08-08-08

Friday, August 08 2008

Its 08-08-08 today! For me, a very special day, simply because Eight (8) is my favorite number.
And for millions of sports fans throughout the world, tonight at 8pm marks the formal kickoff of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Just what is it with number Eight?

Here’s some that I can think of:

8 (eight) is a natural number following 7 and preceding 9. :-)

8 is the atomic number of a very important element Oxygen.

In Christianity, 8 is the number of Beatitudes.

I love the 8 sentences of the Magnificat or Hymn of Mary.

All spiders, & generally all arachnids, have 8 legs.

An Octopus has 8 tentacles.

In human adult dentition, the 8th tooth is the so called Wisdom Tooth.

8 is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word ‘prosper’ or ‘wealth’. ….amu ba?

In numerology, 8 is the number for building/construction, and in some theories, also the number of destruction.

In Astrology, Scorpio is the 8th astrological sign of the Zodiac.

There are 8 musicians in an octet.

In Islam, 8 is the number of Angels carrying the Holy Throne of Allah in heavens.

Kobe Bryant wore this number for most parts of his career. His number today is 24. 2 x 4 = 8.

In Chess, each side has 8 pawns. And the number of squres in the board is 64 arranged in an eight by eight lattice.

Althogh Eight Ball billiards is palyed with 15 balls, the black ball numbered 8 being the middle and the most important ball in the game.

A byte is composed of 8 bits!

8 is commonly seen in vanity plates.

8 babies delivered in one birth is called Octuplets, the first set of 8 surviving babies were born in 1998.

Figure of eight is a type of knot frequently used by climbers.

Otso otso (Eight eight) is a very popular dance move in the Philippines. :-)

“88” – an abbreviation used in Nazi Salute by Aryan Bortherhood. “Heil Hitler” – H being the eighth letter in the alphabet, twice.

Eight is symbolic for lesbian sexual relations.

An Eighth is a common measurement of MARIJUANA, meaning an eighth of an ounce.

There are 8 pints in a gallon.

There are 8 training courses in YOGA. The Yama – restriction, Niyama –religious observance, Asana – posture, Pranayama – breathing control, Praty-ahara – restriction of sense, Dharana – concentration, Dhyana – contemplation and finally the Samadhi – the Ecstasy.

Plato remained for 8 years with his master Greek Philisopher Socrates.

8 is one of the Numbers – 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 – featured in popular tv series Lost.



So far, that’s the only thing related to eight that I can think of. If you can contribute to the list, please do so.


Balweg