# The Number of the Beast... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812 "2010-03-25T23:27:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/21 "2010-03-26T14:30:57Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:2, topic:533812”] [moderating] Thread moved from General Questions to MPSIMS. [/moderating] [/QUOTE] I received an interesting report (someone clicking the “report this post” button) complaining that the forum move was inappropriate, given that a GQ response to this question is, indeed, possible. Just for the record, let me quote the OP: > [@DickP](#): > > I remember hearing something on the radio a few years ago to the effect that biblical scholars had determined that Satan’s zipcode isn’t 666, but some other number. Just in case nobody noticed, he’s asking about ZIP codes, which isn’t the mark of a serious Biblical thread. **DickP** hasn’t checked back in on his thread, and didn’t post it in Great Debates. Looks like some lighthearted fun to me. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/22 "2010-03-26T15:04:56Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I once bought a few items and the total came to $6.66. The cashier was horrified and tried to get mw to buy something else to changw the total. I refused and counted out six dollar bills, six dimes and six pennies and handed them to her. > > She was literally shaking, either from fright or being pissed off. You should have said, "Do you accept…My DARK MASTER card? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/23 "2010-03-26T15:06:07Z")
The zip code in Hell, MI starts with 481. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/24 "2010-03-26T15:06:47Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:2, topic:533812”] Not sure about the zipcode, but I know that 668 is the neighbor of the beast. [/QUOTE] …and 665 is across the street from the beast. ---
**Author:** ![DickP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DickP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DickP)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/25 "2010-03-26T15:24:51Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:21, topic:533812”] I received an interesting report (someone clicking the “report this post” button) complaining that the forum move was inappropriate, given that a GQ response to this question is, indeed, possible. Just for the record, let me quote the OP: Just in case nobody noticed, he’s asking about ZIP codes, which isn’t the mark of a serious Biblical thread. **DickP** hasn’t checked back in on his thread, and didn’t post it in Great Debates. Looks like some lighthearted fun to me. [/QUOTE] Geez, if I wasn’t offended by the forum move, don’t know why anyone else would be… And you all nailed it, it was a RadioLab snippit I heard about the 666/616 controversy - I remember them joking about how all the Church of Satan groupies were going to have to get their tattoos altered… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/26 "2010-03-26T15:25:43Z")
I actually know someone named Damion who has 666 in his phone number. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/27 "2010-03-26T15:53:05Z")
My sister’s telephone number ends in 666, nice and easy to remember. Oh, and 25.806975801 is the root of all evil. It doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue in the same way though. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/28 "2010-03-26T18:12:26Z")
As someone upthread mentioned, 666 are the beginning numbers in the zipcodes of Topeka, Kansas. I ought to know, I live there! And my church was picketed by Fred and Co. last Sunday! But Fred has said that it’s merely a sign that Topeka is already doomed. He also points to the motto for Topeka, “The Golden City” as being the same as the reference to Babylon in Revelations. And the mascot of Washburn University here in Topeka is the Ichabod, and said name in the Old Testament meant “the glory of God has departed” ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/29 "2010-03-26T18:47:52Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > My sister’s telephone number ends in 666, nice and easy to remember. > > Oh, and 25.806975801 is the root of all evil. It doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue in the same way though. IANAMG (I Am Not A Math Geek) but isn’t that the **square** root of all evil? Isnt’ that different than just “root”? (Please elucidate, I’d like to know about this.) > [@Baker](#): > > But Fred has said that it’s merely a sign that Topeka is already doomed. He also points to the motto for Topeka, “The Golden City” as being the same as the reference to Babylon in Revelations. Gee, I had no idea that Babylon had a city motto! “Come to Babylon, ‘The Golden City’!” Boosts tourism, I guess. Was there a sign as you came into the city [Babylon]? And, nit, it’s Revelatio **n** , no “s”. Unless you’re quoting Phelps, history has shown he’s not a man to be reasoned with. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/30 "2010-03-26T19:52:29Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I once bought a few items and the total came to $6.66. The cashier was horrified and tried to get mw to buy something else to changw the total. I refused and counted out six dollar bills, six dimes and six pennies and handed them to her. > > She was literally shaking, either from fright or being pissed off. That’s the beginning of a short story right there. I want to know about the rest of the cashier’s day now. Or yours. See anything in the mirror that wasn’t there when you turned around or anything? