I have an old t-shirt with the number 87 on the front.  I wore it one
day to a coffee house and the young guy behind the counter smiled at
me and asked "Do you know what that stands for?"  I told him I didn't
and he wouldn't tell me!  I've tried a few Internet searches but so
far haven't been able to figure out what this particular number is
supposed to "mean" ... can anyone help me? (He would tell me what it
*didn't* mean - i.e. wasn't a gang number, etc but wouldn't tell me
what it *did* mean)... Does anyone know of a good website that will
elucidate on common interpretation of numbers (street meaning, police
lingo, something like that I would guess).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi susan_california:

What a fascinating question! I think I've found your answer (*and*
I'll tell you too)!

Did the young guy behind the counter have an Australian accent by any
chance? Because the number 87 is considered very unlucky in Australia
- in fact, it's dubbed the "Devil's Number".

Why 87? Well, the Aussies are very fond of cricket. In cricket a
"century" means to score 100 or more runs - quite a feat in that game.
87 is a century less 13 (100 - 13) and therefore an unlucky score.
This taboo has worked its way into Australian myth and culture.

The following sites give some excellent information about the Devil's
Number (and other special numbers to boot):

The Devil's Dictionary of Cricket 
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/crickgl.htm#ltrd

Numberland
http://www.mathsyear2000.org/numberland/87/87.shtml

Hyde Heath Match Reports
http://www.hydeheath.com/Match%20Reports.htm

Get to grips with the numbers in cricket
http://www.channel4.com/sport/microsites/H/howzat/century_t.html#81


This is the only possible explanation I can see of this guy's
"wink-wink, nudge-nudge" attitude towards your shirt. In my
experience, I have found that Aussies love to "show off" their special
lingo to Americans/Canadians - sometimes to tease them mercilessly. I
ran into a similar situation several years ago over use of the word
"root" - but I won't go into that here. ;-)

As for websites with meanings for other numbers, Numberland
(http://www.mathsyear2000.org/numberland/) is very good - if a little
"primary".

Hope this helps!

websearcher-ga


Search Strategy:

"number 87"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22number+87%22

"number 87" unlucky australia OR australian
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22number+87%22+unlucky+australia+OR+australian

"number 87" cricket australia OR australian
://www.google.com/search?q=%22number+87%22+cricket+australia+OR+australian&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off

"devil's number" 87
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22devil%27s+number%22+87

Perhaps this gentlemen was only "playing" with you in an attempt to
start conversation?

Maybe one of these?

http://pages.globetrotter.net/sdesr/nu87.htm

I'm an Australian and I've never heard of that before!

My brain must be at half-mast these days! I was folding laundry last
night and found the shirt in question and the number on the front is
actually a 78 ... :-) Anyhow, thanks for the research! If anyone has a
theory on what 78 might stand for, I'm open to hearing it.

Thanks again,
Susan