Magazine Cover Math: Safety in Numbers

We’ve always been mystified by the fondness of some magazines to adorn their covers with giant numbers proclaiming the likes of “1,492 Fall Looks!” and “666 Haircuts That Won’t Make You Cry.” This week, The New York Observer‘s John Koblin devotes 535 words to this numbers game, quizzing editors on their cover math. Interestingly, almost all of the people he spoke with distanced themselves from bigger numbers, pointing to readers afflicted with “numbers fatigue,” but don’t expect any numberless covers anytime soon.