11/11/11: Once-in-a-lifetime date sparks mystical buzz around the World

WINDSOR, Ont. - The number 11 just won't stop following Therese Rose Papineau around - and she's not alone.
Today, on the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 2011, Papineau celebrates her 56th birthday. She was born in '55 - divisible by 11 - 11 years after her mother married, making her the 11th grandchild in her family. Papineau's address and phone number have the number 11 in them, her first two names combined have 11 letters and, like her mother, she gave birth to her daughter after 11 years of marriage.
``None of that was planned in any way. It's all coincidence and it's just very strange how it all happened,'' said Papineau, a retired police officer and entrepreneur who lives in Tecumseh, Ont. ``And as 11/11/11 was coming up, I started thinking about it more.''
Around the world, people have been meeting on Internet message boards, planning weddings and even hunkering down for the end of days. It's all in preparation for a date and a number they're convinced is significant.
A Facebook page for people like Papineau who notice the number 11 popping up at opportune times in their lives, or find their eyes are drawn to it, has more than 632,000 ``Likes.'' Search a little more on the Internet and you'll find people discussing long lists of ways the number 11 was involved in the 9/11 attacks and other historical events.
One of the biggest boosters of the 11 phenomenon is Uri Geller, a United Kingdom-based psychic and television personality known for bending spoons from a distance. Geller said he's received thousands of emails from people touched by the number 11 since posting a lengthy article about its meaning on his website.
Geller said he believes people are drawn to the number 11 ``at times of heightened awareness.'' People like Papineau who find it shows up again and again in their lives have a special gift, he said.
``I think the people who encounter 11/11, they're not better than you or anyone else, but maybe they've been chosen, maybe they're more ready than other people who don't see it. Maybe they're ready to step into that greater reality. Maybe they're ready to lead the way for others into a new way of living, into maybe a greater love or a shift from duality into oneness.''
If that's true, expect Brandon, Nathan and Christopher Peralta to be some pretty powerful people when they grow up. The triplet boys are turning 11 on - you guessed it - 11/11/11.
Their mother, Amy Peralta, said her father, grandfather and uncle all died within six weeks of their birth. She said she's not sure she believes in lucky numbers and mysterious forces, but it's certainly an incredible coincidence the three men were replaced by triplet boys weeks later.
Brandon, however, said he does believe 11 is a lucky number. ``It's my favourite number. I don't really know, it just stands out to me. I've always liked that number,'' he said.
Myron Hlynka, a statistics professor at the University of Windsor, said he likes the number 11, too - but that doesn't mean it has magical powers.

``Nine, 10, 11, 12, they're all fascinating numbers. Are any of them more fascinating than the others? Well, maybe. But I'm not sure 11 gets into that category.''
Hlynka said the number 11 doesn't pop up in history more often than any other number. He said he tested the claim that leaders frequently have 11 letters in their names by looking at a list of Canada's past prime ministers, finding only two out of 15 met the test.
All the examples cited by Geller and other 11 boosters can be explained by a combination of coincidence and confirmation bias, meaning people tend to notice things that confirm beliefs they already hold and ignore evidence that contradicts them.
``I think it's absurd,'' he said. ``I'll worship all my numbers equally.''
Rob Whent and Louanne Kryk were sufficiently convinced to set their wedding date for 11/11/11. Whent said the idea came to them while they were on vacation in March.
``We said, `That's the date!'' And we called from the poolside,'' he said.
It was available, but they were lucky. Whent said other venues in Windsor were booked long before they called and 11/11/11 is shaping up to be one of the most popular wedding dates in history.
Whent said the date fits nicely with the wedding's unconventional theme.
Whent, an entrepreneur at WEtech Alliance, and Kryk, an assistant foreman at The Windsor Star's press, are celebrating the second marriage for both with a masquerade ball and are donating all the proceeds to the Windsor organization Theatre Alive.
Whent said he's one of those people who finds his eyes drawn to the number 11. However, he's on the fence about whether the number has mystical powers.
``I don't necessarily not believe in it. I believe everybody makes their own luck. It's definitely a strange occurrence. It's happening everywhere.''
At 11:11 on 11/11/11, Whent and Kryk will be signing their marriage certificate, Papineau will be celebrating her birthday with 11 friends and family members and the triplets will be having their own party. As for Geller, he'll be on a stage in Japan, doing what he does every Nov. 11 at 11:11: leading a crowd in meditation and prayer.
``There are no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason in the universe. So 11/11/11 has a major significance to human beings,'' he said.

World marks 11/11/11 with weddings, lotteries and hope

WASHINGTON — With a crush of marriages, a rush to buy lucky lottery tickets and prayers for peace and oneness, people worldwide marked Friday's once-per-century 11/11/11 lineup with humour, hope and a hint of mischief.

