# Whats the deal with the number 41? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2000, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874 "2000-07-26T05:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![douglas0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@douglas0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglas0)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/1 "2000-07-26T05:34:31Z")
Whats the deal with the number 41? Does it have any special meaning? I have seen it everywhere. Well in most places anyway. I have seen it in movies such as The Matrix and The Frighteners. I have also seen it in a random number generator that my friend tried to make. Thats when it started. The only number that would appear was 41. After that it became an inside joke. Then i started seeing it in movies and other places. Is it just because i am paying more attention to the number? Donald ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/2 "2000-07-26T05:47:45Z")
42 is the answer to the great question of life, the universe, and everything. welcome to the SDMB ---
**Author:** ![douglas0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@douglas0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglas0)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/3 "2000-07-26T05:53:33Z")
So its the meaning of life. How is that determined? Who comes up with these things? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/4 "2000-07-26T05:57:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by douglas0 \* > \*\*So its the meaning of life. How is that determined? Who comes up with these things? \*\* A large computer. A **very** large computer. And BTW, it’s not necessarily the meaning of life. It’s the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything. ---
**Author:** ![douglas0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@douglas0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglas0)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/5 "2000-07-26T06:00:04Z")
Ok. I think that guy messed up and put 42 but i get what he was sayin. What is this 41 business though? I need a bigger explanation. ---
**Author:** ![jessicala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@jessicala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessicala)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/6 "2000-07-26T06:12:15Z")
In Douglas Adams’s _Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ series, the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42. The trick is to ask the right question. \ ---
**Author:** ![douglas0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@douglas0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglas0)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/7 "2000-07-26T06:15:22Z")
So its 42. My question is whats the deal with 41? Not what the answer to the universe is. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/8 "2000-07-26T06:35:21Z")
If you believe that 41 appears more often than any other random number, why don’t you pick it for your lottery numbers? I personally think that many people’s lives are haunted by one number in particular. I happen see 237 everywhere I go. It was my old house number, my Cub Scout troop number, and the number of Chronos’s post count party, and I believe it was in the film _Stand By Me_. So in short, 41 is nothing special. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/9 "2000-07-26T08:04:18Z")
> [@](#): > > I have also seen it in a random number generator that my friend tried to make. Thats when it started. The only number that would appear was 41. Hey, I can write you a random number generator that only comes up with 37, does that make 37 a special number? Seriously, if the number had any cultural significance, I think someone would have brought it up by now. Sounds more like a selective memory thing for you specifically. That is, after you saw a random number generator come up with 41 a couple of times in a row (which can happen by chance, of course), you started noticing the number wherever you saw it. So it seems to you that it’s a common number. Personally, the only significance of the number 41 to me is that M41 is a very pretty star cluster just to the south of Sirius. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/10 "2000-07-26T08:28:54Z")
You are all missing the point entirely. It is so obvious, I’m amazed that the thread has gone on this long. Think about it: 41 divides into 666 16.24 times! Can that possibly be coincidence? The irony is that 16.24 has absolutely no mathematical significance! Doug has hit upon the ‘41’ clue, so widely referred to in the Bible! ---
