# Who/what is Toto's "99"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 7, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546 "2006-07-07T20:39:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slip_1)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546/1 "2006-07-07T20:39:12Z")

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OK … this question has been bugging me for a couple of weeks.

Toto wrote a very popular song called “99”. Who or what is 99?

I’ve found one answer that states it refers to Agent 99 in “Get Smart” (Barbara Feldon), but it doesn’t ring true to me.

Any ideas? Thanks much!

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**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546/2 "2006-07-08T00:32:10Z")

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From their oficial website:

In 1979, TOTO releases their second album Hydra. It features one of their biggest hits, “99”, a song inspired by the George Lucas movie THX- 1138 about a society where people had numbers instead of names. 😃

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**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slip_1)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546/3 "2006-07-08T09:27:03Z")

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D’oh! :smack: I check EVERYwhere but their official website.

Though it’s interesting that in THX-1138, the characters are named with letters, not numbers. Guess it was more a concept inspiration, eh?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546/4 "2006-07-08T12:52:35Z")

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> [@Freudian\_Slip](#):
>
> D’oh! :smack: I check EVERYwhere but their official website.
> 
> Though it’s interesting that in THX-1138, the characters are named with letters, not numbers. Guess it was more a concept inspiration, eh?
> 
> Thanks!

But there’s not a character in it named 99?

I’ve always connected it to Barbara Feldon tho I never really thought the song was about her or the character.

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546/5 "2006-07-08T17:57:01Z")

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Did 99 like red balloons?

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**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slip_1)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-totos-99/363546/6 "2006-07-09T10:58:58Z")

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> [@FriarTed](#):
>
> But there’s not a character in it named 99?

Not according to [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com), at least. I’ve not seen the movie in a long time.

I’m a bit curious to watch it again just to see 🙂