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2023-08-30 14:37 dustin  
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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGIT "9" FROM OLD INDIA UNTIL TODAY LOOKS FUNNIEST TO ME COMPARED WITH ALL PREVIOUS DIGITS! :D  
  
LEFT SHAPE:  
IN OLD INDIA (BRAHMI SCRIPT), "NINE" WAS WRITTEN LIKE A QUESTION MARK WITHOUT DOT. SEE BELOW FOR SPECULATIONS WHERE THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD THIS SHAPE FROM. NOW ONE MIGHT THINK THAT THIS LOOKS ALREADY RELATIVELY SIMILAR TO OUR MODERN "9", BUT AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE MAP, CRAZY THINGS HAPPENED WITH THE SHAPE IN REALITY! :D  
  
SECOND-LEFT SHAPE:  
FIRST OF ALL, THE LOWER HALF OF THE SHAPE BECAME MORE CURVED, AND THE WHOLE DIGIT LOOKED MORE AND MORE LIKE A (MODERN) "3".  
  
SECOND-RIGHT SHAPE:  
I HAVEN'T COMPARED HOW THE ACTUAL "THREE" SYMBOL LOOKED AT THAT TIME, BUT MAYBE BOTH SHAPES HAD BECOME TOO SIMILAR. IN ANY CASE, THIS SHAPE STARTED TO BE WRITTEN WITH A CURVE AT THE END, AND THE CURVE BECAME LONGER AND LONGER UNTIL THE "3" HAD A WHOLE CIRCLE AROUND IT (PRETTY MUCH LIKE THE "AT" SYMBOL IN EMAIL ADDRESSES).  
  
LAST SHAPE:  
THE CIRCLE BECAME EVEN LONGER AND BECAME A SPIRAL. AT THE SAME TIME, THE ORIGINAL "3" BECAME MORE AND MORE INSIGNIFICANT AND EVENTUALLY IT VANISHED COMPLETELY. THE SPIRAL ITSELF BECAME THE NEW SHAPE OF THE DIGIT!  
  
THERE WASN'T ENOUGH SPACE FOR ANOTHER SHAPE IN THE MAP, BUT I THINK IT'S NOW EASY TO IMAGINE HOW THE SPIRAL WAS MODIFIED UNTIL IT LOOKED LIKE TODAY :D  
  
SO BASICALLY, "9" IS JUST A BIG SPIRAL WITH A TINY, LONG FORGOTTEN "3" INSIDE... :D  
  
BUT WHERE DID THE OLD INDIANS GET THEIR "QUESTION MARK WITHOUT DOT" SHAPE FROM?  
IT SEEMS PLAUSIBLE TO ME THAT THEY GOT IT FROM THE KHAORSTHI ALPHABET, WHICH WE ALREADY CONSIDERED EARLIER:  
<a href="https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=l9w1iZcg&id=4B3055CEE1B2CEC7E7BE7E90C66086379D823C1E&thid=OIP.l9w1iZcgrHCjOHFiqFPInwHaLm&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.97dc35899720ac70a3387162a853c89f%3frik%3dHjyCnTeGYMaQfg%26riu%3dhttp%253a%252f%252f1.bp.blogspot.com%252f-1Lqtx3WEEPI%252fUnTjKEKQMOI%252fAAAAAAAABgU%252fDRC7Rt3SVfE%252fs640%252fkharosthi.gif%26ehk%3dU3b1KiAi9HSGivEfx4dEEeE9NEp%252fEiraiY%252b9wNxgoBg%253d%26risl%3d%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0%26sres%3d1%26sresct%3d1%26srh%3d799%26srw%3d510&exph=470&expw=300&q=kharosthi+images&simid=607995528027590296&FORM=IRPRST&ck=648B1CCD9F2D1EC52F53C8636717891A&selectedIndex=0&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0" target="external">https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=l9w1iZcg&id=4B3055CEE1B2CEC7E7BE7E90C66086379D823C1E&thid=OIP.l9w1iZcgrHCjOHFiqFPInwHaLm&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.97dc35899720ac70a3387162a853c89f%3frik%3dHjyCnTeGYMaQfg%26riu%3dhttp%253a%252f%252f1.bp.blogspot.com%252f-1Lqtx3WEEPI%252fUnTjKEKQMOI%252fAAAAAAAABgU%252fDRC7Rt3SVfE%252fs640%252fkharosthi.gif%26ehk%3dU3b1KiAi9HSGivEfx4dEEeE9NEp%252fEiraiY%252b9wNxgoBg%253d%26risl%3d%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0%26sres%3d1%26sresct%3d1%26srh%3d799%26srw%3d510&exph=470&expw=300&q=kharosthi+images&simid=607995528027590296&FORM=IRPRST&ck=648B1CCD9F2D1EC52F53C8636717891A&selectedIndex=0&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0</a>  
  
the letter "na" looks much like a mirrored version of the first shape, and this time, the letter also makes sense because the old indian (sanskrit) word for "nine" is "nava", starting with that exact letter!  
  
btw the cave was a real challenge for me, luckily there's no 10th level necessary :d  
  
seed 9 was used in bd1-g/5 and bd2-l/4.  
  
next cave will be about the kharosthi alphabet finally! :d

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2023-08-30 14:44 dustin  
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another point of view: "9" is pregnant with a tiny sweet little baby-3 inside... ;)

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2023-08-30 20:42 Rob Gilbert  
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wow, a crazy story :D and a pretty crazy cave, too, i'm going to give it a shot soon :)

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2023-08-30 20:49 dustin  
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thanks  Rob Gilbert ! i needed a looot of attempts to solve the cave :d

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2023-08-31 22:31 dustin  
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that's what i was expecting: for a long time,  darkstoorm 's solution would remain the only one :d

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2023-08-31 22:43 DarkStoorM  
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There's plenty of time! I'm sure some more demos will appear soon :D