NUMBERS GAME

Oceanic Flight 815 crashed in late September, 2004. At this point in the TV series' timeline, we're into November of 2004. There's no telling, however, if Time in the outside world progressed faster than it does/did on the island. Or at least so the producers have hinted......

Still, just because Hurley crashed on that island back in 2004, that doesn't mean that "The Numbers" haven't still exerted their influence on others back in the outside world.

We've already seen them manifest themselves as the "lucky numbers" on a Chinese fortune cookie fortune in an episode of 'Veronica Mars'.

And in the last hour I saw a commercial for Pine-Sol in which a guy won the lottery. Of the numbers read off on the TV, all we get to hear is the final number - 42.

The answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Even if he was holding a Pick 5 ticket or the Daily Four rather than the full sequence of "4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42" as Hurley had done when he won his jackpot, there would still be power in that sequence if he had, let's say, "4, 15, 23, 42".

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw various combinations of "The Numbers" pop up again and again in TV shows and commercials, now that 'Lost' has become such a cultural phenom.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby