4’s and 8’s: with the Chinese, these numbers are ambiguous. You wouldn’t think they mean anything, but for the Chinese they mean EVERYTHING. Whether something has a 4 or an 8 is equivalent to a loss or win and the more of these numbers that show up, the more the reasoning behind it is compounded.

For the LOVE OF GOD (quite literally), the Chinese double happiness symbol that they use for weddings looks like two 8’s with double brimmed hats that are joined at the belt!

(…and it’s been starring at us in the face this entire time.)

The truth of why 4’s are considered unlucky (if you haven’t figured it out yet) and 8’s are lucky is a point of Cantonese homonyms (for those who have forgotten their grammar, homonyms are words that sound alike, however mean two different things and are generally spelled differently as well).

…and the basis a 4000 year old culture’s superstitions are hinged on numbers.  Is it just me or do you also have a thought bubble with a question mark popping up right now?

4, in the Cantonese dialect is a homonym for the word “death”, while in Mandarin, 4’s homonym is the word “yes”.  Why the Cantonese won out on that argument, even when the government run language is Mandarin, I have no clue.  Another piece of damning evidence is the fact that the present day number looks like a right side up knife.  Think about it.

In a way, you can consider 4 the equivalent to how Americans view the number 13 (which, in Italy is considered a lucky number).

As for 8’s homonym, in Cantonese 8 is equivalent to the word “win” or “fortune”.  The Mandarin homonym to 8 is a childhood slang term for a bruise, which doesn’t hold much water.

We Chinese folks are kinda crazy like that.  4’s will happen to disappear from blackjack tables, baccarat tables, and any other casino tables a Chinese person considers sitting in.  Below is a picture taken this past Saturday at 9PM of folks waiting for the next bus to Worlds Casino and that bus and the two priors before it were empty before they packed up to the rafters and shuffled out (I didn’t stand around and witness first hand, but overheard the bus matron as she sold folks tickets).

Kinda shows you how manipulation, when folks know your weakness, will use it to get you in the door, and how much power folks place on something as innocuous as a number to predetermine the value of their life.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.

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