Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a Greek word created as a hoax and has cheated many Wikipedias; in fact it has in ouwn article in many languages and none of them cites a single serious source showing this word used in psychological or scientific context[3]. It is supposed to be pronounced hexa-koseeo-ee-hexe-konta-hexaphobia (literally, "fear of [the number] six hundred sixty-six"). It is the fear that originated from the Biblical verse Revelation 13:18, which indicates that the number 666 is the Number of the Beast, linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ.[4]
Outside of the Christian faith, the phobia has been further popularized as a motif in various horror films. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobes will strongly avoid things related to the number 666. A prominent example is Nancy and Ronald Reagan who, in 1989, when moving to their home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles, had the address of 666 St. Cloud Road changed to 668 St. Cloud Road.[5] Some women also expressed concern on giving birth to a child on June 6, 2006 (abbreviated 6/6/06).[6]
In 2006, the BBC listed hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia and its definition as fact #64 in its 100 Things We Didn't Know this Time Last Year.[7]
See also
In the media
Bender from Futurama is a self-claimed sufferer of hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
References
- ^ Greek Numbers and Arithmetic
- ^ St. John's Revelation. Chapter 13
- ^ See the wikis by yourself. Many of them are just translations of this article.
- ^ Prayer vigil targets Devil's Day BBC News. Monday, 5 June 2006, Accessed 21 September 2007
- ^ "THE REAGANS: First Family Easing Into Private Life", Los Angeles Times, Nov. 19, 1988
- ^ Allen-Mills, Tony (April 30, 2006). "Mothers expect Damien on 6/6/06". London: The Sunday Times - Britain.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|rawrurl=ignored (help) - ^ "100 things we didn't know last year". BBC Magazine Monitor blog. December 28, 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-20.