#3184: Funny Numbers
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Transcript
[A banner is hanging from the ceiling with a large line of text above a smaller one:]
Mathematical society
2025 meeting
[Below the banner there are four people, three of them are standing close together to the left with Hairbun leftmost addressing Cueball and Megan who is looking at her. Ponytail is standing to the far right next to a whiteboard, and is using a marker to circle round the last of several items on the board.]
Hairbun: Any other new developments from the year to cover before we wrap?
Cueball: Oh, the teens picked a new funny number.
Megan: Aww, I'm glad to hear they're still doing that.
Ponytail: I'll add it to the list.
[The board generally contains two columns of numbers, the first row having text after its number, thus across both columns. The last pair of digits is the new 'number' circled round by Ponytail. From top, in reading order, they are:]
23 (skidoo!)
42 1,337
69 58,008
420 6 7
(Sourced from explainxkcd.com)
Title text:In 1899, people were walking around shouting '23' at each other and laughing, and confused reporters were writing articles trying to figure out what it meant.