History Main / NumerologicalMotif

'''4''' - 4 actually has different meanings in different parts of the world. In European traditions, 4 represented the physical world, and the 4 elements that made up everything (fire, water, earth, and air). They also corresponded with the 4 cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west), and thus represent a grounding in reality and are generally positive. In Christian traditions, the number 4 symbolises the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and [[CaptainObvious is negative]]. Classically-based ElementalPowers use this pattern. See also FourTemperamentEnsemble.

'''8''' - 8 typically has notions of the hidden and esoteric, in part because it looks like an infinity symbol on its side (which was {{lampshaded}} on ''TheTick''). It doesn't come up much, but expect plenty of mysteries when it does.

'''100''' - Has the connotations of wholeness and purity like 1 & 10, but more so; the highest percentage.

In computing, bits (a single digit in base 2, or binary) are collected in groups of 8 to form bytes (which can represent a number between 0-255 in base 10; the "normal" number system), and larger units of memory are made up from whole bytes. This is why the 8-bit systems were followed by 16-bit, 32-bit, and 64-bit systems. 24-bits aren't unheard of either: some computer systems had a 24-bit address bus, and 24-bits was the standard for storing a single pixel of an RGB colour (one byte for each colour channel[[note]]More recent formats use 32 bits, since they also have an "alpha channel" which defines the transparency of the pixel[[/note]]). There's also a trend of PlotCoupons coming in groups of ''8'' in VideoGames; most notably the 8 non-bonus worlds of pretty much every ''{{Mario}}'' game; as well as ''VideoGame/MegaMan's'' 8 Robot Masters.

However, in Asian traditions, the number sounds almost like the word for "death" in all languages that borrow from Chinese, which arises in the trope FourIsDeath. Curiously, the one aversion are TheFourGods, although they frequently are depicted as rather dangerous (and at least one is frequently depicted as explicitly evil, like Seiryu in ''FushigiYuugi'').

'''47''' - [[Franchise/StarTrek 42 adjusted for inflation]]. In JapaneseMedia, can be connected to the archaic ''iroha'' method of ordering the Japanese syllabary. Also, The47Ronin, and Agent 47. May be related to the AK-47 and its ubiquity.

'''87''' - Thirteen short of 100, and therefore considered an unlucky number in {{Cricket}}, especially in Australia. 187, 287, etc. are also viewed as unlucky, to a lesser degree.

'''111''' - Considered an unlucky number in {{Cricket}}, especially in England, due to the figure resembling a set of stumps with no bails.

'''16''' - In many cultures, 16 is the age when someone is considered an adult, or at least bestowed some adult privileges. In many countries and states it's the age of consent or the age

"5" in Japanese is said as "go", which can lead to a pun (note though it rhymes "awe" and not "dough"). See OneTwoThreeFourGo.

-->-- '''Eugene Debs Hartke''', ''[[KurtVonnegut Hocus Pocus]]''

'''1''' - This is the number for TheHero, and it represents his standing alone as the best. 1 also represents the beginning, and the primal source of power. This is why a hero will succeed if there's only OneBulletLeft or a MillionToOneChance - 1 is just that [[ConservationOfNinjitsu powerful]]. The Ace, representing the number 1, is also typically the strongest card in standard poker. In JapaneseMedia, 1 sometimes represents dogs, punning on the onomatopoeia ''wan'' for barking. (Also, [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen]] was number 1.)

'''1''' - This is the number for TheHero, and it represents his standing alone as the best. 1 also represents the beginning, and the primal source of power. This is why a hero will succeed if there's only OneBulletLeft or a MillionToOneChance - 1 is just that [[ConservationOfNinjitsu powerful]]. The Ace, representing the number 1, is also typically the strongest card in standard poker. In JapaneseMedia, 1 sometimes represents dogs, punning on the onomatopoeia ''wan'' for barking.

