# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![malaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@malaka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malaka)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/21 "2000-07-26T19:25:30Z")
from [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_047.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_047.html) > [@](#): > > This is an example of what we in our lab call “the van is always at the corner” because one only notices the van when it is indeed parked at the corner, not the times when it is gone. ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/22 "2000-07-26T19:44:20Z")
41 is also the number of times that NYC cops decided they needed to shoot at Amadou Diallo to kill him. Whoa, maybe he was part of the 41 conspiracy! ---
**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, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/23 "2000-07-26T21:18:58Z")
This just occurred to me. The sum of one each of the four most commonly used US coins is $0.41. Also, it is common knowledge that the Illuminati have all kinds of symbolism snuck into US money. Coincidence? I doubt it. Does anyone have a rifle that I could borrow, or a clocktower? It is about time that I let the MAN know that I know about a little something that he knows, if you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/24 "2000-07-26T22:06:49Z")
41 is a _much_ better number than 42. 41 is an absolute prime whereas 42 is a relative prime to 41. It needs 41 to shine, on its own it is nothing but the product of 6 and 7. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/25 "2000-07-26T22:41:22Z")
I see the number 169 everywhere. It was my locker number in school, my post office box number when I lived in Moose Lake (while I attended school), 169 appears in the case number with which I will soon be involved, the second time I was robbed the guy made off with $169 (no, I’m not kidding), I think it’s the freeway exit number where I live now. It’s creepy. ---
**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, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/26 "2000-07-26T22:49:04Z")
169 was the sum of the numbers worn by the starting lineup of the last Chicago Bulls championship team. It is also Luc Longley’s number squared. Does this mean that Luc is a mason? Of course it does. ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/27 "2000-07-26T23:24:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scr4 \* > \*\* > Hey, I can write you a random number generator that only comes up with 37, does that make 37 a special number? > \*\* Now, this is a little weird. When a friend of mine in high school and I read HHGTTG, we started seeing 42 everywhere. We decided to run a control experiment by seeing if the number 37 started cropping up everywhere, and it cropped up even more frequently than 42. We decided to choose yet another number, which was 23. 23 didn’t really appear anywhere, but, bizarrely enough, 23 is the number that Robert Anton Wilson thinks is part of the big Illuminati plot (at the time, we hadn’t read R.A.W.) I would suspect that to some extent, there are rules that determine whether or not numbers strike people as being significant. Prime numbers get a certain amount of cachet (7, 13, the 19 of Islam, and in particular of Farrakhan’s illucid rantings, Wilson’s 23, and the 137 that obsesses a lot of people, physicists and laymen alike, because of its connection to the fine structure constant. Everett Allie probably still has his [http://www.specieup.org](http://www.specieup.org) webpage where he claims that subatomic particles are all little gears with 137 teeth.) Repeating numbers (666, the “33” on beer bottles, etc.) get some cachet too. The numbers that catch my imagination have more to do with my synaesthesia. I probably chose “37” because the blue of the 3 and the green of the 7 go well together. -Ben ---
**Author:** ![MinkMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minkman/32/19170_2.png) [@MinkMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinkMan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/28 "2000-07-26T23:53:40Z")
> [@](#): > > It needs 41 to shine, on its own it is nothing but **the product of 6 and 7**. As all Douglas Adams fans know, it’s **6 X 9**. ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/29 "2000-07-27T12:58:16Z")
yes, you see 41 more because you’re looking for it – consciously or subconsciously this kind of thing happens all the time. ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/30 "2000-07-27T13:11:38Z")
