7-8-9
As a huge fan of wordplay and clever use of language in humor, I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be alive to see this day. For those unfamiliar with the famous punchline and joke (and seriously, how is that possible?):
Why was 6 afraid of 7?
Because 7 ate 9.
Granted, the joke is really dumb. But, to the 1st grade version of me, it was absolutely brilliant. I ended up telling all my friends in school, and got frustrated when I’d have to explain that it was funny because eight and ate are homonyms. And then, got even more frustrated when they thought the word ‘homonym’ was funnier than the joke.
But, looking back on it, this joke may have sparked my love for the art of wordplay. Which eventually led to my appreciation for wit in general. Which somehow morphed into double entendres, and the horrible things that I find funny today.
So, happy 7-ate-9 day! Let’s live it up, because it’ll be another thousand years before we can celebrate cannibalistic numbers again.
