Our lives are surrounded by numbers, knowingly or unknowingly. And whether we like it or not, numbers are important to us.

Can you think of how many things you know that is associated with the number 9 (nine)?

Ok, let's see if you can beat me. But no peeking at my list until you had done yours, ok?

Here goes mine...

Ready?

On the count of 9...

1. Cloud nine
2. A human pregnancy normally lasts nine months
3. Nine lives of a cat (cultural belief)
4. Nine of spades
5. Nine of hearts
6. Nine of diamonds
7. Nine of clubs
8. The last number of my cellphone number
9. The last number of this year
10. Nine One One
11. Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
12. Nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)

So there you go... 12 things. Not much, really. In fact, it's quite pathetic. There are actually many interesting facts associated with this number. And oh, by the way, this isn't my favorite number, nor do I dislike it.

For instance, did you know that...

- Nine is the atomic number of fluorine, the most dangerous halogen, more so than other halogens such as the poisonous chlorine gas.

- The purity of chemicals usually expressed in nines e.g. 999 gold.

- The ninth President of the United States is William Henry Harrison, who owns (and still holds) numerous records in U.S. presidential history, e.g.
(a) Shortest presidency ever - 32 days
(b) First president to die in office
(c) Delivered the longest inaugural address in American history. At 8,444 words, it took nearly two hours to read, even after his friend and fellow Whig Daniel Webster had edited it for length.
(d) First sitting president to have his photograph taken

Interestingly, he was born on the 9th of February, 1773. Gematria of February is 576, and 5+7+6=18, 1+8=9! And 1+7+7+3=18, 1+8=9! 999!


Amazing huh?

And there are more! For example...

- Before 2006 (when Pluto was officially designated as a non-planet), there were nine planets in the solar system. Did you know that? I mean, how could I have missed this news??? We all studied in school that there are 9 planets in the solar system. So now we're left with 8 planets..... shucks...

- In the Christian angelic hierarchy there are 9 choirs of angels.

- Nine (九 pronounced jiǔ) is considered a good number in Chinese culture because it sounds the same as the word "longlasting" (久 also pronounced the same as the former). That's why we Chinese normally give 9 red roses to our woman, or 99, 999 and ultimately 9999 to signify how long we intend to love them.

Nine is strongly associated with the Chinese dragon, a symbol of magic and power. There are nine forms of the dragon - it is described in terms of nine attributes, and it has nine children. It has 117 scales - 81 yang (masculine, or bad influence) and 36 yin (feminine, or good influence). All three numbers are multiples of 9 (9x13=117, 9x9=81, 9x4=36) as well adding up individually to 9 (1+1+7=9, 8+1=9, 3+6=9). The dragon often symbolizes the Emperor, and the number nine can be found in many ornaments in the Forbidden City. The circular altar platform (Earthly Mount) of the Temple of Heaven has one circular marble plate in the center, surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then by a ring of 18 plates, and so on, for a total of nine rings, with the outermost having 81=9×9 plates. The name of the area called Kowloon in Hong Kong literally means: nine dragons. The nine-rank system was a civil service nomination system used during certain Chinese dynasties.

Phew... learnt so many things today, just from one number... 9! If you would like to read some more, you can go to this site

HERE.

Actually, the main purpose of this post is for me to announce that...

Nine days left in Malaysia for me!

Woohoo! Can't wait now... :)

PS# By the way, this is my 360th post on this blog... 3+6+0 equals... 9!!! And no, this was not staged.