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/31 "2010-03-26T20:02:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I once bought a few items and the total came to $6.66. The cashier was horrified and tried to get mw to buy something else to changw the total. I refused and counted out six dollar bills, six dimes and six pennies and handed them to her. > > She was literally shaking, either from fright or being pissed off. I was playing three card poker at one of the casinos in Tunica some time ago, and was dealt 6S, 6C, 6D. Trips! AKA Three of a Kind, a 30-1 payout. One of the people at the table saw that, looked sorta queasy, and made some religious sounding comment. Having just won $300 on a $10 bet (+ other amounts on the other bets on the hand), I smiled and told her I’d give her half for her soul… She gathered her chips and left the table. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/32 "2010-03-27T00:26:36Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > …and 665 is across the street from the beast. Ah. I see you’ve encountered the telephone system of Whitby, Ontario. 🙂 Originally, the town had numbers in the 668 exchange (central office code). That is, Whitby phone numbers were of the form (416) 668 XXXX, later (905) 668 XXXX after the split of area code 416 around 1994. Sometime in the late seventies or early eighties, they added the 666 exchange. Someone probably told us of the 666 symbolism, but we considered it a kooky belief, laughed, and forgot about it. There were always the weirdos on the east side of town who were telephonically served from Oshawa, and therefore had a 430 number, but in many ways they were more residents of Oshawa anyways. (Oshawa exchanges tended to be of the form 43x.) After I left for university, Whitby acquired the 665 exchange. Still later, Whitby acquired ten-digit dialing and an overlay area code, 289. We dropped the brackets and wrote the numbers as 905-XXX-XXXX or 289-XXX-XXXX. Now Whitby has exchanges 220, 278, 483, 638, 893, and 989 in the 289 area code, plus exchanges 217, 430, 444, 493, 556, 665, 666, and 668 in the 905 area code. It’s safew to say that any telephonic Satanicity has been greatly diluted. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/33 "2010-03-27T12:09:32Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > IANAMG (I Am Not A Math Geek) but isn’t that the **square** root of all evil? Isnt’ that different than just “root”? (Please elucidate, I’d like to know about this.) Technically, I don’t think it’s correct to say ‘root’ without specifying which one (square, cube, etc.), but informally ‘root’ will normally be understood as ‘square root’. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/34 "2010-03-27T13:25:42Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I once bought a few items and the total came to $6.66. The cashier was horrified and tried to get mw to buy something else to changw the total. I refused and counted out six dollar bills, six dimes and six pennies and handed them to her. > > She was literally shaking, either from fright or being pissed off. Same thing happened to my wife, only in reverse. The customer was freaked out that her breakfast cost 6.66, and wanted my wife to “change it” somehow. My wife responed, “OK, how about 6.67?” The woman was still freaked out. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [March 28, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/35 "2010-03-28T01:24:24Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > But Fred has said that it’s merely a sign that Topeka is already doomed. He also points to the motto for Topeka, “The Golden City” as being the same as the reference to Babylon in Revelations. And the mascot of Washburn University here in Topeka is the Ichabod, and said name in the Old Testament meant “the glory of God has departed” Silly Phred! The Golden City is Jerusalem, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/36 "2010-03-28T02:10:44Z")
I think the 666/616 change made the biggest news on NPR’s “Wait Wait” show. May 28, 2005. [Link to Wait Wait show topics](http://closedsrc.org/_apps/waitwaitstats/) On that show they revealed that they accidentally stated that Beelzebub could now be found in Grand Rapids, MI. However, George W. Bush happened to be there during the show. It was awesome. The 616/666 news made it into 3 consecutive shows. ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/37 "2010-03-30T00:48:56Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I once bought a few items and the total came to $6.66. The cashier was horrified … I had the same number come up on the tab at a restaurant. The cashier rang it up, and said, “The total is Six dollars and…”. He didn’t freak, but he wouldn’t say the rest of it. He took my money with no problem, though. Makes you wish you had cat-eye contact lenses, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/38 "2010-03-30T04:19:26Z")
[Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)’s listing for Heinlein’s _The Number of the Beast_ omdocates thjat approximately 67% of people using the page order that book. Anyone want to guess what the number is with two orders of greater precision? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/39 "2010-03-30T09:57:15Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Every once in a while, the media trots out something that’s been known for years as a new earthshaking discovery. > > Now here’s the usual explanation for the difference- The writer had Nero in mind as either The Beast or a model for The Beast. Nero Caesar in Hebrew is spelled > N-RO K-S-R, which is 616 using the Hebrew alphabet as a number code. It’s also spelled N-RON K-S-R, which is 666. There’s an Enron joke in there somewhere, but I can’t come up with anything for KSR. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/40 "2010-03-30T11:15:06Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Same thing happened to my wife, only in reverse. The customer was freaked out that her breakfast cost 6.66, and wanted my wife to “change it” somehow. My wife responed, “OK, how about 6.67?” The woman was still freaked out. :rolleyes: During the recording of Iron Maiden’s _Number of the Beast_ album, producer Martin Birch was involved in a minor car accident. The repair bill was £666. He refused to pay it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812.md?page=3)