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"Lurid Numbers on Glossy Pages! (Magazines Exploit What Sells)," by Katharine Q. Seelye, today:

A trip to the newsstand these days can be a dizzying descent into a blizzard of numbers. The March issue of Elle Girl promises readers "375 excuses to shop." Harper's Bazaar offers "783 new ideas to flatter you." Marie Claire trumpets not only "71 easy hair and makeup how-tos" but a mind-blowing "1,157 hot looks (all shapes, all sizes, all prices)."

Magazines, particularly the "service" publications aimed at women, have long used numbers as a selling point while helping readers divine what's in, what's hot, what's cool, what's not. But today, these totals, scores and inventories seem both increasingly random and increasingly increasing, leaping exponentially beyond the sorry single digits of yesteryear to an incalculable proliferation of paths to a better you.

"Editors Have Countless Reasons to Use Numerology," by David Carr, July 15, 2002:

The August issue of Marie Claire, a fashion and beauty magazine jointly owned by Hearst Magazines and the French company Marie Claire Album, promises "1132 New Looks & Sexy Steals to Buy Now." ...

Cover numerology has taken on a life, and a momentum, of its own. Originally, big numbers were restricted to the woman's service category, where a magazine like Woman's Day would feature "212 Baking Tips." But now the same math is being applied to Fendi bags and Jimmy Choo shoes lovingly displayed in all sorts of women's magazines, from Harper's Bazaar's "635 Fashion Ideas" to Cosmogirl's "456 Ways to Look Amazing This Fall."

Lurid Numbers on Glossy Pages! (Magazines Exploit What Sells) [NYT]
Editors Have Countless Reasons to Use Numerology [NYT]