Couples from Shanghai to Jakarta and Helsinki to Las Vegas swamped registry offices and chapels to marry on Friday in the belief that the date is among the most auspicious in a century — and competition was fierce to lock in a wedding ceremony reservation at the magic hour of 11:11.

Shanghai hotel manager Li Xue, 26, originally planned to marry in February next year, but she brought forward her plans because of the special day.

"We are getting married on the day of 'six ones.' We will no longer be single on the once-in-a-century singles' day," she told AFP, noting China's unofficial "singles day" is celebrated on November 11.

Thousands were trying their luck at married life in Las Vegas, with several chapels in Sin City packed to the rafters as lovebirds sought the chance to marry on such a memorable date — and no doubt provide an easy way for husbands to remember their anniversaries.

"We started this morning at 6:30 am, and it's at least 150 (weddings) or maybe more by the end of the day," said an employee at the Little Church of the West who identified herself as Candice.

About 3,200 marriage licence applications were filed in Las Vegas, three times more than normal, a Clark County clerk told USA Today.

Chapels aren't the only ones doing brisk business. Lottery ticket sales surged, with firms around the world capitalizing on the public's appreciation for a run of ones.

A Spanish charity for the blind named ONCE, which means 11 in Spanish, held a special lottery with 11 one-million-euro prizes and a super jackpot worth 11 million euros. All of its 13.5 million tickets sold out, organizers said.

"Lottery players are superstitious with their lucky numbers, and on a day like today, it's likely that very many will pick 1-1-1-1," said Carole Everett of the Maryland Lottery.

Many see the date as a sign of hope and positivity. In Brazil, a 30-year-old bicyclist chose to end his round-the-globe ride through 59 countries on 11/11/11, after a three-year, three-month, three-day journey that began on another auspicious day, 08/08/08.

"People are the same wherever they are, and the whole world wants the same thing, which is a better world," rider Danilo Perrotti Machado said.

Restaurants dished out themed menus to try and cash in on the date. The Jefferson Hotel in Washington was offering an 11-course tasting menu for $111.11 per person.

Why all the fuss over a set of digits?

Numerologists and others see 11 as a master number, and a triple master number is seen as extra powerful. For decades, 11:11 has resonated with people focusing on the numbers when they see them on digital clocks.

Ellie Crystal, a psychic and metaphysical explorer, said she will "tune into global energies that began on the other side of the world and domino here to New York City."

Crystal sees 11:11 as an "awakening code" that could elevate consciousness.

One group reading between the lines was wearers of corduroy, whose raised ridges encapsulate the fabric's supreme elevenness.

"Corduroy Lovers. The 11/11/11 is upon us, the day that most closely resembles Corduroy. Let's celebrate by wearing as much Cord as possible!" wrote Twitter user CorduroyWines.

The New York-based Corduroy Appreciation Club was to hold its "111111 Grandest Meeting," and the event was sold out.

11:11 fans have taken to social media to promote happenings such as dances, prayer ceremonies and oneness events worldwide.

That may have spooked authorities in Egypt, where the Great Pyramid of Giza was closed to avoid any rituals by a group rumoured to have plans to mark the date at the site.

The decision came "after much pressure" from Egyptian Internet users that strange rituals were going to be held "within the walls of the pyramid on November 11, 2011," said Atef Abu Zahab, head of the Department of Pharaonic Archaeology.

The elevens have aligned for Nigel Tufnel, the heavy metal guitarist in "This is Spinal Tap" who in the classic 1984 mockumentary showed how his amplifiers "go to 11."

But while an appreciation society has been petitioning to have 11/11/11 christened Nigel Tufnel Day, as of Friday no government appeared to have granted them their wish.

Girl child born at 11.11 am on 11.11.11

Jagraon, (Punjab, India) November 11
At a time when there was a rat race among couples to have a baby born on this special day i.e. November 11, here was a couple that was blessed with a girl child on this special day. What makes the birth of this girl child more special is the fact that the baby was born at 11.11 am today.
Another co-incidence to the birth of this child, which makes this moment special, is the fact that the couple was blessed with the girl child after 11 years of the birth of their first child. The couple had given birth to their first child, a boy, 11 years ago.
Quite interestingly, at a time when the couples all over the world were keen to give birth to a child on this special day and some of them were even requesting doctors to get the baby delivered through operation, the parents and family members of this special girl child were not even aware of this strange co-incidence even during the birth of the child.
Hailing from Pone De Kothe, a small village on the outskirts of Jagraon, the family members of the newly born child came to know about the importance of the day when mediapersons rushed to Sanjeevani Maternity Home situated on the Malak road, Jagraon, where the baby was born this morning.
Dr Preeti Gupta, the gynaecologist, said the girl child was born with a normal delivery. According to Dr Preeti, even she was not aware of this strange co-incidence.
“I was not aware of the importance of this day and when Daljit Kaur, mother of the newly born child, was brought to my hospital this morning, I was just thinking of a safe and comfortable birth of the child. I, too, came to know about the importance of the day when some mediapersons arrived here and asked me about the baby,” said the excited doctor.
Jang Singh, father of this newly born baby, said, “Till morning he was not aware of the importance of the day.”
Meanwhile, another couple from nearby Manuke village also gave birth to a baby boy on this special day. Amritpal Singh Sandhu and his wife Manvinder Kaur were blessed with a boy today at a Ludhiana hospital at 11.59 am.

