09:09 09/09/09

This sequence of numbers can only take place once a century (100 years). It is a repetitive sequence of numbers that we have become accustomed to since the dawn of the new millennium, in the year 2000.

Personally, I have a total of nine letters in my name and surname: Hans Haupt. Coincidentally, my astrological lucky numbers are meant to be both five and nine and I was born on a Wednesday, which is meant to be my lucky day.

As it so happens, the word September and the day Wednesday are each made up of nine letters. Furthermore, today is the 252nd day of the year, thus 2+5+2 = 9. Amazing, don’t you think?

To celebrate this date, I have scoured the internet for nine interesting facts relating to the number nine.

1. Cats are said to have nine lives.
2. If you multiply nine by any whole number (except zero), and repeatedly add the digits of the answer until it’s just one digit, you will end up with nine. For example:
   3 × 9 = 27 (2 + 7 = 9)
   9 × 9 = 81 (8 + 1 = 9)
   121 × 9 = 1089 (1 + 0 + 8 + 9 = 18; 1 + 8 = 9)
   234 × 9 = 2106 (2 + 1 + 0 + 6 = 9)
3. There are nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings saga, to balance and combat the nine Nazgûl.
4. Water expands by about 9% as it freezes.
5. The nine times tables are the only ones which can be done using just ones fingers. For example, if you wanted to calculate what 9 x 7 is, you would extend all ten fingers, then from the pinky on the left hand to the pinky on the right hand, count out seven fingers (the number being multiplied by nine). When you get to the seventh finger (which should be your index finger/pointing finger), bend your finger. The remaining fingers will give you the answer, which is 63 (six fingers remain before the bent finger and three fingers remain after).
6. Nine is strongly associated with the Chinese dragon, a symbol of magic and power. There are nine forms of the dragon, it is described in terms of nine attributes, and it has nine children.
7. Bart Simpson has nine spikes of hair (since the second season of The Simpsons).
8. There are nine planets in our solar system (although this is now debatable).
9. Nine months is the average gestational period for human babies to develop to full term.

If anyone else has any interesting facts pertaining to the ‘amazing number nine’, please do leave a comment.

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!