The media just took this all out of hand, as they do with everything.

The 666 phenomenon was probably covered en masse because it's an fun way to connect with readers. It's entertaining and a conversation starter. How many people read the articles and discussed them with their spouses, parishioners or co-workers.

Ours was pretty muted because we had a big thing on our front page about a month ago: Someone hired a plane to drag an banner over the beaches saying something about "6/6/06" -- but it turned out to be a promotion for "The Omen." (That didn't stop several very worried calls to local police -- though one woudl think someone would call their clergy first. . .)

I was a newspaper copy editor/page designer from '86-97. Since then I've worked in the online realm but nine years on, I still miss doing page layouts.

All the examples here use numerals; I might have gone for a treatment like 'Six-Six-Six' with quotes, since some of the play on the date is in how it's said, and in this treatment a reader would pick up on that immediately. Also, the typography of spelling it out could lend itself to some interesting font/design treatments.

I feel the need to call the Tulsa World and ask how long June 6, 2006, will live in infamy.

I don't think I know anyone who actually cared about the date. I think the newspapers were the only ones.

The hysteria was pushed, in part, by the movie studio execs pushing their Omen film. Plus, it's very easy to go into the street and get quotes from rubes who are actually horrified of the date.

It sure beats reporting the news.

Definitely hyped by the media and the Omen movie producers. The calendar we use is late a few years. The Chinese believe that 666 occured 6/6/2004 (2+0+0+4=6). Besides, the number 666 doesn't necessarily refer to an evil demon oe devil.

The number you have selected – 666 – is no longer the number of the beast. The new number is – 616. Please make a note of it.