History Main / SixIsNine

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' involved Tommy being kidnapped as a result of criminals succumbing to this trope.

** Immediately following this, one character theorizes that [[spoiler:June's #6 bracelet is actually a 9, which allows her to open any of the doors in the game]], which in context implies that [[spoiler:Santa's #3 bracelet marks him as [[BigBad Zero]].]] This theory is mostly correct, [[spoiler:but it's the other way around. Santa is the real #9, and June ''from nine years ago'' is the real Zero.]]

** This comes to a head when [[spoiler:the final door with an apparent "9" on it turns out to be a "q". In Japanese, the number 9 can be pronounced as ''[[GoroawaseNumber kyuu]]'', while in English it's easy to mistake the two.]]
* In the remake-exclusive fifth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', a piece of evidence contains a note that reads "6-7S 12/2." However, the note had writing already on it and new part was apparently written upside down and it actually reads "2/21 SL-9," tying it to another case altogether.

* In the "Secret's Safe with Me" episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', the VictimOfTheWeek appears to have written "LIE" in [[DyingClue her own blood on the ground before dying]]. But they were looking at it the wrong way up and It is actually "317".

* ''Film/MrBeansHoliday'' is kicked off by him holding ticket 616 to a lottery where ticket 919 is the winner.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Llanargollen}}'' S1 E1 is about a package that was supposed to be delivered to House No. 9, but was accidentally delivered to No. 6 after the address number for No. 6 came loose and flipped upside-down, much like in the page image.

* With a calculator, especially the older ones where the digits were made up of straight lines, you could make it spell a word by typing in some numbers, and turning the calculator upside down. Examples:

This trope also covers any other symbol (or collection thereof) that could be misinterpreted if read at the wrong angle, such as M and W. There are often attempts to avert this trope by putting an underscore on the letter or number in question, to act as an aid to show which way they should be read.

Not to be confused with LOL69 (especially since that number is immune to this trope). Compare CalculatorSpelling for characters exploiting the fact that some seven-segment digits look like letters when upside-down.

'''Expect SPOILERS.'''

* An early example in the 1920 short ''Film/OneWeek''. After all their labor building the house, Buster Keaton's character and his wife find out that the Lot 99 sign actually meant Lot 66, so they have to move the house.

* ''Film/InTheLineOfFire'' used this quite well in one of their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU4iPNL5yBM trailers]].

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[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{Identity}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/identity_6_is_9.png]]]]
[-[[caption-width-right:350:"...4, 5, 9—wait, we're not missing a few doors, are we?"]]-]

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* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': In "Murdoch and the Tramp", Murdoch deducts early on that the VictimOfTheWeek resulted from the killer mistaking his hotel room, 419, for room 416 because the 9 had rotated. The real target was the resident of room 416, one Creator/CharlieChaplin. [[spoiler:Until he finds later that the murderer missed his target for a different reason.]]
* In the second series of ''Series/TBag'', the magical items being sought are silver numbers to complete a clock face. The final number, the 0 to make the ten on the clock, turns out to be hidden in plain sight as a letter O in a sign that reads TOWER.
* In the "Secret's Safe with Me" episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', the VictimOfTheWeek appears to have written "LIE" in [[DyingClue her own blood on the ground before dying]]. But they were looking at it the wrong way up and It is actually "317".

* A Music/TheyMightBeGiants song called "The Secret Life Of Six" has six and nine disguise themselves as each other - six pretending he's older and nine pretending he's younger.

* [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Was_Nine (Ex)German band named "6 was 9"]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''The Math Factory'' had an episode where Cranston and Stubby were playing with a card (19 is 61 upside down).
* An early Muppet sketch on ''Series/SesameStreet'' spoofing ''Series/{{Dragnet}}'' had a couple of police detectives looking for a fugitive W. When the detectives encounter a W, the letter fools them by flipping over, claiming to be an M.
** In another sketch, Herbert Birdsfoot is lecturing about the letter M, when it suddenly turns over and becomes a W.
[[/folder]]

* A RunningGag in the Australian comedy ''Verve'', by Mark Lucas. Various characters turn up at 16 Sunnybrook Crescent, the apartment of ButtMonkey Mitchell Germaine, whose wife slammed the door too hard after walking out on him. First is Warren (a TV repairman who believes it's No. 19) then Leon (a dyslexic pizza deliveryman) and finally escort girl Tasha.

