# Poll: favorite numbers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130 "2009-09-07T02:03:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/41 "2009-09-10T20:00:24Z")
I like e for several reasons: [ol] [li]it’s the second most well-known famous irrational number right after pi but it gets little respect from the general public ;[/li][li]people are always trying to break records with finding the digits of pi or memorizing pi, but you never hear about this happening with e; when someone tells you “I’ve memorized 100 digits of pi” you can counter with “well I’ve memorized 20 digits of e, can you beat that?” No one ever can.[/li][li]e is irrational but starts like this 2.718281828 so at first glance it looks like it might actually be a rational number; it’s sneakier that way, with pi it’s immediately obvious to the newbie that it probably won’t repeat.[/li][li]e was “discovered” by Jacob Bernoulli who’s from Switzerland like me. And it was given its name “e” by another Swiss mathematician, Euler. in our math class in high school our teacher called it “Euler’s number”[/li][/ol] I could go on and on, but I hope that I’ve convinced a few of you to add “e” to your list of favourites. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/42 "2009-09-10T20:02:34Z")
Those of you enamoured with the number 7, you do know, don’t you, that all the other numbers are afraid of 7! You know why? Because 7 8 9!!! ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/43 "2009-09-10T20:05:05Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > Those of you enamoured with the number 7, you do know, don’t you, that all the other numbers are afraid of 7! You know why? Because 7 8 9!!! Clever! My favorite number has always been twelve. I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/44 "2009-09-10T20:06:04Z")
[Numberwang](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=numberwang&search_type=&aq=f) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/45 "2009-09-10T20:07:43Z")
When I was a little kid, I won a chocolate cake in a “Wheel of Fortune” type carnival game, by picking the number 9. So, logically or not, I’ve always thought of 9 as my “lucky number” ever since. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/46 "2009-09-10T20:08:19Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I thought everyone would have said 8 already. How can you not love 8? I remember when I learned how to make the number 8 in kindergarten, I filled up whole sheets with it, because I loved how it looped through itself. I still like making the number 8! I used to hate 8 because it meant that 7 was over. And also I had such trouble learning to write 8. I would always do the 3 and then do a backwards 3 and it looked so ugly trying to match them up to make the damn 8. And then I tried the two circles method and it still looked kinda ugly, even if it was fun (it’s like building a snowman!) and then I got to a different school when i was younger, and just watched people easily do 8’s, and figured out finally what I was doing wrong… You had to LOOP the damn thing! :smack: Man, I felt so stupid, and even then, my 8’s would always lean a little bit to the left or right. I hated it. Even now though, if I ever draw a good 8, I feel a little proud of myself. Or I’ll sometimes just do the “build a snowman method” cuz it makes me smile. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/47 "2009-09-10T20:44:42Z")
I don’t think I’m a synesthete but I’ve always liked 4 and I don’t know why. I also like Thursdays. And of course, 42 and 666 for the usual reasons. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/48 "2009-09-10T20:48:04Z")
> [@Stauderhorse](#): > > And you were the 23rd reply. 😃 also her 123rd post :eek: ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/49 "2009-09-10T20:55:45Z")
My favorite is 47. It just feels like the friendliest number for me. That sounds dumb, I know. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/50 "2009-09-10T21:06:31Z")
My favorite is nine. I’d like to pick eight but it’s just too perfectly round and symmetrical and divisible and I only deserve something round and divisible with a little imperfection in the bottom left-hand corner. Plus, nine is a slate blue and eight is orange-red, and I like the blueness better. Yes, I am insane, why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/51 "2009-09-11T02:15:28Z")
Insane? No, just a synesthete. My 9 is blue, too- navy blue. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/52 "2009-09-11T14:35:38Z")
> **[Synesthesia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia)** > > Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme–color synesthesia or color–graphemic synesthesia, letters o Little is k... Hmm…I don’t literally see the numbers on the page in different colors–that would be interesting! It’s only in my mind’s eye. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/53 "2009-09-11T16:25:31Z")
If you see it physically, that’s projected synesthesia. If you only see it in your mind, that’s associative synesthesia. Still valid. (I actually project colors for letters and numbers. It’s kinda weird). ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/54 "2009-09-11T17:50:59Z")
I like odd numbers better than even ones. My favorite numbers are 7, 9, and 11–7 and 9 because I like their colors (purple and black, respectively) and 11 because it’s my “lucky” number (there are many 11’s associated with my life including birth date (11/11) and my parent’s anniversary (1/11). I am a color-grapheme synesthete; I don’t really associate “personalities” with numbers per se, but I do tend to perceive even numbers as “softer” than odd numbers (maybe because many even numbers are more rounded). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/55 "2009-09-11T18:28:02Z")
Yep, 7 is very sharp. It’s also an acidy neon green to me, a sharp color, so it’s not a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/56 "2009-09-12T16:12:07Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > [Synesthesia - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia) > > Hmm…I don’t literally see the numbers on the page in different colors–that would be interesting! It’s only in my mind’s eye. Right, me too. 1 is dark gray. 2 is yellow. 3 is reddish. 4 is light blue. 5 is brownish. 6 is green–and so on. With double digits it becomes more complicated, but 11 is still dark gray, 12 is gray and yellow, 13 is orange–sort of. The colors sort of break down the longer the numerals get. Does that happen with anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/57 "2009-09-14T20:23:43Z")
Yeah, I really only see the single digits, and maybe 11 is a cream color. Higher than that I don’t see them that way. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/58 "2009-09-15T16:00:25Z")
Maybe I should start a general synesthesia thread? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/59 "2009-09-15T16:03:01Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Maybe I should start a general synesthesia thread? Search around a bit–I’m sure there have been several in the past (not sure how long ago, though). ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130/60 "2009-09-15T16:05:47Z")
I’ve always loved the number 3. It’s crunchy, smells of fresh-cut grass, and sounds like yodeling. Oh yeah, and gives off a throbbing light. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favorite-numbers/509130.md?page=4)