History Main / NumberObsession

* WebVideo/{{Kitboga}} is a scambaiter popular on Website/{{Twitch}} and Website/YouTube. In the scambait "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IISRrrfrxM 52 Hackers Were Found On My Network (by scammers)]]," after his Granny Edna character is told as much, she becomes fixated on the number 52, finding it everywhere, such as a water bill for $52.52 and her Internet plan having been upgraded to 52 mbs. She is soon spinning a conspiracy theory worthy of [=QAnon=] and eventually tells the scammer that she thinks she needs to end the call, that she's been on the phone with him for 52 minutes and 52 seconds.

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain ComicBook/TwoFace is famously obsessed with the number two and duality in general, wielding GunsAkimbo and planning crimes involving the number two.

* ''Film/{{Pi}}'': Max Cohen is looking for a mathematical formula that will allow him to see the underlying pattern of the universe. He can perform complex mathematical calculations in his head. He's shown by a man named Lenny Meyer how the original Hebrew alphabet, which has alphanumeric value, could represent certain concepts mathematically, a concept known as Gematria, and suggests that the Torah is a code sent by God. It also coincides with a 216-digit number Max uncovered trying to write a program to unlock his theory, which another friend urges him to abandon, lest he become a mere numerologist. He's also pursued by aggressive representatives of a Wall Street firm that wants to use his mathematic formulae to decipher and predict stock prices. In the end, Max seems to find the secret he was looking for, which causes him to GoMadFromTheRevelation and he performs trepanation [[note]]drilling a hole in one's head[[/note]] for a form of LaserGuidedAmnesia.

* ''Series/AllAboutMe'': Leo is obsessed with maths, constantly reading math books and once desiring to go to a party dressed as the square root of 98. It's suggested as the series goes on that this is a sign of his Asperger's, with maths being his special interest.

* WebVideo/{{Kitboga}} is a scambaiter popular on Website/{{Twitch}} and Website/YouTube. In the scambait "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IISRrrfrx 52 Hackers Were Found On My Network (by scammers)]]," after his Granny Edna character is told as much, she becomes fixated on the number 52, finding it everywhere, such as a water bill for $52.52 and her Internet plan having been upgraded to 52 mbs. She is soon spinning a conspiracy theory worthy of [=QAnon=] and eventually tells the scammer that she thinks she needs to end the call, that she's been on the phone with him for 52 minutes and 52 seconds.

* WebVideo/{{Kitboga}} is a scambaiter popular on Website/{{Twitch}} and Website/YouTube. In the scambait "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IISRrrfrx 52 Hackers Were Found On My Network (by scammers)]], after his Granny Edna character is told as much, she becomes fixated on the number 52, finding it everywhere, such as a water bill for $52.52 and her Internet plan having been upgraded to 52 mbs. She is soon spinning a conspiracy theory worthy of [=QAnon=] and eventually tells the scammer that she thinks she needs to end the call, that she's been on the phone with him for 52 minutes and 52 seconds.

* In ''Theatre/TheAddingMachine'', Mr. Zero added up numbers for a living for two and a half decades, and he's so attached to his occupation that he keeps on trying to add miscellaneous numbers during the trial scene despite being off the job permanently (because his boss fired him and he then murdered his boss).

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': Count von Count's defining character trait is that he loves to count things (hence his MeaningfulName), doubled with his MadLibsCatchphrase of "[number]! [number] [noun](s)! [[SignatureLaugh Ah-ah-ah!]]". This ends up becoming a problem when [[FictionalDisability he comes down with an illness that makes him faint whenever he counts anything or thinks of numbers]].

->''"I count slowly, slowly, slowly getting faster\\
Once I start in counting, it's very hard to stop!\\
Faster, faster, it is so exciting.\\
I could count forever, count until I drop!\\
Oh, one, two, three, four, one-two-three-four-one-two-three-four,\\
One-two, I love counting, whatever the amount! Ha ha!\\
One, two, three, four, hey-ye-ye-ye, hey-ye-ye-ye,\\
One-two-three-four, one-two, that's the song of the Count!"''

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': In Recap/CriminalMindsS1E2Compulsion, the arsonist has OCD relating to the number three. She tends to repeat words and actions three times and is compelled to kill with fire whenever she encounters a trinity of threes. When confronted she admits what she is doing isn't right, but as Hotch explains the [=UnSub=] isn't killing because she wants to, but because she is compelled to.

* ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'': Jesse, if a fit of anger at one of Herr Starr's underlings, used his CompellingVoice to order him to count grains of sand on a beach, telling him he could stop when he reached two million. Months later, the man is shown still on the beach, emaciated and out of his mind, finally counting the two millionth grain. He later encounters Jesse, who is genuinely remorseful for what was really an act of DisproportionateRetribution. Jesse uses his voice power again and tells the man to forget it ever happened, which actually helps.

** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': [[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureEnricoPucci Enrico Pucci]] likes to count prime numbers to help him stay focused and calm, due the numbers' indivisibility.

* ''Film/{{Pi}}'': Max Cohen is looking for a mathmatical formula that will allow him to see the underlying pattern of the universe. He can perform complex mathmatical calculations in his head. He's shown by a man named Lenny Meyer how the original Hebrew alphabet, which has alphanumeric value, could represent certain concepts mathmatically, a concept known as Gematria, and suggests that the Torah is a code sent by God. It also coincides with a 216 digit number Max uncovered trying to write a program to unlock his theory, which another friend urges him to abandon, lest he become a mere numeroligist. He's also pursued by aggressive representatives of a Wall Street firm that want to use his mathmatic formulae to decipher and predict stock prices. In the end, Max seems to find the secret he was looking for, which causes him to GoMadFromTheRevelation and he performs trepanation [[note]]drilling a hole in one's head[[/note]] for a form of LaserGuidedAmnesia.

* ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'': Multiple characters are obsessed with the numbers 5, 17 and 23.

* ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'': The Auditors of Reality want to be able to count everything, as befits their role. When they experience humanity for the first time, and encounter phenomena that can't be reduced to numbers, they suffer various types of mental breakdown, and attempt things like breaking a painting apart into its individual molecules in a fruitless effort to determine where "beauty" comes from. (They also routinely attempt to destroy humanity in order to remove the problem.)

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/KateBush: [[Music/{{Aerial}} "π"]] is about a man who has "an obsessive nature and deep fascination for numbers," in particular seeking to memorize as many digits of the titular value as possible.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': There's a character in Gerudo Canyon Stable known as Pirou who has a strange obsession with number 55. He tells Link that he used to win races thanks to Rushrooms 55 years ago, but age took a toll on his vigor; he also rewards Link with a Diamond if the latter gives him 55 Rushrooms, but it has to be ''exactly'' 55 Rushrooms (no more, no less) and Pirou will proceed to count them one by one to be sure. Considering that he had begun to eat Rushrooms since he was five years old, so it's likely that his obsession with number 55 arose from his Rushroom addiction.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Oswald}}'': Henry seems to have an obsession with number 2. As part of his rigid routine, he only drinks his cocoa with two marshmallows, although he previously prefered three. In the episode "The Broken Vase", he reveals that he has a cactus to which he gives two drops of water every day and he polishes his Polka Penguins music record twice a day.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': In ''Action'', Trent develops an obsession with the number nine. This manifests as him doing everything nine times and forcing his teammates to say his name nime times in a row when they nominate him for a tie-breaking challenge. While Duncan suggests that it's because the number of letters in the names of Trent and his girlfriend Gwen add up to nine, Trent later reveals that it's because he had a beloved toy train as a child that lost one of its ten wheels.

An obsession or phobia regarding numbers and/or numerical order. Characters afflicted with this fixation tend to have a deep need for order and structure which might lead them developing ObsessivelyOrganized tendencies. They may believe that a particular number holds power due to superstitious beliefs surrounding numbers such as FourIsDeath and ThirteenIsUnlucky.

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': Count von Count's defining character trait is that he loves to count things (hence his MeaningfulName), doubled with his MadLibsCatchphrase of "[noun]! [number] [noun](s)! [[SignatureLaugh Ah-ah-ah!]]". This ends up becoming a problem when [[FictionalDisability he comes down with an illness that makes him faint whenever he counts anything or thinks of numbers]].

* Music/KateBush: [[Music/{{Aerial}} "?"]] is about a man who has "an obsessive nature and deep fascination for numbers," in particular seeking to memorize as many digits of the titular value as possible.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'': [[SinisterMinister Enrico Pucci]] likes to read prime numbers to help him stay focused and calm.

[[folder:Film--Live Action]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* 8-Ball from ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'' is obsessed with the fact that he ''[[InvertedTrope doesn't]]'' have a favorite number. At least, according to him, since everyone around him insists that his favorite number is 8, to which he [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial always tries to correct him]]. He also appears to contradict himself, since he says in [[WebAnimation/BattleForBFDI BFB]] 10 that the number that's most important is 4... ''[-times 2.-]''

[[/folder]]

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]: [[SinisterMinister Enrico Pucci]] likes to read prime numbers to help him stay focused and calm.