this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2025
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Mildly Interesting
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I hear people say that all generations have their dumb numbers, but I don't remember so many establishments having to ban 69 back in the day. Yes, there will have always been something dumb getting popular, but I think it's more willfully obnoxious now, and I don't think I'm just an old man yelling at a cloud.
E: Thinking about it a bit, I think there's truth to it being willfully obnoxious. The rise of social media encourages being more disruptive, causing a bigger scene, anything to go viral. God, now I really do sound old.
Article says they also skip order 69 in their system
This is really no different than the lack of a 13th floor. It doesn't make sense, but things bow to public pressure, and an internet meme can be peak pressure. Hell, what about Name McName, look how things bend to try and avoid that trap. I still think the best approach is a parental one of accepting it and even parodying it so the original users get tired, bored, or embarrassed. Trying to avoid it is a form of Streisand effect, it enhances the desire.
I have run into it once that I remember. There's the line with "17 38" in it from the Fetty Wop song "trap queen. A restaurant in a neighborhood I used to live in had a menu item that came out to $17.38 after tax. People would shout it back at the cashier. Mostly teens but grown adults too.
I think eventually they added a few cents to the menu cost to make it go away.