11.11.2011 ; a crazy date (article from USA Today)

This date goes to 11

By Olivia Barker, USA TODAY

Nov. 11, 2011 (11/11/11), that once-in-a-century calendar quirk with the sleek symmetry of a Rockettes kick line or picket fence, is proving popular with "Spinal Tap" spouters, binary coding programmers (they're dubbing it the "Nerd New Year"), retailers and restauranteurs looking to lure in shoppers and diners, partiers looking for an excuse to imbibe — and brides looking for an easy way for their husbands to remember their anniversaries.

Brides has calculated that nearly 46,200 couples are saying "I do" today, 10 times more than a typical November Friday. Eleven is a "lucky number for many people," explains Jackie Lebowitz , the magazine's assistant managing editor. "Brides are really big on superstitions" — something borrowed, something blue, a groom who doesn't take a gander at his future wife until she walks down the aisle. "They're incorporating the date as another superstition or something to bring them luck."

So couples are turning up the 11 dial, scheduling ceremonies for 11:11 a.m. and 11:11 p.m. and prominently incorporating the date into their programs and escort cards. And vendors, especially in numbers-hungry Las Vegas, are capitalizing on the theme, offering 11-heavy wedding packages ($311.11 to $1,111.11 at the Elvis Wedding Chapel). Vecoma at the Yellow River, a banquet hall near Atlanta, is advertising $111 wedding cakes and $11 flutes of champagne.

Some brides are injecting some symbolism into those half a dozen 1's, Lebowitz says: "Two becoming one, finding one soulmate, it's a once in a lifetime date, a once in a lifetime marriage — you could go on and on." Two other factors contributing to the chorus of "I do"s today: It's Friday, an increasingly popular day for tying the knot, and it's Veteran's Day, so military couples are taking advantage. "A lot of things had to fall into place," says Lebowitz. (About 31,000 brides and grooms got married on 10/10/10, vs. 3,500 for an average October Sunday last year.)

Holly Scibilia calls it a "cool" coincidence that the Dearborn, Mich., chapel she was eying for her 193-guest wedding was first available, after the Halloween decorations came down, today. The 33-year-old preschool teacher is happy that her fiancé, Dave Zaluski , won't have a tough time remembering their anniversary. But she sees the date's drawback: It doesn't make for the smartest, say, ATM pin code. "That's probably not the wisest choice."

Herewith are a handful of other ways the country is celebrating — and capitalizing on — 11/11/11:

• Eleven Eleven, a 20-year-old Philadelphia rock band, is cashing in on their name with a hometown show tonight.

• The Jefferson hotel in Washington, D.C., is dishing out an 11-course tasting menu for $111.11 per person. Eleven paired wines cost an additional $111.11 per plate.

•11-11-11, a horror-thriller from the director of three of the Saw sagas, opens in 11 plus two cities. Chicago moviegoers looking for something a little lighter can take in the flick that arguably started the 11 obsession, This is Spinal Tap, screening at the Navy Pier at, naturally, 11:11 p.m.

• CafePress is hawking more than 5,000 products, including "11.11.11" sweatshirts emblazoned "Once in a lifetime" that go for $30 and $15 "11-Eleven" mugs that swipe from the 7-Eleven logo. The date is one of the top-10 terms searched this week on the site, and the gear ranks in the top-20 seller list. Marc Cowlin , the company's director of marketing, reports that they're "definitely" seeing more interest in this sextet of 1's than in 10-10-10.

• Silicon Valley's Redwood City, Calif., is blocking off Broadway Street and counting down to start of Nerd New Year — the stroke of 11:11 p.m., of course.