43 Folders was and remains a good site name simply because the number “43” was not a random number picked out of a hat. It is, in fact, the number of folders in a tickler file, which is relevant because 43 Folders is all about the zen of getting things done, and a tickler file is a tool for helping you do just that.

Suddenly, the number “43” attained its own little zeitgeist, and thus, on 1 January 2005, the Robot Co-op launched 43 Things, a site were people can make resolutions and track their success (or failure) at them. To be fair, it’s a pretty neat little piece of social software. I have even used it myself, but, as you can see, I’ve lost interest, what with the baby and parenthood and busy work and all.

But why “43”? This is the answer in the 43 Things FAQ:

Everything needs a name. We think 43 is the right number of things for a busy person to try and do. Why not more? It’s too much. Why not less? You can do less, but it is still called 43 Things.

If 43 Folders didn’t already exist at launch time, I’d translate their answer as: we pulled this number out of our collective arses, and so, there you go. But 43 Folders was very much in existence, and had its own cult following in the geek community. (In fact, David Allen probably owes Mr Mann a percentage of his royalties for championing his books so tirelessly to a previously-untapped audience.) So, it wasn’t surprising to see Merlin Mann get rather annoyed with people who assumed that he was responsible for 43 Things.

Since then, the Robot Co-op has continued to strip mine the usefulness of that particular prime number, recently launching the somewhat similar 43 Places. They also have a site called All Consuming, which probably could have also been called “43 Things” had 43 Things not already been around (instead, the number “43” is in the URL).

If the Robot Co-op needs more ideas for the rampant abuse of this particular number, I’d like to suggest the following:

• 43 Dishes, where you post about things you’ve eaten at nice restaurants, with optional pictures of the food taken pre-consumption (we aren’t interested on how it looks afterwards, though).
• 43 Hotties, where you post about the celebrities you want to be snogging right now.
• 43 First Dates, you know, because 50 is way too many.

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