**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/11 "2000-07-26T08:40:51Z")
I suggest you read up in the [Skeptic’s Dictionary](http://www.skepdic.com). Suggested reading: [Self-deception](http://www.skepdic.com/selfdeception.html) [Selective thinking](http://www.skepdic.com/selectiv.html) [Confirmation bias](http://www.skepdic.com/confirmbias.html) In short, you probably don’t see the number 41 more than is normal, you just started to notice it and then your mind focused on it. A great example is new words. Quite often I’ll hear a word I’ve never heard before, look it up to find out what it means, and then I’ll hear or read it several times in the next few months. It’s spooky, but I’ve never done an experiment to prove it’s anything other than chance, so I assume it’s just coincidence. And yes, Virginia, there is such thing as coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/12 "2000-07-26T08:51:01Z")
If you were a trekkie and you were seeing a lot of 47s, it would not be a coincidence. But you’re not, so dont mind me… [http://www.ozemail.com.au/~davidml/st-47/](http://www.ozemail.com.au/~davidml/st-47/) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/13 "2000-07-26T14:46:07Z")
And, PLEASE! let’s not pretend that Douglas Adams invented 42 as the Answer. The number 42 appears frequently through Lewis Carroll’s ALICE books and in the HUNTING OF THE SNARK. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/14 "2000-07-26T14:51:07Z")
Lewis Carroll? Please. 42 appears in the the oldest books. At least, any that are of decent size. ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/15 "2000-07-26T14:56:09Z")
“42” also appears on many pants that are of decent size… ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/16 "2000-07-26T15:21:28Z")
Ok, it seems everyone has gone off on a tangent here with the 42 thing, so I would like to straighten out the 41 thing, which is the subject of the OP. 19 **41** - the year the US entered WWII 18 **41** - On April 4, 1841, William Henry Harrison, the 9th US Presidnet, died–the first President to die in office–and with him died the Whig program. April 1st, abbreviated as 4-1, is April Fool’s Day. Coincidence? Give me time and I can think of more. **tcburnett** was close, but just missed it - “Think about it: 41 divides into 666 16.24 times! Can that possibly be coincidence? The irony is that 16.24 has absolutely no mathematical significance!” No significance? think about it a little deeper. 41 into 666 is 16.24. 41 could be interpreted as 4_1=4 (much like 4x=4_x). 16.24 divided by 4 = 4.6. If you lose the decimal point, you have 46. Now go back to the origianl digits of 41. 4+1=5. 46-5= **41**. Don’t you see? It’s all a giant circle! It all goes bck to 41! No significance indeed! This is very significant. It’s a sign that I need to find something better to do with my time. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/17 "2000-07-26T18:17:46Z")
> [@](#): > > I happen see > 237 everywhere I go. It was my old house number, my Cub Scout troop number, and the number of Chronos’s > post count party, and I believe it was in the film Stand By Me. Crykey! Didn’t you see \*The Shining[/]? Who can forget… _“Whatever you do, boy, don’t go into Room 237!”_ I’m a 47 person myself. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/18 "2000-07-26T18:43:44Z")
> [@](#): > > And, PLEASE! let’s not pretend that Douglas Adams invented 42 as the Answer. The number 42 appears frequently through Lewis Carroll’s ALICE books and in the HUNTING OF THE SNARK. Sorry to head back to the 42 thing but the only REAL significance of 41 is that it precedes 42. I went to a book signing for Douglas Adams book _Last Chance to See_ and someone asked him of the significance of the number 42. Basically, why did he choose that number? Adams replied that when he was writing that bit and needed a number he stared out the window for about 2 seconds and decided 42 would do nicely. No more reason than that. Of course, that hasn’t stopped people for searching for deeper meanings anyway and I once ran across a page that had tons examples of the significance of 42. I did a quick search but couldn’t find it. I’ll post it if I do. (BTW…I did a search on 41 as well for kicks and found even less relevant matches than my search on 42 turned up.) ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/19 "2000-07-26T19:02:53Z")
41 was featured in Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama. (Or possibly Rama II) According to Clarke 41 is the first prime number in the longest sequence of predictable primes. I don’t know who proved this or how, but that’s what was in the book. It works like this: x= 41 + n\*(n-1) x is always a prime number for intergral value of n from 1 to 40 inclusive. Even weirder is what happens when you put 41 in for n. You get 1681. Which is 41\*41. Commence with the creepy organ music. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/20 "2000-07-26T19:14:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Commence with the creepy organ music. You can get surgery for that, you know. … Incidentally, Tim Parks’ novel _Europa_ features a sub-plot about the lead character agonising at the constant appearance of the number 45 in his life – age, address, room number, seat number. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874.md?page=2)