“After a halfhearted attempt at accepting Catch-14, Gottlieb had a late-night flash of conviction,” writes Eller. He quotes Gottlieb: “22, it’s 22! And I remember calling up Joe and saying, ‘It’s funnier than 18!’ But of course the fact is that no number is funnier than any other number, it’s complete self-delusion. But once we were convinced it was funnier, then it became funny.”

I haven’t decided whether I agree with Gottlieb that no number is funnier than any other number. I have definitely giggled at the mention of the numbers 69 and 37 (if you’ve seen Clerks, you’ll understand). The number 13 amused me last week when I discovered that not only did my hotel omit the 13th floor (more accurately, they labeled the 13th floor “14″), it didn’t even have room numbers ending in 13. The triskaidekaphobia is strong there. I find 91 funny because it’s not prime but I think it should be, and as a Douglas Adams fan, I’m always happy when I have order number “42” at a restaurant.