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Go Home Attention Numerology Freaks

TIMOTHY NOAH NOVEMBER 11, 2011

Attention Numerology Freaks

BY TIMOTHY NOAH

The Armistice was signed at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. In less than an hour it will be the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year, or 11:11 11/11/11. All the world's computers will shut down and the mountains will be laid low and the seas will arise to cover the earth and Herman Cain will win the Republican nomination for president.

Or not. I've never been very good at predicting the future.

Update: Missed it! (I was sending off the second draft of my book--yes, thanks, it's now officially done, except for copyedits and fact-checking--to my publisher.)

But apparently the world didn't end. In fact, the markets rallied on news that progress was being made in Italy and Greece. Also, Brad Pitt has hired a hypnotist to help him quit smoking. Oh, and Newt Gingrich has moved ahead of Herman Cain in the latest McClatchey-Marist poll. I suppose Nostradamus could do something with that. But Romney's in the lead, with his usual 23 percent. Mitt Romney becoming the inevitable GOP candidate most definitely isn't a sign that the world is coming to an end.

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9 comments

I'd rather go with the unelevened bread mandate.

- Nusholtz

November 11, 2011 at 10:58am

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It's just a number, like any other, except this one has more 'ones' in it. Sweet.

- AllanL5

November 11, 2011 at 11:25am

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is that Eastern standard time or Central?

- blackton

November 11, 2011 at 12:17pm

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Just emerged slowly from under the desk here in Hartford, and all is well. Maybe whatever freakishness about to occur is going to happen on west coast time. Doubt LA will even notice.

- Tristan

November 11, 2011 at 12:35pm

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On the other hand, if anything really memorable WAS going to happen, you know, tsunami, earthquake, volcano, asteroid near-miss -- now would be a great time for it to happen. On the other, other hand -- who says the Gregorian Calendar is anything very universal? Still, all those ones -- and that's not going to happen again for a hundred years. Well, except for 11:11 PM, THEN another 100 years...

- AllanL5

November 11, 2011 at 12:44pm

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Happy Veteran's Day, Timothy, and nush, Tristan, Wandrey, and all the commenters.

- liberalref

November 11, 2011 at 1:06pm

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Thank you, Libref. Hope you're well my friend.

- Tristan

November 11, 2011 at 1:14pm

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I am, thank you very much, and I hope that you are well, too.

- liberalref

November 11, 2011 at 1:32pm

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To all the veterans here -- thank you and enjoy a well-earned Veteran's Day. To all of the musicians here -- happy Nigel Tufnel Day. To any computer scientists here, happy last binary day of the century (and therefore, likely the last of our lifetimes)... And to my 4-year old son, happy, "easiest date to write ever" (no curves! no intersecting lines!)

- hairdan

November 11, 2011 at 3:08pm

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