Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia causes phone number change

One from the weird and wacky files:

Town hangs up on Devil's number

Quote:

A SMALL town in the US state of Louisiana is to be allowed to change its telephone prefix so that residents can avoid a number many associate with the Devil. Christian residents of Reeves have been complaining since the early 1960s about being given the prefix 666, known in the Bible as the "number of the beast". For the next three months, households will be able to change the first three digits of their phone numbers to 749. Mayor Scott Walker said CenturyTel's decision was "divine intervention", although he admitted it helped that Louisiana's two senators had also lobbied for the change with the phone company and the state Public Service Commission. Having 666 as a prefix had been a "black eye for our town, a stigma", he said. "I don't think it's anything bad on us, just an image," he added. "We're good Christian people." Mayor Walker added he had already made the switch to using the 749 prefix and expected about 80% of the town's 450 homeowners to do the same. (continues)

Quote:

The fear of the number 666 is known as hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

Crikey! Talk about fear and superstition ruling peoples' lives. What happens now when residents of Chinese ancestry or who adhere to Feng Shui complain about the new number:

Feng Shui & Chinese Numerology

Quote:

Seven has the same sound as “certainty� or “for sure� (chut) so it goes well with 2 and 8, 72 and 78 sound the same as “certainly easy� and “prosperous for sure� respectively in Cantonese. Again, try to avoid putting a 7 next to unlucky numbers like 4, 74 sounds the same as “dead for sure� and is considered unlucky.

So now the town has had the devil's number replaced by the death number (749).

superstition.....possibly...each to their own
mis-translation....could be

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7163767.stm

always pays to go back to original papers...even if they are papyrus!
but then my ancient aramaeic is a little rusty......how's yours?


so who to trust??

who cares??

all for one and one for all!

happy new year