It’s a passage from the bible. More specifically Exodus 8:2. There are many more references too. The plackard the guy who’s huckled away is holding up in the tv show segment, the poster at the bus stop at night, the rope lying on the roof where the kid jumps off, among many others.
You’ll notice someone in the audience of the TV show holds a sign that is confiscated which says Exdous 8.2.
The 82nd Mason lodge is in Magnolia, Arkansas
To elaborate, the final riddle is never answered but gives the notes B-E-E. The letter “B” resembles an “8” and there are two letter “E’s” in BEE. Another 8:2 reference.
Paul Thomas Anderson has said that he was unaware that the story of frogs falling from the sky is in the Bible (he took it from Charles Fort’s writing) when he wrote the screenplay. The Bible story of the plague of frogs was brought to his attention by Henry Gibson prior to filming. After he became aware of the story, Anderson worked references to Exodus 8:2 into the movie.
The numbers 8 and 2 appear frequently throughout the film: – The first weather forecast: 82% chance of rain. – The gambler in the prologue needs a 2 in blackjack, but instead gets an 8. – The coil of rope on the roof when Sydney commits suicide. – One of the posters held up in the ‘What Do Kids Know’ audience. – The movie poster at the bus stop on Magnolia Blvd. – The placard on the third hanged convict. – Jim Kurring’s box number at the date hot line. – Sydney Barringer’s mother and father’s apartment number is 682. – The forensic science convention starts at 8:20. – Delmer Darion flips over a stack of cards to reveal the 8 through 2 of diamonds. – Right after Jim Kurring sees Donnie Smith climbing up the building, you can see a flash of a sign on the side of the road that says “Exodus 8:2” (it’s visible again when the frogs fall and hit Kurring’s car) – The number on the fire fighter’s plane. – In Marcy’s mug shots, her criminal record number is 82082082082. – In the Smiling Peanut bar, there is a chalkboard visible with two teams, the frogs and the clouds, and the score is 8 to 2. – Spray painted on the cement as graffiti next to Dixon. – The kids were two days away from entering their eighth week as champions. – Quiz Kid Donnie Smith won his 100, 000 dollars on 28 April 1968. – The first two numbers of the Seduce and Destroy Hotline (1-877-TAME-HER) are 82. – Claudia proposes 8:00 for a date with Jim, but Jim says he doesn’t get off work until 10:00, so the date is set for 10:00, 2 hours later than the original suggested time. – At the police station in the beginning of the movie, the clock says 8:02. – When Jim Kurring notices Quiz Kid Donnie Smith climbing on the Solomon & Solomon building he drives past a luminous sign saying “Exodus 8:2”. – When Donnie enters the Smiling Peanut bar, the song “Goodbye Stranger” is playing. We hear the song playing from exactly 28 seconds after it’s started. – Frank says “Respect the cock, and tame the c*nt” which is 8 syllables, and then right after says “Tame it!” which is 2 syllables. At the beginning of Sydney Barringer’s Scene, there’s a rope on his left in the form of an 82
holy crap that was way more elaborate than i thought, thank you guys
Mike Volpe
Am I the only one who noticed the random use of numbers in the prologue, which is my all time favorite prologue/opening scene of a movie. When the man was jumping, there was the number 682 spelled out in hose on the left of him, his parents room was number 782 and the temperature was 82 degrees. Was there any significance to this?