New York Mets’ retired numbers: 41 (Tom Seaver) 37 (Casey Stengel) 14 (Gil Hodges – 41 reversed, of course) add the MLB’s one universally retired number: 42 (Jackie Robinson) Spooky! ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/31 "2000-07-27T13:15:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben \* > Now, this is a little weird. When a friend of mine in high school and I read HHGTTG, we started seeing 42 everywhere. We decided to run a control experiment by seeing if the number 37 started cropping up everywhere, and it cropped up even more frequently than 42. We decided to choose yet another number, which was 23. 23 didn’t really appear anywhere, but, bizarrely enough, 23 is the number that Robert Anton Wilson thinks is part of the big Illuminati plot (at the time, we hadn’t read R.A.W.) > \*\* On the topic, see last year’s excellent German film “23” about a computer hacker who was freaked out by the number and RAW’s books (the movie was based on a true story). I hope you can get it wherever you may be, it’s well worth it. ---
**Author:** ![malaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@malaka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malaka)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/32 "2000-07-27T13:59:30Z")
> [@](#): > > On the topic, see last year’s excellent German film “23” about a computer hacker who was freaked out by the number and RAW’s books (the movie was based on a true story). I hope you can get it wherever you may be, it’s well worth it. \*\* Similar flick… [http://us.imdb.com/Title?0138704](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0138704) ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/33 "2000-07-27T14:08:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MinkMan \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > It needs 41 to shine, on its own it is nothing but **the product of 6 and 7**. > > As all Douglas Adams fans know, it’s **6 X 9**. \*\* The scary thing is… in base 13- six by nine **is** forty two. More on the number. Fox Mulder’s apt number- 42. Number of times Fox has seen Plan 9 from outer space- 42. 1987 Golf GTI’s have the number 42 on the coolant tank. ‘42nd Street’ is a broadway play. can’t remember any more now. too early. ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/34 "2000-07-27T14:23:59Z")
42nd Street is a Broadway cross-street, too. Eerie! ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/35 "2000-07-27T14:27:31Z")
Good idea, malaka. Here’s the link for “23”: [http://us.imdb.com/Title?0126765](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0126765) ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/36 "2000-07-28T23:59:52Z")
I don’t know… Almost two years ago now my friend and I started an inside joke about Scotland (really, don’t ask) but then it definitely got carried away… The only country we ever saw in the news ws Scotland. It was the answer on all the tests. Every name we saw in movie credits was “Scott” etc. We (being the scientific type people we are, and I having been exposed to the straight dope at a really young age) figured it was just that we were looking for it. So we decided to pick another country with about the same popularity. We picked Australia and have heard next to nothing about it, while Scotland continued stalking us. Coincidentally enough my boyfriend is named Scott… There has to be some explanation for why countries, names and numbers single people out. It’s not just the drugs, I swear! ``` Lauren => ``` ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/37 "2000-07-30T19:28:49Z")
One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/38 "2000-07-30T20:13:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \ ***Wonko The Sane** > The scary thing is… in base 13- six by nine **is** forty two The scary thing is… you _realized_this. What’s even scarier… I \*checked.\*You are right. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/39 "2000-07-30T20:55:27Z")
from [http://www.bachfaq.org/numero.html](http://www.bachfaq.org/numero.html) : > [@](#): > > According to the ancient practice of gematria, the letters of the alphabet can be assigned numerical values. (In Hebrew and Greek, the letters of the alphabet were used to represent numbers, so this is less far-fetched than it may seem.) The letters in “Bach” add up to 14, and the letters in “J. S. Bach” add up to 41; and scholars have unearthed the numbers 14 and 41 in all sorts of Bach works. In one of the better-known examples, Bach’s setting of the chorale Vor deinem Thron (“before Thy Throne”), the first line of the melody contains 14 notes, and the entire melody from start to finish contains 41. The primary source for this research is still Friedrich Smend’s book, Johann Sebastian Bach bei seinem Namen gerufen (“Johann Sebastian Bach called by his name”). ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874/40 "2000-08-01T15:01:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrMatrix \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by \ ***Wonko The Sane** > > The scary thing is… in base 13- six by nine **is** forty two > > The scary thing is… you _realized_this. > > What’s even scarier… I \*checked.\*You are right. \*\* I must confess- I did not realize this. It is a fact easily found by those obsessed with instances of the number 42. I am a -big- **Hitch-Hiker’s Gude to The Galaxy** fan. I am honored that you checked though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-number-41/26874.md?page=3)