The Traveling 33!

33 has proven  itself inescapable, again! This weekend I traveled out of state to visit a long time friend. While visiting my friend, the number 33 clearly made itself know many, many times. It popped up in many places and when I could, I documented them. Some of my encounters with the number 33 did not allow for me to take pictures. Two such encounters with the number 33 happened while driving on the highway. I saw the number on billboards. Once at the end of a phone number and once as a big lotto ball. These were obviously impossible to photograph for safety reasons. Some of the pictures I was able to take are shown in this post.

The wine bottle pictured in this post was taken at a shopping mall. I was browsing for Christmas gifts in this unique store that took natural, earth made products, like rocks, and turned them into these great products. The wine bottle was used as a prop for this Rock Cork the store was selling. So why did they choose 337 wine? Why did I happen to see it?

Next up is a another unique gift I saw at a store the next day located 40 miles away from the mall were the 337 wine bottle was spotted. This gift was coasters that were cut from 33 LP albums. 33 Lp’s get their 33 name because they spin at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute. So I get that 33 would not be uncommon to see when looking at these albums, say in a record store. However, I wasn’t in a record store. I was in a gift shop. So why did I have to spot these creative little coasters?

After shopping for several hours my friend and I decide to stop by a pizza place to get something to eat. I ordered 1 slice of cheese pizza and a Nestle bottled water. After paying, the cashier hands me my receipt and I check out the totals, as I always do, to make sure I wasn’t overcharged for anything. Surprise, surprise!! The tax I was charged for these two little items was exactly 33 cents! Now, what is the probability of that happening? There were many other items on the menu and over 10 different types of bottled beverages. But I happen to order the two items together that would allow for the tax to come to 33 cents. As a side note, the state I was in does not tax food. So the 6% tax I was charged was a restaurant service charge.

After arriving back to my friends apartment after our day of shopping, we decided since it was a long day we would stay in and watch a movie. While I was choosing a movie to watch, my friend was preparing some snacks to have while we watched the movie. He had brought over a bag of snack mix and right at the top of the bag, in big black letters, it stated the bag had “33% More Free”.

Many of you may choose to write-off all of these 33 sightings as insignificant or my brain just picking out what I want to see. I don’t blame you. Earlier in my life, I would have also. However, until a number starts appearing many times a day, everyday, in strange and in-your-face places, you will have no idea how odd it really is.

Ring, Ring!! 33 is Calling!

I received a call from a company twice in the last few days with a phone number that ends in 33!

They had the wrong number the first time and so the second time I was a little surprised they called back.

This 33 experience doesn’t get classified as super strange and if the company wouldn’t have called back a second time I wouldn’t have even posted about it.

As I said before, they’re lots of these little 33 sightings throughout a regular day for me so this blog would be redundant if I posted every single one.

Cliff Lee and the number 33

Cliff Lee was introduced, once again, as a Philadelphia Phillie on Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 on a  five-year, $120 million deal.

I don’t really follow baseball, or any sport really, however it did catch my attention that Cliff Lee’s new jersey number would be, the one and only, 33!

Why not 34 or another available number?

33 on History

I was watching the latest episode of Ancient Aliens on the History channel today and about half way through the show, the ever-present number 33 showed up.

If you are not familiar with the show, it attempts to make the case that in ancient times extraterrestrials visited the Earth and played a part in shaping our history.  This last episode discussed our historical concept of angels and whether or not our ancestors could have mistaken extraterrestrials as heavenly entities or “angels”.

The number 33 is mentioned in this episode in reference to the 33rd parallel coincidence. The show briefly discusses that the Roswell crash and the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Hermon both occurred on this 33rd parallel. In the book of Enoch, Mount Hermon is where the “Watcher” class of fallen angels descended to Earth. In fact, although not mentioned in the show, the 33rd parallel has a lot of mysterious stuff going on. Look into and you’ll see. Here is a good article to get you started > Click Me.

Confirmation Bias?

I have had several people tell me that my experience with seeing the number 33 as often is I do, is confirmation bias at work.

For those who don’t remember what confirmation bias is, it refers to type of selective thinking whereby one tends to notice and to look for what confirms one’s beliefs, and to ignore, not look for, or undervalue the relevance of what contradicts ones beliefs.

In other words, my skeptics believe that I am looking for the number 33 and that is why I am seeing it so much. They think that during a regular day I come across hundreds of different numbers, many of which I would see more than once, however I do not document their appearance on a blog.

I certainly appreciate feedback from people and would never be ignorant enough to believe that there is no way the confirmation bias is at play here.  I am always open to others opinions. One thing I know for sure is that there is a definite presence of the number 33 in my life. I have looked for other number patterns as well and have not recognized one as prevalent as the number 33. 11:11 is seen occasionally but not daily.

In my opinion, I am not seeking out a 33 pattern. When a 33 sighting occurs it isn’t like seeing the number 23 or 77 or 80. The number 33 evokes a strange feeling within me, one that makes me recognize there is supposed to be a pattern to get my attention. Why? I have no idea…yet!

….And 33 Cents

I was going shopping with my mom the other day and on our way to the bank so she could get money she handed me a check that she told me to hold on to till we got to the bank. When I looked at the check I noticed the 33 Cents and thought I’d take a picture.

Additionally, while shopping with my mother that day, I took a picture of a “Sale” sign that had a price reduced to $3.33. However, when I arrived home to post the image on this blog, I couldn’t find it on my phone. So you’ll just have to take my word for it.