But, back to the number 11. I've been seeing many references to it in novels the last few years - most recently in the book Tricked, which is the fourth book in The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.
For those that aren't aware, the number 11 was made popular by a film titled This is Spinal Tap, a film by Rob Reiner (yes, Meathead from the Normal Lear TV show All in the Family). The film is a mockumentary/rockumentary about a fictional British heavy metal band called Spinal Tap. In a particular scene in the movie, the character Nigel Tufnel (played by Christopher Guest, who you may remember as Count Rugen from The Princess Bride) brags about how their amplifiers "go to eleven", to given them that additional "push over the cliff" during a show. Well, after all, one higher number makes it louder, doesn't it?
Other references I've seen:
- An electronic guitar toy that my kids had when they were younger had a volume knob which went up to 11.
- In the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, one of the competing bands turns their amplifiers up to 11.
- The volume control on a Testla Model S car goes up to 11.
- David Tenant, the 10th Doctor Who, uses his sonic screwdriver to turn the volume of a pipe organ up to 11.
There are at least two or three other novels that have had this reference in the last few years, but they have been so far in between I can't remember which ones.
But, it's nice to see another number getting lasting attention - 42 has had the spotlight for far too long.
Have you seen this term used anywhere else?
You can find a proper definition for it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_to_eleven.
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