Talk:14 (number)

This article is part of WikiProject Numbers, an attempt at creating a standardized, informative and easy-to-use resource about numbers. Suggestions for improving multiple articles on numbers and related subjects should go to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Numbers.

nl:Sjabloon:GetalGesprek

It might be my fault, but at some point the line with the Chinese kanji "to die" got messed up and turned into question marks. -- Anonymous User

14 is "an unlucky number in China because it is homonymous with ???? which means "must die"". The Chinese character for death is 死, but I can't write "must die". Sabbut 13:32, 25 Jan 2004 (UTC)

"In other fields" - what's in, what's out?

In all these number articles, there are lists of occurences of the number in various fields. Some are bordering on the ridiculous, others are not, but drawing this line seems to me to be a matter of individual taste and interest.

In some cases, there is an element of numerology in a particular occurence. I in no way believe in numerology, but I often find it quite interesting. I think it is relevant to have entries indicating how some cultures or subcultures have attached deeper meanings to some numbers. So this may - in my opinion - justify some entries that I'm sure others will find quite irrelevant.

In other cases, I fail to see what wider significance an entry could have. E.g., I have removed an entry saying

• The number of ravioli in each can from Chef Boyardee

from the article 14 (number).

Is there a general discussion about thee lists in the number articles anywhere? --Niels Ø 08:24, Mar 21, 2005 (UTC)

There are some guidelines for what goes in the "other fields" section at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Numbers#Criterion_for_Including_Cultural_Associations, but I'm pretty sure that numbers relating to canned food have not been addressed either there nor in the project talk page.

The question I would ask in this case first, is: can this be verified? I have some cans of Chef Boyardee in my emergency shelter back home. If I were to open two of those cans, would I find that they have the same number of ravioli? If the answer is yes to both this question, the next question to ask is: how universal is this factoid? Would a can of generic brand 14 oz. ravioli can have the same number of ravioli? (It's pretty universal that cans of Vienna sausages have 7 or 19 sausages each, regardless of brand). PrimeFan 15:45, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I added the entry, after hearing the fact on FoodTV's "Unwrapped" last night (see edit summary). I won't restore the edit myself because I refuse to engage petty revert wars. However, I do believe its inclusion is justified simply on the basis of trivia -- and it carries no more or less "wider significance" than any other piece of trivia. Who might be interested? Someone composing a crossword puzzle, or designing a factoid quiz, or writing a birthday card for 14-year-olds, or a thousand other admittedly-inane possibilities. See policy: Wikipedia is not paper; and in an encyclopedia that carries extensive entries for video game characters and imaginary micronations, I wouldn't have thought this inocuous factoid would attract someone rushing to delete it.

when you ask "Who might be interested?" your preaching to the choir. most of these guys have fouhgt to keep similar trivia bits in wikipedia.

but as a college student who'se had to eat a lot of chef boyardee's, i can tell you taht the number 14 is not quite right. in every can their is usually one or three half ravioli. so maybe it's not 14, it could be 13 and a half or 14 and a half. 141.217.25.161 02:53, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I had a can of Boyardee ravioli for lunch earlier today. It indeed had 14 ravioli. So if I can find a link (preferrably from the Chef Boyardee website) confirming this fact, I will restore it. Anton Mravcek 00:43, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I initiated this discussion, not as a discussion about the veracity of the statement on the number of ravioli in a can, but as a discussion about the relevance of that statement to the article.

The link Wikipedia:WikiProject_Numbers#Criterion_for_Including_Cultural_Associations, supplied by PrimeFan earlier in this discussion, seems to make it clear that it is not relevant.--Niels Ø 06:43, Mar 29, 2005 (UTC)