* The piece of evidence that irrevocably incriminates the murderer in the first trial of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'' is the victim's [[DyingClue dying message]]: the digits "[[spoiler:11037]]" [[CouldntFindAPen written in their blood]]. If you turn them upside down, it spells out [[spoiler: L E O I I, implicating fellow student LEON Kuwata - the victim died before they could add the crossbar on the N]].

* In one of the vector-animated ''Franchise/{{Peanuts}}'' shorts, Woodstock dives into Snoopy's water dish. Snoopy [[HoldUpYourScore holds up a score card]] showing a 6. Woodstock complains, and Snoopy flips his card around to show a 9.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irBD30O-FmM 8-bit Haunted Dance Party]]'' video has Creator/FeliciaDay being invited to a halloween party at 966 Ravenscroft Lane. As she walks through the gate of what she thinks is the address, [[NumberOfTheBeast the 9 swings down and turns into a 6]].

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' involved Tommy being kidnapped as a result of criminals succumbing to this trope.
** In the "Literature/SnowWhite" special of the "Tales From the Crib" series, one of Angelica's magic mirrors rates her a nine, then to show his disdain for her, he turns the card over to rate her a six.

* In ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'', Larry the Cucumber never got his pizza in one Silly Song because the house number (16) on his door was broken.
* When April O'Neil of the 2003 ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2003}}'' series was posing as a news reporter, she wore a badge saying she represented Channel 9. When it was damaged, it flipped down, making her a reporter for Channel 6, referencing the original series. One of several shout-outs in that episode.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** The 'W' and 'M' were allegedly mixed up in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV" as well; when [=SpongeBob=] shrinks people and things with Mermaid Man's belt, Patrick tells him he has it set to M for "mini" instead of W for "[[PerfectlyCromulentWord wumbo]]." This doesn't seem to do anything, but [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike Mermaid Man's later comment indicates there really is a "wumbo" setting.]]
** In "Born to Be Wild", 'W' is 'M'. [=SpongeBob=] rips the letter 'W' from the shirt of a biker belonging to [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels a scary gang, the Wild Ones]]. The biker actually belongs to a much tamer group, the ''Mild'' Ones.
** In "Moving Bubble Bass", Bubble Bass Tricks [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick into heping him move his belongings [[BasementDweller from his mother's basement to his grandmother's basement]]. The address Bubble Bass gave them was house #166, but because [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick were holding the paper upside down, they mistake house #991 for the proper address, much to the chagrin of the house's owner.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Bullseye!", Lawrence Fletcher is driving to speak at a conference at 9019 Palindrome Rd. Unfortunately, the piece of paper gets dropped and placed upside down, reading 6106 Palindrome Rd., which leads him to a Pageant of Evil hosted by the city's organization of evil scientists, L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N..

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS1E8ABigPieceOfGarbage A Big Piece Of Garbage]]", the crew are sent to blow up the titular ball of garbage set to collide with the Earth. Unfortunately, they end up nearly getting killed due to Professor Farnsworth having set the timer while the screen was upside down.
--> '''Leela:''' That idiot! It wasn't set for 25 minutes, it was set for 52 seconds!

