this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2025
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xkcd

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xkcd #3184: Funny Numbers

Title text:

In 1899, people were walking around shouting '23' at each other and laughing, and confused reporters were writing articles trying to figure out what it meant.

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3184/

explainxkcd for #3184

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[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 85 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (9 children)

For millennials, like me: 1337 means "LEET" which is short for "Elite".

[–] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 193 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Sorry, what? I'm a millennial, this is common knowledge for anyone who played a videogame in the last quarter century.

[–] hoppolito@mander.xyz 94 points 3 months ago

I was going to say, I think the perpetuation of leetspeak and most of its use falls squarely into the millennial generation's early 90s into the early 2000s.

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[–] grue@lemmy.world 73 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

What the h311 is wrong with you? Us millennials invented 1337!

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 33 points 3 months ago (5 children)
[–] ByteJunk@lemmy.world 38 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Yep I think pops here has this one, us Millennials grew up with leet speak, it already was a thing in the 80s.

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 19 points 3 months ago (3 children)

That's the first time anyone called me pops! NOW I feel old!

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[–] AndyMFK@lemmy.dbzer0.com 66 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I'm confused as to where you fit in the Millennial demographic for you to have not known this already

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[–] affenlehrer@feddit.org 49 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] qbus@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

Hack the planet

[–] tensorpudding@lemmy.world 26 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Millenials pwnd the n00bs with the best of the genX back in the day, but I think leetspeak was a lot more niche than say 67 is, it was very gamercoded/nerdcoded when that wasn't cool.

Source: am millenial who had a leetspeak AIM handle back then

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[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 25 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Ragebait. Millenials are like 40 and have back pain.

[–] squirrel@piefed.kobel.fyi 74 points 3 months ago (1 children)
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[–] morphballganon@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I can confirm you can in fact get back pain before the age of 40

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[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 12 points 3 months ago

I know it just means you aren’t familiar with it but it’s funny you picked the millennial one as the one you had to explain to millennials.

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[–] wieson@feddit.org 71 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I feel like (6, 7) should definitely be a tuple

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[–] Trev625@sopuli.xyz 56 points 3 months ago (3 children)
[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 44 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] showmeyourkizinti@startrek.website 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Tree-fiddy came so close to making the list I think but it feels right that it didn’t.

[–] Yankee_Self_Loader@lemmy.world 21 points 3 months ago (2 children)
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[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 40 points 3 months ago
[–] Vengefu1Tuna@lemmy.zip 32 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I was reading Wikipedia about the origins of 23 and came across this neat tidbit:

On the RMS Titanic there was a watertight door on E Deck numbered 23 which was informally called the "skidoo door" according to the testimony of the Chief Baker Charles John Joughin.

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[–] redwattlebird@lemmings.world 29 points 3 months ago (3 children)

0118 999 881 999 119 725 3

[–] nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 3 months ago

Oh, that's easy to remember!

[–] blujan@sopuli.xyz 11 points 3 months ago

I think it's more of a 0118 999 88199 9119 725 3

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[–] raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world 28 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Missing "about three-fitty"

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[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 22 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Teens in different countries have different funny numbers too funny enough. There is a thing influencing multiple civilizations to do this.

31 is funny in Turkey.

[–] VerilyFemme@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 3 months ago (3 children)
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[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)
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[–] anas@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] Techranger 11 points 3 months ago

You stoopid

[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

42 is undeniably the funniest number

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[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

If you're gonna include 23 skidoo... You should include being at sixes and sevens:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_sixes_and_sevens

67... Is very very old British slang for wrecked/confused, at odds, or hysterical.

"I was all 6's and 7's"

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[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)
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[–] Guillermosaenz@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago (4 children)

67 sneaking onto the ‘funny numbers’ list is hilarious—teens are basically a standards committee now.

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