Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!att!cbnewsc!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: styri@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk (Yu No Hoo)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Vehicle paint jobs
Keywords: Arabic numerals
Message-ID: <1991Mar7.014012.1815@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 7 Mar 91 01:40:12 GMT
References: <1991Feb28.051823.9329@cbnews.att.com> <1991Mar4.204352.4365@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (william.b.thacker)
Organization: Computer Science, Heriot-Watt U., Scotland
Lines: 29
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: styri@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk (Yu No Hoo)

>In article <1991Feb28.051823.9329@cbnews.att.com>, alberta!atrc!pandora!sharma (Rohit Sharma) writes:
>The  ^ mark probably is the number 7 (?) in the arabian
>script.

In article <1991Mar4.204352.4365@cbnews.att.com> pd@sics.se (Per Danielsson) writes:
>No, the numeral 7 in arabic looks like "7". That's why our numerals are called
>arabic numerals...

Sure, we call our numerals arabic, and we even write them in the same order
as in arabic. (I guess thats why I have to read large numbers from right to
left if the digits aren't grouped. :-)

However, digits are written with different signs in 'modern' (?) arabic. The
inverted "v" is in fact the number 8. (The only signs that look similar to
our digits are 1 and 9.) I believe this thread can be continued in
soc.culture.arabic or something.

I guess the paint job used in desert shield was nothing more than a symbol.
A simple symbol that easily could be changed if neccessary.

----------------------
Haakon Styri
Dept. of Comp. Sci.              ARPA: styri@cs.hw.ac.uk
Heriot-Watt University          X-400: C=gb;PRMD=uk.ac;O=hw;OU=cs;S=styri
Edinburgh, Scotland