# Poll: What is the FIRST thing you think of when you read: "No. 2" (no other context)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183 "2011-05-25T18:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/1 "2011-05-25T18:00:40Z")
This is pretty Mundane and Pointless, but all polls live in IMHO, so here we are. Did scanning the list of choices cause one to snap into place for you, or did you really have one leap immediately to mind? ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/2 "2011-05-25T18:04:33Z")
A few seconds too late, I realized I should have included a few prominent sports players associated with #2, such as Derek Jeter. Bet that gets a few answers, especially from the Yankee fans. ---
**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 25, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/3 "2011-05-25T18:08:37Z")
I voted “something else” because I had a few things pop into my head basically simultaneously. - The afore mentioned ‘pile of poo’ - Even though Riker was No. 1 on the Enterprise, I heard the words ‘Number Two’ in Patrick Stewart’s voice. - Similarly, I heard it like the Beatles tune off the White Album: "Number two . . . . number two . . . number two . . . " So, it was really all three of those simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/4 "2011-05-25T18:12:14Z")
I thought “Commander Riker” but then I realized he’s “Number One”. Then I saw the options and thought “Poo”. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/5 "2011-05-25T18:12:53Z")
God, I AM a geek. I voted the reference from The Prisoner. \ ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/6 "2011-05-25T18:18:37Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > God, I AM a geek. > I voted the reference from The Prisoner. > > \ That was the second thing that occurred to me, after a pile of poo. ---
**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 25, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/7 "2011-05-25T18:20:32Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > A few seconds too late, I realized I should have included a few prominent sports players associated with #2, such as Derek Jeter. Bet that gets a few answers, especially from the Yankee fans. You have that option covered under “pile of poo.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/8 "2011-05-25T18:33:26Z")
I voted a pile of poo, but maybe it’s because I need to make one right now. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/9 "2011-05-25T18:40:37Z")
Voted something else, because while what I think of is on the poll, it’s not possible to vote for it, since two things hit my brain more or less simultaneously. I think ‘I need context to know if they’re talking about poop or the Prisoner…or, I guess they may be talking about something else.’ ---
**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:** [May 25, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/10 "2011-05-25T19:11:11Z")
I thought of the main assistant to the evil henchman in a movie. I don’t know where that came from. Is there a popular movie where one of the bad guys is named “No. 2”? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/11 "2011-05-25T19:17:21Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > I thought of the main assistant to the evil henchman in a movie. I don’t know where that came from. Is there a popular movie where one of the bad guys is named “No. 2”? I thought of that scene in Austin Powers: “Who does No. 2 work for?” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/12 "2011-05-25T19:30:11Z")
I think of the word “no” and the number “2”. I have never been able to get used to No. as an abbreviation for number. Number 2 is fine, #2 is peachy, No. 2 is weird. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/13 "2011-05-25T19:43:04Z")
That particular spelling “No. 2” really makes me think of pencils. If you had spelled it differently, or if I had heard it rather than reading it, I might have had different associations. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/14 "2011-05-25T19:48:37Z")
Avis: we’re number 2 but we try harder! Somehow old commercials are stuck in my head today… ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/15 "2011-05-25T21:41:14Z")
A pencil, but only because of how it’s abbreviated. “No. 2” = think of pencil “number two” = think of poop ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/16 "2011-05-25T21:44:40Z")
Am I missing something obvious here? I looked at it and thought, “Number 2”. Thats the first thing. Surely all this stuff about Riker, and goo, and the prisoner would be the second thing thought off? ---
**Author:** ![RainGrowsBrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RainGrowsBrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainGrowsBrite)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/17 "2011-05-25T21:45:25Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > - Even though Riker was No. 1 on the Enterprise, I heard the words ‘Number Two’ in Patrick Stewart’s voice. THIS!!! ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/18 "2011-05-25T21:52:56Z")
No. 2 makes me think of the second in a series of something, but “No. 2” is poop. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/19 "2011-05-25T21:59:26Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I thought of that scene in Austin Powers: “Who does No. 2 work for?” That’s it, I was remembering No. 2 from Austin Powers. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183/20 "2011-05-26T02:22:48Z")
I thought of “The Prisoner” first, then a pile of poo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-is-the-first-thing-you-think-of-when-you-read-no-2-no-other-context/583183.md?page=2)