'''3''' - 3 is the most basic way to represent a structure, in a triangle, so it has representations of power. This is the origin of tropes such as the RuleOfThree, the PowerTrio, TheHecateSisters and TheThreeFacesOfEve. UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} believes that {{God}} originated this, having always been Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13 has a long history of being unlucky]]; the Greek pantheon kicked out Hestia, goddess of the hearth, to make room for Dionysus, god of wine, in their circle of 12; it was believed back then that having a 13th deity in the highest echelons of the pantheon would lead to ruin, and that alcohol was much more important on the sacred scale than the home. Judas Iscariot, the 13th attendee at the Last Supper, was the one who betrayed {{Jesus}}, and it was believed that Jesus's crucifixion happened on Friday the 13th -- or if ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'' is accurate, ThePurge of the original KnightTemplar occurred on that date. There is evidence of other cultures developing forms of triskaidekaphobia before even that. Conversely, many Wiccans and witches consider 13 a ''lucky number'', most likely due to its historical associations with witchcraft.

[[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13 has a long history of being unlucky]]; the Greek pantheon kicked out Hestia, goddess of the hearth, to make room for Dionysus, god of wine, in their circle of 12; it was believed back then that having a 13th deity in the highest echelons of the pantheon would lead to ruin, and that alcohol was much more important on the sacred scale than the home. Judas Iscariot, the 13th attendee at the Last Supper, was the one who betrayed {{Jesus}}, and it was believed that Jesus's crucifixion happened on Friday the 13th -- or if ''TheDaVinciCode'' is accurate, ThePurge of the original KnightTemplar occurred on that date. There is evidence of other cultures developing forms of triskaidekaphobia before even that. Conversely, many Wiccans and witches consider 13 a ''lucky number'', most likely due to its historical associations with witchcraft.

A basic theme in Blue Man Group is that 3 is the fewest number of people needed to have an alienation or unpopularity. In most voting political systems, getting this also comes into play (majority is 2 out of every 3 votes). Otherwise known as 2 is company, 3 is a crowd.

'''16''' - In many cultures, 16 is the age when someone is considered an adult, or at least bestowed some adult privileges. In many countries and states it's the age of consent or the age when one can start learning to drive. The passage into adulthood usually means [[TheHerosJourney the Call to Adventure]] will arrive, or some other event--see DangerousSixteenthBirthday.

16 is 4×4. Also, 16×16 is 256, which is used in programming (see Real Life under ArcNumber)

'''17''' - In Italy, the number 17 is considered to be at ''least'' as unlucky as ''13'' because in Roman numerals, it's an anagram of the Latin word ''vixi'' which means "I have lived" which is the equivalent in Latin of meaning "I am dead" (the past tense of the word "live" meaning that one is no longer alive) making this superstition similar to the Asian cultural aversion to the number 4.

'''18''' - The number of adulthood in the United States, when one can vote and go off to war. Other than that, it usually has connotations for being unlucky, which is why fictional teens who die in auto accidents tend to do so two days before their 18th birthday. In neo-nazi circles, 18 is a common identifier. The first and eighth letters of the alphabet are A and H, {{UsefulNotes/Adolf Hitler}}'s initials.

On the other hand, in Hebrew (in which letters are still sometimes used with numeric values) 18 can be written as חי (''cheth yodh''), meaning 'life'.

'''19''' - The last year of teenagerhood. Very significant yet mysterious in Franchise/TheDarkTower, and also appears an unusually high number of times in the Qu'ran, and popular within the Baha'i Faith, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19_(number)#Religion according to That Other Wiki]]. 19 is a prime number.

'''21''' - Being 7×3, 21 is almost ''always'' considered an auspicious number. It is also a number of full adulthood in some cultures where children stay at home longer (such as the U.S.), and the best hand in Blackjack. It is very popular in fiction for marking out random figures, as a longer number that has positive connotations and is easy to remember, e.g. [[SherlockHolmes 221b Baker Street]], [[Film/BackToTheFuture 1.21 Gigawatts]], ''21 Jump Street''.

