8/8/08

8 is supposed to be a lucky number in Chinese culture. Tons of folks are getting married today. The Olympics in China are starting at 8:08pm. I think the nearby Chinese restaurant might even be having an $8 lunch special.


From the all-knowing Wikipedia:

The word for "eight" (八，捌) in Mandarin (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth" (发 - short for "发财", Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, eg Cantonese "baat" and "faat".

There is also a resemblance between two digits, "88", and the shuang xi ('double joy'), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 (xi, 'joy', 'happiness').


Most people know that my number is 24 (Jeff Gordon, Willie Mays, the Hall of Famer, Jack Bauer, my day of birth, amount of cash in my bank account) so 8 doesn't hold too much extra value for me. I just know it is a vital part of the 'Why is number 6 scared?' joke.