In Chinese culture, certain numbers, 6, 8, and 9 are believed to have auspicious meanings because their names sound similar to words that have positive meanings. The word for eight in Chinese (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means prosper or wealth. In regional dialects, the words for eight and fortune are also similar, eg Cantonese “baat” and “faat.”

There is also a resemblance between two digits, “88,” and the Shuang xi (double joy), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters (xi, ‘joy’, ‘happiness’).

The Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to open on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 p.m.

According to Buddhism, the Wheel of the Law is one of the many signs or symbols that are holy to Buddhists because they stand for our religion and make us think of its teachings when we see any of these symbols. The wheel has 8 spokes, which are the rules of pure conduct (the Eightfold Path, Right Understanding, Right Aims, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Meditation) the equal length of all the spokes represent justice; wisdom is the tire, the hub is thoughtfulness and the axle is the immovable truth.

With all this explanation about number 8, Bob’s comment of wanting to see the strange photos that I received from my oldest sister is comment 888, lucky you, here are the photos, very twisted indeed…just like number 8, auspicious 8 that is.