One of the number's more poignant connotations, however is a 21 gun salute. While it is a gesture of ''very'' deep respect, it is almost exclusively used as a salute in the context of a funeral or burial, and thus is often associated with mourning and bereavement, and is particularly associated with the military.

Both the summer and winter solstices occur on the 21st of a month half the time.

'''[[TwentyThree 23]]''' - FNORD.

'''24''' - The number of hours in a day. Very unlucky in China, because it sounds like "easy to die" in Chinese. In classical music, 24 usually stands for the number of all major and minor keys. In Brazil, it's synonym with homosexuality - an animal-based lottery assigned that number to [[{{Bambification}} deer]].

'''32''' - In occult circles, the fact that it is reverse 23 gives 32 positive associations, implying enlightenment, and fatefulness. There are 32 Kabbalistic Paths of Wisdom. Likewise, a central text of the Pali Canon in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, the Digha Nikaya, describes the appearance of the historical Buddha with a list of 32 physical characteristics. The full number of human teeth, including wisdom teeth, is 32

32 is an intriguing number mathematically, too; 32 = 1^1+2^2+3^3 = 2^5 = 2+5+5^2. Furthermore, 32 is a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_number happy number]].

'''34''' - [[RuleThirtyFour Porn]]

'''39''' - [[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13]]×3. The sum of the first five odd prime numbers. 3^1+3^2+3^3. Known for its association with [[Literature/The39Clues a certain set of clues]], [[Film/The39Steps1935 an Alfred Hitchcock movie]], and as a badge of shame in certain parts of Afghanistan. Can you get more random?

'''40''' - In ancient literature, synonymous with ''"lots"''. Big in Literature/TheBible: "40 days and 40 nights", etc. It's [[MemeticMutation as many as four tens]].

'''[[JustForFun/FortyTwo 42]]''' - [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy The Answer To Life, The Universe And Everything]]. In Japanese, it's homophonic with the word for "dying," and thus has many of the same unlucky connotations as FourIsDeath. Interestingly, it's also the product of 7×6, 3×14 and 2×21[[hottip:*: and 6×9 in base 13]].

'''44''' - [[FourIsDeath Double Death!]]

'''47''' - [[Franchise/StarTrek 42 adjusted for inflation]]. In JapaneseMedia, can be connected to the archaic ''iroha'' method of ordering the Japanese syllabary. Also, The47Ronin, and Agent 47. May be related to the AK-47 and its ubiquity.

'''49''' - 7×7. Effectively an ultra-7. However, in Japanese, [[FourIsDeath "4" sounds like "death"]] and "9" sounds like "pain", so 49 means die painfully. The unluckiest number of them all.

'''52''' - 13×4. The number of weeks in a year, the number of cards in a deck.

'''60''' - Number of seconds in a minute and number of minutes in an hour. Comes from combining Base-10 and Base-12 counting systems as this is the least common denominator between them. This originated back in Ancient Babylon.

'''69''' - Beloved by dirty-minded middle schoolers everywhere.

'''87''' - Thirteen short of 100, and therefore considered an unlucky number in {{Cricket}}, especially in Australia. 187, 287, etc. are also viewed as unlucky, to a lesser degree.

'''88''' - The number of keys on a grand piano and the number of recognized constellations. Some Neo-Nazis use the number 88 as a code for the phrase "Heil Hitler," H being the eighth letter of the alphabet.

'''99''' - Just shy of perfect completeness (100). In science, 99+% turns up a a lot as a benchmark for stuff, particularly certainty & chemical purity, since true perfection in the real world is impossible. Interestingly, there are also 99 names of Allah.

'''100''' - Has the connotations of wholeness and purity like 1 & 10, but more so; the highest percentage.

'''101, 1001''' etc. - Synonymous with ''"lots"'' for a modern audience.\\
''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'', ''[[Literature/ArabianNights A Thousand And One Nights]]'', MillionToOneChance, etc. AYearAndADay has the same role.

