Why The Number 9 Rules

Also: The 9 Shrine

Why does the number 9 rule? Let me count thy ways. (-; Ok, well, maybe not. But there are a lot of reasons the glorious number 9 is so... well, glorious. First of all, there's the universal uses of the number 9. It ends most prices when the company looks to make people think a price is lower than it is (ex. $19.99 is not 19 dollars ;-). Deception is not one of the most respected points of the number 9, but hey, it works. Then, there's the nine key on the keyboard. When hit while applying the shift key, it makes a (, the one essential keystroke to the backwards, "left-handed" (even though I'm a righty) smiley. (-: See? It's also useful as the start of parenthese (Like anyone uses those ;-). Also (even though this no longer applies) on my birthday (January 9th) any year in the 1990's, the month number, the day number, and the year number put together make the year (ex. January 9th, 1995 was 1-9-95, aka 1995). Without the number 9, you would be unable to make words with 9 letters, such as controller, underneath, and biosphere. So you couldn't "Hide from a controller underneath rocks in a biosphere." Which brings me to the next part of this, because without 9 that entire sentence would be nonexistant. Just count the words in it. Yes, you, go ahead.
Then there's the mathematical merits of 9. Ever heard of the magical nines in multiplication? Every time you multiply a number by 9, the sum of the digits in the answer equals 9 (9x9=81, 8+1=9). Nifty, eh? (-; When you add, there's another special 9 trick. When adding a single-digit number to 9, simply subtract one and add to 10. Or add it to 10 and subtract 1.. Well, ok, so it's really a 10-9 trick, but it also works. Would I lie to you? FINE! So it's painfully obvious! Frivelous even, because most people have addition memorized.. Convinced that 9 is the greatest yet? No? Fine then! How about this: Any number you can make with 0-8, can be replaced by 9's to make it higher. Therefore, the highest number possible must be made up of only 9's.
Still not convinced? Darn, and that last one was my best... Ummm. I suppose it's time to move on to the coincidences (are they?) in my life. Not that these would swing you one way or the other... but they're there anyway.
First off, my birthday.. January 9th. Now, September 9th would have been nice, but then I'd be a grade above, or a grade below.. Or something like that. (-: Then there's my bus number. The infamous 9, that hit a fence when I was in 5th grade. I was ten then, but a year before I was 9. There are also an abundance of 9's in the local phone numbers, and my address. (-: I'd prove it, but then they could find me ::looks around suspicously::. There's lots of... them. Only 9 of me. Ok 1, but 9 sounds better. (-: Then there's I, the 9th letter of the alphabet. Which means anyone who's written in first person before, has made use of the number 9. Yes, that means you. And me, myself, and I. Without 9, we wouldn't have the most-commonly used pronoun. Unless someone uses he more... or she. It? HA! You can't even make it without i! I don't think we'd say "T won't run!" Because that just wouldn't work. Not in English at least. My grade, this year, is also 9. And it's fun. Slightly insane, but that's what makes it fun, of course. (-: 9-9-99 was the greatest day in the world (well, maybe not. Time will tell...) and threatened computers everywhere, as well as 12-31-99... but that's not really important. There aren't enough nines in that date, so of course if the date with 4 nines didn't cause any trouble, 2 nines couldn't do any damage. (-:
Drat, those last three were ones that applied everywhere. (hey, 9-word sentence!) Ooo well. (-: Hope you've enjoyed this 9-ish ramble. Maybe you've gotten a little out of it. Like a better appreciation of the number that is 9. (-: