening post is in Australia? I donā€™t remember catching that. Either way, Samā€™s wife said that it was staticky (how the hell do you spell that?) and hard to hear, didnā€™t she? Itā€™s possible that Samā€™s the only one who ever heard it, because the transmission wasnā€™t powerful enough. Someone more familiar with radio waves can come along and either back me up or totally deflate me, but canā€™t atmospheric conditions improve or retard reception? Say itā€™s late at night and the whateversphere is lower, therefore radio waves bounce farther ā€¦ and Sam just happens to be pointing his antenna in _exactly_ the right spot as heā€™s eating dinner and his fork hits a silver filling ā€¦ Iā€™m totally making this up, of course. Itā€™s because Iā€™m _cursed_. _insert spooky music here_ ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/195 "2005-03-03T21:34:09Z")
Takes me all of _six minutes_ to formulate a reply, and not one, not two, but _six_ people beat me to it. Six minutes ā€¦ six people ā€¦ maybe we should investigate that ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/196 "2005-03-03T21:39:02Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > Are we sure the listening post is in Australia? Actually, we know for a fact that the listening post WASNā€™T in Australia. She specifically says they were stationed in the middle of the Pacific. (Although I guess you could argue that Australia is in the Pacific, but that would be reallllly stretching it) ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/197 "2005-03-03T21:44:29Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > but canā€™t atmospheric conditions improve or retard reception? [Sunspots](http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/sunspots.htm) too. I was looking for a numerical correlation with the 11 year sunspot cycle but didnā€™t see one right off hand. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/198 "2005-03-03T21:58:30Z")
Concerning noises and whispers in Pandoraā€™s Box, did anyone else notice the odd sounds during the close up of the hatch numbers? It was almost, but not quite, like jungle sounds. As tho the sounds were coming from inside, rather than being the ambient jungle background noise. Add to that whispers of the others, and weā€™ve got some serios voodoo inside that box. How many times has it been opened before? Is the illness related to the box? When are we gonna see a non pregnant Claire in a bikini? Weā€™ve seen the other three babes. Is Lockeā€™s obsession with the box related to his possible encounter with the TCM? Hurley losing $86,000.00 to Walt isnā€™t really a good indicator of lucks colliding. Drop in a bucket to him, good money to the kid, no harm either way. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/199 "2005-03-03T21:59:42Z")
Why is this thread titled ā€œLost 1.18 ā€˜Numbersā€™ā€ I just saw it for the first time, as an ā€œall newā€ episode, on March secondā€¦ Is some other area getting episodes months earlier than where I am? (LA area) -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600/200 "2005-03-03T22:01:45Z")
Itā€™s Season 1, Episode 18. It only aired last night, donā€™t worry. šŸ™‚ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-18-numbers/292600.md?page=11)