'''OneHundredAndEight''' - see the entry.

'''111''' - Considered an unlucky number in {{Cricket}}, especially in England, due to the figure resembling a set of stumps with no bails.

'''666''' - NumberOfTheBeast. EVIL! (Wait, or was that 616? Or 216?)


Prime numbers in general are popular for the number of PlotCoupons, especially 3 and 7.

Any work that references numerology in general (or gematria, the Kabbalic study) will heavily reference this trope.

See also ArcNumber.

More examples can be found at [[http://1kbwc.wikia.com/wiki/1000_Blank_White_Cards_Numbers the 1kbwc Wiki]]
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Here are some numbered tropes by number and type.

||align=center border=1 width=100%
|| Number || '''Characters''' || '''CombatTropes''' || '''LoveTropes''' || '''Dramatic Devices''' ||
|| '''0''' || MyHeroZero, ZeroPercentApprovalRating || || || ||
|| '''1''' || LonersAreFreaks, OnlySaneMan || SingleStrokeBattle, OneBulletLeft || EverybodyIsSingle || SingleIssuePsychology, ItOnlyWorksOnce, OnceIsNotEnough, OnlyOne ||
|| '''2''' || ThoseTwoGuys, HeterosexualLifePartners, NameAndName || GunsAkimbo, DualWielding, BifurcatedWeapon, DoubleWeapon || ChainedHeat, PairTheSpares || CrossesTheLineTwice ||
|| '''3''' || PowerTrio, ComicTrio, TokenTrio || MeleeATrois || LoveTriangle, TriangRelations || RuleOfThree, Administrivia/ThreeRulesOfThree ||
|| '''4''' || FourTemperamentEnsemble, FourGirlEnsemble || || TheFourLoves || FourIsDeath, TheFourGods, FourPointScale ||
|| '''5''' || FiveManBand, FiveBadBand, FiveRaces, FiveTokenBand || FiveRoundsRapid, ElementNumberFive || FiveStagesOfGrief ||DefconFive, FiveStagesOfGrief, FiveFiveFive, UsefulNotes/BigFivePersonalityTraits ||
|| '''6''' || SixStudentClique, SixthRanger, SixthRangerTraitor || || || NumberOfTheBeast ||
|| '''7''' || MagnificentSeven, SevenIsNana || || || RuleOfSeven, SevenDeadlySins, SevenHeavenlyVirtues, SevenBasicConflicts ||
|| '''?''' || IAmLegion || InfinityPlusOneSword || LoveDodecahedron || OneHundredAndEight, ExtyYearsFromNow, MillionToOneChance, ReadingsAreOffTheScale ||

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"5" in Japanese is said as "go", which can lead to a pun. See OneTwoThreeFourGo.

'''3''' - 3 is the most basic way to represent a structure, in a triangle, so it has representations of power. This is the origin of tropes such as the RuleOfThree, the PowerTrio, TheHecateSisters and TheThreeFacesOfEve. [[UsefulNotesOnChristianity Christianity]] believes that {{God}} originated this, having always been Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

13 may also indicate a change in circumstances. The 13th member of a group of people may change them or bring them closer to some goal. (e.g. Roxas in the KingdomHearts series.) This is likely due to the meaning of the Death card in the Tarot, which is card number 13. Note: Misinterpretation of this meaning may also lead to 13 bringing about death. (e.g. in ''Series/DoctorWho'', The Doctor only has 12 regenerations.)

'''24''' - The number of hours in a day. Very unlucky in China, because it sounds like "easy to die" in Chinese. In classical music, 24 usually stands for the number of all major and minor keys.

'''47''' - [[Franchise/StarTrek 42 adjusted for inflation]]. Also, The47Ronin, and Agent 47. May be related to the AK-47 and its ubiquity.

'''88''' - The number of keys on a grand piano. Some Neo-Nazis use the number 88 as a code for the phrase "Heil Hitler," H being the eighth letter of the alphabet.