The omnipresent number 9

 Vahe H Apelian

The other day, Marie and I went to a local store for our regular food shopping. As we were about to enter the store a sign caught my attention. On a large board, it declared that they have some sort of spirit for $16.99. The omnipresent number 9 was there as a constant remainder how vain and gullible we are. Surely, it is not much of a hassle anymore to charge our credit cards $16.99, instead of $17.00. But imagine the hassle it would create if we were to pay the amount in cash. But no matter, we would have gone to inordinate inconvenience just for having saved that 1 cent and walk away to have bought the good cheaper.

If that mindset was not there, I am sure, the marketing department that stands behind the merchandizing, would not have resorted to that kind of pricing. A few weeks ago, going to the same store, I saw plants for sale. It is spring time; people buy plants to plant around our houses.  They were priced differently ranging from say 3 dollars to 18 dollars. But all of them were priced one cent lower without exception. Yes, the marketers know how vain and gullible we are. It may even cost them more to have $2.99 printed, instead of $3.0. But the marketers know that goods move faster from the shelves if they are posted cheaper, and yes, even 1 cent less makes the good having bought cheaper, if not at a bargain price.

I bet there is no one among us who has not dealt with the number 9. It would not surprise me that the pre-packaged items you bought from a grocery store, were all priced ending in nine. Check it, out of curiosity. 

I also bet that no one among us has bought gas whose price per gallon does not end in 9. Do not be deceived whenever you see a two decimal gas price not ending in 9. When pumping the gas, you will find out that the nine will pop out as a third decimal figure. The gas I bought the other day, was not $3.12. In fact, it was $3.129, which could mean that I was actually charged 0.9 (9/10) of a cent more, or I may draw contentment that I paid 0.1 (1/10) of cent less than $3.13!

And if you happen to search about the number 9, you will find that much is written and attributed to the number 9.

First and foremost, number 9 is the highest single digit number.  It also is the last single digit number. An altogether different world of double-digit numbers starts after nine and that implies a big leap forward and onto a world that is more expensive. Let us face it. Does not $17.00 look more expensive than $16.99? 

Number, 9 has also a unique property, when multiplied by any other number, the sum of the numbers of the product ends in 9. For example, when multiplying any number by 9, say 2, the digits of the product will add up to 9. For instance, 9 x 2 = 18, and 1 + 8 = 9. Let us take an extreme example, 9999x9999=99,980,001. Let us add them 9+9+9+8+1 =36, now add 3+6 = 9. That’s it! There is no escaping from 9. 

That may be why number 9 has made inroads into mythology. Cats are often said to have 9 lives. We all know that cats also have only one life to live. But mesmerized by their phenomenal skills, we have attributed 9 lives to cats.

The number 9 had made inroads into religion as well. I read that number 9 “is associated with forgiveness, compassion and success on the positive side as well as arrogance and self-righteousness.” 

There we go again. There is no escaping. Whether for good or for bad, we have to deal with the number 9 or its flipped mirror image, 6. I quote, “In modern popular culture, 666 has become one of the most widely recognized symbols for the Antichrist or, alternatively, the devil. Earnest references to the number occur both among apocalypticist Christian groups and in explicitly anti-Christian subcultures. “ 

If 666 is ant-Christian, what about its flipped mirror image, 999? What should we make out of it? I read the following: “The English word "nine" used for number 9 appears 50 times in 49 King James Bible verses. While the word occurs 45 times in the Old Testament, it is only written 5 times in the New Testament. The Old Testament writings that use the word the most are Genesis (12 times) followed by Joshua (6). The New Testament books that use the word are Luke (3 times) then Matthew (twice). The number 9 symbolizes divine completeness or conveys the meaning of finality.”

Next time, after you have done your grocery shopping, check the check-out printout to see how many of the packaged goods you bought, ended in nine. A few years ago I did, and it was as follows: 7.29, 4.49, 2.99, 5.59, 6.99, 9.89, 3.49, 3.49, 4.99, 17.99, 18.99, 8.99. See the depiction below. That person could be anyone of us, pushing a cart full of goods purchased at a bargain!