* An episode of ''[[Series/MrBean Mr. Bean: The Animated Series]]'' has Bean getting his credit card eaten by an ATM because he kept inputting the wrong PIN. After he gets his credit card back he finally realises he was holding the piece of paper that he wrote his PIN on upside-down.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'', 625 finds an inactive experiment, which is labeled with its number like all the others. Gantu looks up its number (611), discovering that it is an "unstoppable superweapon", and sends it to Hämsterviel, reporting that ''he'' found it. 625, angered by Gantu taking credit for his discovery, warns him of [[LaserGuidedKarma karma]] coming back to bite him, and it does: the experiment was actually 119, which was a much less useful experiment Hämsterviel did not actually want to deal with.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode, "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E23HomeOfTheFaveHeroTodayGoneTomorrow Home of the Fave]]", when Lola and Lynn Sr. are playing pageant, Lola seems to give Lynn Sr. a score of 9, but the card was upside down and his real score is 6, which he's okay with.
* One of ''WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther'' cartoons has the stork accidentally delivering a baby meant for an alligator couple to the Panther because the rainstorm flipped his address number from 616 to the zoo's address, 919.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Llanargollen}}'' S1 E1 is about a package that was supposed to be delivered to House No. 9, but was accidentally delivered to No. 6 after the address number for No. 6 came loose and flipped upside-down, much like in the page image.
* ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'': One of the episodes of ''Peabody's Improbable History'' has Peabody let Sherman copy an address by writing it on a piece of paper. The address was 999 Schnitzel Street, however Sherman realized he had the paper upside down when they arrived to a lake located on 666 Schnitzel Street instead.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Riddler's Reform", the supposedly reformed titular villain shows an advertisement on TV with the digits "31753701". At first, Batman believes these are map coordinates (for the First National Bank), but then realizes Riddler flipped over the blackboard, and it actually means "10 Leslie" - an address of a jewelry store.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Numberblocks}}'' features Nine leaving his apartment to buy a newspaper. When he comes back, all of his stuff goes missing. Detective One and Nine solve a mystery as to who took the stuff, later revealed to be Six. She only wanted to move in, and the gang rushes up the building, when they get to apartment 6, they realized that the "6" on the door was upside-down, the apartment that Nine mistakenly entered earlier.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Bonkers}}'', a ghost who is haunting the Piquel residence turns out to be there by mistake. The address card says he should have gone to 18-18, but he read it as 81-81.
* ''WesternAniamation/{{Bernard}}'' has a sketch where the titular bear delivers pizza to a house numbered "6". Somehow, he got lost and ended up near a HauntedHouse numbered "9", but the "9" had a few screws loose and flipped to a "6". He enters the house, and HilarityEnsues.

[[folder:Animation]]
* A Korean animation titled ''Bernard Bear''/''Backkom'' has a sketch where the titular bear delivers pizza to a house numbered "6". Somehow, he got lost and ended up near a HauntedHouse numbered "9", but the "9" had a few screws loose and flipped to a "6". He enters the house, and HilarityEnsues.
[[/folder]]

* Gang members Scorch and Chills in ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' use the Number monsters "Number 61: Volcasaurus" and "Number 19: Freezadon", which have opposite motifs (fire and ice), body styles, strategies, and stat at 2500 (Volcasaurus: 2500 ATK, Freezadon: 2500 DEF).
* Elie from ''Manga/RaveMaster'' gets her name from reading her tattoo after suffering IdentityAmnesia. She read it upside down: the tattoo actually says "3173".

* In an episode of ''Anime/BravePoliceJDecker'', Yuuta suspects artist Ninomiya Mutsuky as being behind a string of art thefts, as his art was exhibited at all the museums that were hit, and an sculptor's knife was found at one of the crime scenes with the initials N.M. However, it turned out that the knife was being held upside-down, and the real culprit was one of Mutsuky's employees, Wakabayashi Nobio.
* ''Anime/GodzillaSingularPoint'': One of Professor Ashihara's many cryptic notes has "6=9" written on it. It's a hint how The Archetype material works with space-time, as in a curved area a direction can turn 180 degrees.

* In ''The Broken Ear'', ComicBook/{{Tintin}} realizes that the license plate "169 MW" is actually "MW 691" flipped upside down.
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} in Britain'': Asterix and friends get the address (number VI in a row of identical suburban huts) of the thief who stole their barrel of magic potion. But when they bust down the door the firt time, it turns out to be a perfectly ordinary couple living at number VII (the I fell off).
* In the "Tales from the Pit: Black Day at Bad Rock" story from ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', a squatter is given apartment number [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]] as a reward for informing to the Judges. When he goes to open the door, it turns out to be one of the apartments {{Booby Trap}}ped with explosives that an old lady from eariler in the story was using to coverup her welfare fraud.

* There was a ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'' strip where Pig is sitting contently, reading a comic book. Suddenly, The Bluebird of Happiness flies onto his window and announces that he has been watching Pig for years, and thinks he deserves some joy in his life. Pig thanks the bird, who replies "No, thank YOU, Joseph C. Skalabonsky!". It was then revealed that he was supposed to go to 608 Bradbury, but he held the directions upside-down and went to 809 Bradbury, which is Pig's house. The bluebird then says "Ohhhhh.", flies away, and Pig sighs.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* An early example in the 1920 short ''Film/OneWeek''. After all their labor building the house, Buster Keaton's character and his wife find out that the Lot 99 sign actually meant Lot 66, so they have to move the house.
* In ''Film/NationalLampoonsEuropeanVacation'', the Griswolds spend some time with German-speaking relatives. As they leave, they slam the door and the 6 swings down and becomes a 9, they'd been staying with strangers and didn't realize it.

