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The names for Winter Bash hats are often puns or refer to something. This year, several of the hats are named as some number, which is a little more opaque. Why are numbers so popular this year? What do they refer to for each hat?

Here are the number-named hats for reference:

Secret hats:

180°

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Presumably a 180-degree turn / U-turn

8,243,721

enter image description here

6

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Regular hats:

011

collect 11 hats

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Presumably the "11" is for collecting 11 hats, but why the leading "0"?

925

earn a silver badge

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24

earn a gold badge

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Presumably 24-carat (pure) gold

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    925 is the percentage of silver in sterling silver... 92.5%. The Ernie and Bert ones are their respective favorite numbers.
    – Catija
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 20:48
  • @Catija, make it an answer. I'll upvote it. Bert & Ernie have favorite numbers?
    – gung - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 20:49
  • Oh my goodness it's Bert and Ernie!!!!!!!!!!!!
    – Zizouz212
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:23
  • That question came after this, & states that the hats named after numbers had already been addressed here. So it is for the remaining hats.
    – gung - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Dec 30, 2016 at 14:07

2 Answers 2

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There are many reasons for the names of the hats. I can give a bit of background on why/how I picked some of the names.

The theme of numbers started with the naming for the silver and gold badge hats. Various ideas were tossed around, until I settled on the names 24 and 925. The 24 was for 24 karat gold, and 925 is for the stamp that is typically on sterling silver = .925.

Once I had two hats with numbers, I decided to just continue the theme for several others.

I wanted a pair of characters for hats and somehow happened upon Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street. Once I found them, I discovered their favorite numbers and the 6 & 8,243,721 hats were created.

Bert's favorite number is 6 ... Ernie's whose favorite number is 8,243,721

The 180° hat is a secret hat so I won't fully disclose the reason for picking the number, but it might have something to do with actions on the site.

Finally, 011 was chosen because you get the hat when you get 11 hats. This was named after Eleven on Stranger Things who happens to have a tattoo with '011', so it fit perfectly. The character also loves waffles, and wears a pink shirt with a blue jacket.

It wasn't my intention to have so many hats with numbers, but once it started I just ran with it.

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    And that's why it's a waffle... because she loved waffles. It all becomes clear.
    – Catija
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:21
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    Exactly @Catija. Notice the pink shirt and blue jacket as well.
    – Taryn
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:22
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    011 is mis-named. A leading "0" indicates octal notation, and people with octal 11 hats are going to be quite disappointed not to have it awarded to them.
    – Mark
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:28
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    The reference comes from Stranger Things @Mark. She didn't know her name and they called her Eleven because of the 011 tattoo.
    – Taryn
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:30
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    While we are at it: 180° should have been named π. It’s more obfuscating (which becomes a secret hat) and who uses degrees anyway?
    – Wrzlprmft
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:54
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    @Wrzlprmft maybe next year.
    – Taryn
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 22:03
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    180 degree turn cough cough reversal cough cough unicorns
    – Anthony Pham
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 22:56
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    Ironically, as soon as you get 11 hats, you immediately get your twelfth: "011".
    – Möoz
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 23:28
  • @Mark I guess that Eleven is really Nine, then.
    – mbomb007
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 20:53
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All of the numbers relate to the badge.

Silver and gold -

24 relates to 24 karat, or pure gold, though it's technically only 99.9% pure.

925 is a number inherent to sterling silver. Like 24 karat, 92.5% is the pureness of sterling silver.

Sterling silver contains 92.5% silver and 7.5%, by mass, of other metals, usually copper.

Bert and Ernie -

These numbers relate to the characters' respective favorite numbers, 6 for Bert and 8,243,721 for Ernie. At the end of the video, Ernie states his favorite number after Bert sings his song about the number six.

180 is for 180 degrees, the turn made when you make a half revolution. It matches the u-turn symbol on the hat.

As noted in Bluefeet's answer, 011 is a reference to the character Eleven on Stranger Things. She's well known to love Eggo waffles, which explains why this is a waffle-shaped hat and she wears the blue jacket and pink, collared dress that matches the hat, too.

Eleven stealing waffles
Image from Business Insider article.

Eleven's Tattoo:

Eleven's tattoo

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    That's impressive knowledge of Bert & Ernie esoterica ;-). Why the leading "0" in 011?
    – gung - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:01
  • @gung I'll leave that to someone who understands it to explain... I personally don't. The others were pretty easy. I only knew the Bert and Ernie ones because I googled 8,243,721 when the hat came out and it turned up the factoid that it was Ernie's favorite number.
    – Catija
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:06
  • @gung 011 = collect 11 hats
    – Cititzen
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 21:27

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