Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0007155, Mon, 25 Nov 2002 09:45:00 -0800

Subject
Fw: Funny numbers
Date
Body
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jay Livingston" <livingstonj@mail.montclair.edu>
To: "VN" <NABOKV-L@listserv.ucsb.edu>
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 6:05 AM
Subject: Funny numbers


>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (19
lines) ------------------
> This is far off-topic, but that s what list moderators (Hi, Don) are
for.
>
> Are some numbers funnier than others?
>
> In Caesar s Writers, the group reminiscence that ran on PBS a while
> ago, the writers were recalling the creation of casino sketch in which
> Imogene Coca would be playing roulette and state the number she was
> placing her bet on. They wanted the number to be funny. So they called
> Imogene into to the writers room.
> Imogene, say nineteen,
> Nineteen.
> Not funny, they all agreed, and so on with a few other numbers until
> finally,
> Try thirty-two
> So in her prim, precise voice, Imogene said, Thirty-two, and instantly
> all the writers agreed that this was the number.
>
> Jay Livingston
--------------------------EDNOTE-----------
As subscribers know, the editor occasionally weighs in on some of the
weightier issues discussed here. The obvious answer is 34 & 1/2.

>