* Something like that happened in the French/British Film ''La Grande Vadrouille'', set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, with hotel rooms 6 and 9.

* This happens to Leonard in ''Film/{{Memento}}'', causing him to bash a random motel resident in the face.
* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPlutoNash'', Pluto interrogated the body clinic specialist to find the identity of the crime boss and was given the initials "WZW" as a clue, but found no results upon searching. Realizing the initials were read upside-down, he searched "MZM" and found one result.
* The plot of ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruang_Talok_69 Ruang Talok 69]]'' is set off when the 6 on a flat door keeps flipping accidentally to resemble a 9, resulting in all kinds of mayhem.
* Eighties Creator/TomHanks comedy ''Film/TheBurbs'' had the villains' house address being "696". [[NumberOfTheBeast No points for guessing the 9 was flipped]].
* In the 1990 Italian comedy ''Film/LeComiche'' ("The Comic Actors") in the 3rd episode the numbers on hotel rooms 6 and 9 keep flipping every time someone as much as touches a door, [[RuleOfFunny completely disregarding common sense]]. Room 9 is occupied by a jealous husband with a beautiful wife, followed by a busful of lovers; room 6 is occupied by [[TheChewToy newlyweds]] accidentally driven to nervous breakdown by protagonists in the 1st episode. And the delivery man keeps confusing the doors (he's new at this job, he's a TravelingSalesman working off the damages inflicted on the hotel earlier that day).
* Done oddly in ''Film/{{Identity}}'' where it's revealed that [[spoiler:the guests are being killed in the order of their room numbers]]. Shortly after one of the characters walks into room 9, the closing of the door causes their number to flip to 6, making them the next target. The fact that [[spoiler:they're all alternate personalities in a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind]] means this might not be coincidental. Also provides the page image.

* There is one scene in a Creator/PatrickMcManus story where one of the characters wakes up in the middle of the night on a camping trip, takes out an analog watch, and reads it upside down, interpreting it as 7:00 instead of the intended 1:30.

* Scott Kim's ''The Little Book of Big Mind Benders'' invokes this with its "Crazy Cross" puzzles, which are a 3x3 crossword made with letters that can be read in two different directions, becoming a different uppercase or lowercase letter when rotated 90 degrees one way or the other. For instance, N can be read as Z, D can be read as A, E can be read as M (or W), and H can be read as I.

* In the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' episode "Bad News", the numbers 50 to 1 are hidden in the episode as a countdown until Marshall [[spoiler:receives the news of his father's death]]. A file folder Barney is holding is marked with the number 9, and later the folder is picked up upside down, now representing the number 6 in the countdown.
* In a Halloween episode of ''Series/QuantumLeap'', Sam leaps into the body of a horror writer whose street address is 669. Near the climax, [[spoiler:the 9 flips upside down to reveal that the devil is amongst them]].
* {{Parodied}} in an early episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', one sketch was a parody of ''Film/TheOmen''. Late in the sketch, one character accuses the child, Damien, of being spawned from Satan, and they should check for the Number of the Beast on his forehead. One character checks by standing behind the child, and declares that everything is okay with him, because the number on his forehead is 999.
* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': In "[[ARoundOfDrinksForTheHouse Our Hourly Bread]]", the bar has a raffle using numbered ping pong balls. Number 99 gets chosen, but Sam points out that the 99 looks like a 66. HilarityEnsues.
** And then at the end of the episode, the number 11 is drawn, but [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Woody]] [[ComicallyMissingThePoint flips it over and laments]], "HereWeGoAgain."
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Ross tries to sit next to Mona at Monica and Chandler's wedding, but misreads her place card as "6" instead of "9" due it being held upside down when she showed it to him, causing him to end up at the DreadedKidsTable instead. Ross even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it.

* In episode 9 of ''Series/TheUnusuals'', the cops find out that the perpetrator of the case they're investigating lives in apartment #6. They go to the apartment, and find the wrong person entirely. Naturally, the apartment they knocked on was actually #9, and the nail had fallen out of the top of the sign. (Cue chase scene, set to "Tunak Tunak Tun", as the actual perp has had plenty of time to prepare to flee...)

* In an episode of cult TheSeventies British cop show ''Series/TheSweeney'', the "6 with a screw missing turns into a 9" gag is used in a scene where a very respectable family are eating dinner when armed policemen crash into their home, and are just as surprised as they are because they were expecting to meet armed criminals. After the mistake is cleared up, the officers leave with apologies and the family calmly return to their meal. Moments later, a crash is heard in the distance, and the father comments that it sounds as though they've found number 9.

