The Most Important Numbers in Pop Culture

By Sideshow

Pop culture has a massive impact on us geeks. We can quote almost every line from our favorite movies, TV shows, books, and video games. But it’s not just dialogue! Geeks remember everything, and that includes numbers.

For starters, who’s on the other end of the line when you call 867—5309? (It’s Jenny, Jenny!) Or what year did Stanley Kubrick’s A Space Odyssey take place? (It’s 2001, of course!) To celebrate Pi Day, one of the nerdiest numbers out there, let’s go through the most important numbers in all of pop culture. 3, 2, 1 … Go!

1 — The Lord of the Rings

Of course, there were three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, and seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone. There were also nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, but most importantly, there was one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne in the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. The most important ONE in all of pop culture is the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings.

6 — Power Rangers

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are teenagers with attitude. They’re a team united in a battle against Rita Repulsa. Each of them has a unique color scheme, a unique dinosaur, and powers that help them fight monsters wherever they may be. The Red Ranger, Black Ranger, Blue Ranger, Yellow Ranger, Pink Ranger, and Green Ranger are always there to save the day!

7 — BTS

The number seven impacts a global audience with the seven members of BTS. Global superstars RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook work together to explore music and art on a larger scale than any group in history. Whether you’re a dedicated part of their fan group or just a casual fan, BTS is always sure to make you smile and make you move!

9 — Deep Space Nine

In the 24th century, Starfleet Commander Benjamin Sisko arrives on a new space station called Deep Space Nine. Over 176 episodes explored cultural differences, the lasting effects of war, and the relationships between the cast of characters who we all grew to love. The series explores conflicts in a way that other Star Trek shows simply hadn’t at the time. As a result, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine made a lasting impact on pop culture.

11 — Stranger Things

Netflix’s Stranger Things introduced a small town called Hawkins, Indiana. There in that little town, back in the 1980s, we get to meet a group of friends. Perhaps the most interesting is a little girl whose tragic history unleashed extraordinary abilities. Born Jane Ives, Eleven was the result of Dr. Martin Brenner’s cruel experiments. Luckily, Eleven and her friends are brave enough to fight back against the darkness and shine the light of friendship and fun into the world.

20 — TTRPGs (Critical Role)

Alright, how do you want to do this? There’s nothing more satisfying than fighting the Big Bad Evil Guy in a Table-Top Role Playing Game and rolling a natural 20. There are all kinds of superstitions surrounding the 20-sided dice that are integral to the game, and we get to see them all on display in Critical Role campaigns. The very best moments are when Dungeon Master Matt Mercer really lets the creativity of the players soar. After all, they rolled a Nat 20!

42 — The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

As it so turns out, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is quite easily understood. Although, perhaps “easy” isn’t necessarily the most proper term. After all, it took the supercomputer Deep Thought seven and a half million years of thinking just to arrive at the answer. Luckily enough, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy assures that the answer is simply 42! Though the real conundrum is … what is the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything? Apparently, the question is here on Earth.

52 — DC Comics

In 2011, DC Comics completely relaunched the entirety of its properties under the grand mantle of the New 52. It was a whole new 52 series, a world changed by the Flashpoint crossover event. There were new backstories, new costumes, new characters, and more. All of it was a fresh start in the DC Comics Universe, and the number still stands out to comic book fans to this day.

66 — Star Wars

There is no number more infamous in the world of Star Wars™ than the number 66. In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith™ we see Emperor Palpatine™ order Commander Cody™ to execute Order 66™. It was that very command that turned the clones against the Jedi™. All throughout the galaxy, clone troopers™ killed the enemies of Sith Lord Darth Sidious™. With the Jedi out of the way, nothing could stop him.

88 — Back to the Future

“When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you’re gonna see some series $#*+!” That’s all Doc Brown says before the DeLorean Time Machine blasts off. The temporal displacement leaves a flaming trail in the parking lot, and just like that, time travel moves from theory to reality! In the world of Back to the Future, all you need is 88 mph and you’ve got yourself a time machine.

101 — 101 Dalmatians

Disney’s 1961 animated film 101 Dalmatians introduces countless adorable puppy dogs! Well, not countless. It’s actually 101 to be precise! We get to meet songwriter Roger Radcliffe and his pet Dalmatian Pongo. When Roger meets Anita, Pongo meets Perdita, and the two couples hit it off right away. Dealing with Cruella DeVil is troubling, but they all manage safely in the end.

151 — Pokémon

The video games Pokémon: Red and Pokémon Blue first debuted in 1996 for the original Game Boy handheld system. The game introduced the adorable pocket monsters to a global audience. And with a Pokédex to fill, fans soon got to learn more and more about 151 unique Pokémon. The original 151 are still the fan-favorites of many, but there are over 1,000 Pokémon now!

616 — Marvel

Comic books are known for having countless worlds, endless timelines, and a Multiverse beyond all of that! With all those stories, it’s hard to keep track of what counts as the “main” universe. Most comic book companies have their own specific style of differentiation. Marvel uses numbers. The Prime Marvel Universe in the comics is designated by 616. Most of our favorite heroes and their stories happen on and around Earth-616, and that’s why it stands out!

3,000 — Iron Man

In Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, we get one of the sweetest goodbyes of all when Morgan Stark tells her Dad, “I love you 3,000!” That’s just about as much as anyone can love someone else. So when Iron Man sacrifices himself to defeat Thanos, he leaves behind a note for his family. He tells them the exact same thing, “I love you 3,000.”

Over 9,000 — Dragon Ball Z

The most powerful number on this entire list comes from the popular anime series Dragon Ball Z. Furthermore, it comes from the English dub. In other languages, Vegeta actually says, “It’s over 8,000!” since that number is an indefinite hyperbolic number in Japanese culture. And yet that mistranslation made its way into pop culture as a way to express power beyond all power!

What’s your favorite number on this list? Which numbers should we have included? Share your thoughts with other fans at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!