IIT-Roorkee to confer degree on Montek Singh

Dehradun, November 11
The 164-year-old Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, will confer the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) on Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, at the 11th Convocation Ceremony of the institute to be held on November 12 at Roorkee.
During the convocation, four alumni will be awarded distinguished alumnus award for their outstanding contributions in the fields of Science and Technology. The award winners are Dr Shyam Sunder Rai, M. Tech in Geo Physics, who was awarded his degree in 1977, Vijai Prakash Agrawal, awarded his BE and ME degree in the year 1976 and 1978 respectively and made significant contribution in the field of Civil Aviation and is currently the Chairman of the Airports Authority of India, VK Agnihotri, who was awarded his degree in BE and ME in 1960 and 1962 respectively and is currently associated with the Indian Railway in developing state of the art microcomputers based maintenance strategies for the rail tracks which are being used across the country and Hersh Kumar who was awarded his BE in 1978 in Industrial Engineering and is a senior entrepreneur and educator.
Four national awards will also be awarded during the ceremony which include Khosla National award to Dr Inder Bir Singh Passi of the IISER, Mohali, for his lifetime achievement in mathematical sciences in India, VNMM award to Dr P Thanikaivelan (Central Leather Research Institute), who is also the youngest recipient of the award, for his innovative and creative work in cleaner leather processing technologies in India, Shamsher Prakash Research Award to Dr Pijush Samui of VIT University for his research work done in the past five years in Geo Technical Engineering and the AS Arya-IITR Disaster Prevention Award to Sushil Gupta for his outstanding contributions in the Disaster Risk Mangement in India.
A total of 1336 degrees will be awarded during the convocation, including 508 degrees in the technical graduate stream, 714 master’s degrees in the technical post graduation stream and 114 PhD degrees. The institute will also be awarding five Integrated Master of Technology degrees for the first time in Polymer Science and Technology, said Prof Prodipta Banerji, Director, IITR.

Rishikesh-Karanprayag Railway Line

Dehradun, November 11
The war of words between the leaders of the opposition, the Congress, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) refused to die down on the issue of the stone-laying function of the ambitious Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway line.
Union Defence Minister AK Antony along with Union Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi laid the foundation stone of the proposed railway line in the Garhwal Himalayas in the absence of Sonia Gandhi, who could not pay a visit due to indisposition on November 9.
With Assembly elections in February next year, both rival political parties left no stone unturned to claim credit for the railway line. In fact, it was the effort of Satpal Maharaj, Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal, which led to the sanctioning of the railway line.
The Congress planned the foundation stone function as a start of their election campaign by party president Sonia Gandhi.
The BJP government, led by Chief Minister BC Khanduri, was opposed to laying the foundation stone of the national project by Sonia Gandhi and even complained to the Prime Minister. There were efforts by former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to project that the railway line had been sanctioned due to his efforts.
Later, Khanduri complained that he was not invited for such an important event in the state. In reply to the allegations, Satpal Maharaj and an arch political rival of Khanduri in a statement issued here today said it had been reliably learnt from the Railway Ministry that the Chief Minister was invited for the programme but he declined to accept it on the ground of business due to statehood functions slated for November 9.
Maharaj said it was a lie propagated by the Chief Minister that he was not invited for the function. He said Khanduri should have shown some grace while accepting the invitation for the programme, which was important not only for the socio-economic development of the Garhwal region but was also vital for strategic defence purposes on the China border.
In a scathing attack on the Chief Minister, Maharaj said Khanduri himself had never given a damn for the protocol. “During his earlier tenure as Chief Minister, he did not invite his own cabinet colleague Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who was a Health Minister in his government to the inauguration of Srinagar Medical College,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BJP, finding itself in a bind on the issue, has raked up the issue of the Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway- line which had been pending for many years.
Bishan Singh Chufal, Uttarakhand BJP president, said the Central Government should sanction the Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line which was equally important for the Kumoan region and also for defence purposes.