* In ''Series/{{House}}'', Kutner tries to pull a fast one on Dr. House by flipping his candidate number (6) over once he'd originally been eliminated. House finds it amusing and (since he pitched a good idea) gave him another chance.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Sam & Dean investigate an old folks' home and think they've found a demon-worshiping old woman because she has an inverted cross nailed to her wall. A scene or two later, Dean is impersonating an orderly and the woman asks whether he ''finally'' came to fix her cross, which has fallen upside down.

* In the ''[[Series/DoctorInTheHouse Doctor in Charge]]'' episode "Honeymoon Special", newlywed doctors Lawrence and Mary Bingham have had to be driven to their honeymoon hotel by fellow doctor and Mary's ex-boyfriend, Duncan, as Lawrence's leg has been put in plaster as a prank and Mary cannot drive. As he cannot get back to London until the next morning, Duncan stays the night at the hotel and is given Room 9 while the Binghams are given Room 6. When prankster doctors Dick and Paul call the hotel to confess that Lawrence's leg isn't broken, they wake up Duncan and the Binghams. Duncan goes back to his room and slams the door, causing the "9" to flip upside-down; Mary stops at the bathroom on the way back and goes into Duncan's room by mistake, leading to a BedmateReveal when Lawrence goes to what he thinks is Room 6 and switches on the light.
* ''Series/DadsArmy'' has an episode in which Corporal Jones is told to telephone the local military headquarters after a plane crash, on Walmington-166. Unfortunately he writes it down, misreads it as Walmington-991 when he gets to the phone box, and is put through to the local cinema instead.

* In ''The Broken Ear'', ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}} realizes that the license plate "169 MW" is actually "MW 691" flipped upside down.

* The piece of evidence that irrevocably incriminates the murderer in the first trial of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'' is the victim's [[DyingClue dying message]]: the digits "[[spoiler: 11037]]" [[CouldntFindAPen written in their blood]]. If you turn them upside down, it spells out [[spoiler: L E O I I, implicating fellow student LEON Kuwata - the victim died before they could add the crossbar on the N]].

* This happens to Lenny in ''Film/{{Memento}}'', causing him to bash a random motel resident in the face.

This trope also covers any other symbol (or collection thereof) that could be misinterpreted if read at the wrong angle, such as M and W.

** The official answer to "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsWhoShotMrBurns Who Shot Mr. Burns?]]" involves a clue where Burns left when he fell on the town sundial, pointing to W and S which implicates [[spoiler:Waylon Smithers]] - except from his angle, he was pointing to M and S for [[spoiler:Maggie Simpson]], the true culprit. Notably, they actually ''did'' consider this before, since it could still have implicated [[spoiler:Moe Szyslak, Sideshow Mel, or even Santa's Little Helper (referred to by Mr. Burns as "that Simpson mutt")]] as a RedHerring.

* ''Literature/TheClocks'': Colin, more or less the protagonist and a spy for British intelligence, might not be such a great spy. He begins the story trying to find number 61 on a notoriously confusing street--based on a handwritten note on a sheet of paper--when he runs into a murder mystery at number 19. He doesn't connect the dots until the very end of the mystery, so maybe it's for the best that he decides to quit the intelligence services. If that's not bad enough, Agent Harbury's drawing doesn't just have the number 61, it has a 61 with an M underneath it, next to a crescent. The murder takes place at 19 Wilbraham Crescent, and Colin ''still'' can't figure it out.

-->'''Pirate #1''': "It's, uh, in the middle, by the waterfall."
-->'''Pirate #2''': "No, it's east, by some broccoli."
-->'''Long John Silver''': "Give me that! Why, you half-wits, it's west by a tree!"

* In ''VideoGame/{{DiscworldNoir}}'' a murder victim writes the word "Azile" on a wall. The game's mechanic of putting two facts together to make a deduction allows you to combine this knowledge with the fact that the victim was hung upside down before his death. Turns out "Azile" is actually "3712A".

* Done oddly in ''Film/{{Identity}}'' where it's revealed that [[spoiler:the guests are being killed in the order of their room numbers]]. Shortly after one of the characters walks into room 9, the closing of the door causes their number to flip to 6, making them the next target. The fact that [[spoiler:they're all alternate personalities in a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind]] means this might not be coincidental.