DB082319882358

''Do you think it has any significance? ... I don't know, although if it pops up as much as it has it must mean SOMETHING. -Exchange during Azumanga Who'', Episode 23

DB082319882358 is a letter/number string which first appeared in Episode 16 of the original Azumanga Who, and has since appeared many times in various places. Its exact meaning and purpose is unrevealed at this point.

Script Version

 * Episode 16: Stamped on the bottom of a soda can – DB082319882358.
 * Episode 17: Circles around Chiyo-Chichi "like a planet's moons" – DB082319882358.
 * Episode 18: Sung by Allura McCoy, Samuel Dleifneb, and Soval Yoccm in the Realm of Possibility as "that song" – Dee-Bee Zero-Eight Two-Three One-Nine Eight-Eight Two-Three Five-Eight...
 * Episode 19: Said by Tomo while in her post-Summer Vacation stupor, just before she starts it again – DB082319882358...
 * Episode 20: An odd message received by K-9 while inside the TARDIS – DB082319882358.
 * Episode 21: First time the original version used the string twice in an Episode – first as the number of the Okinawan Times article on the death of Mayaa's mother (#DB0-823-198-82358), then as the catalog number of the "Cats Galore" book Sakaki looks at (DB...08...23...19...88...23...58).
 * Episode 22: The number given over the phone by a British businessman (who "looks odd being in Japan" according to Daniel Benfield) – D-B082-319-882-358.
 * Episode 23: Second (and last) time the original version used the string twice in an Episode – first during Tomo and Kagura's chant hailing Osaka as "Queen of Morons" (D-B-zero! Eight-two-three! One-nine-eight-eight! Two-three-five-eight!). Shortly afterward, Hannah Benfield mentions the regular string (DB082319882358).
 * Episode 19 (And About A Third): Muttered in the ROP by a dizzy Chiyo – D...B...0823...1988...2358...
 * Episode 24: Stamped on the large yellow button in Tomo's dream – DB-0-82-3-19-88235-8.
 * Episode 25: A reverse version is stamped on the handle of the Master's knife, which he uses to kill Mew – 853288913280BD.
 * Episode 26: The number of the Adviser the Queen calls forth – 8-53-2889-132-80BD.
 * Episode 27: TARDIS error code for "Location Unknown" – DataBase 08-23-1988-2358. Notable as the only time the original version gave meaning to the letters.
 * Episode 28: Inscribed on Rebekah and Sarah Benfield's larger-than-usual pennies – DB-08-23-1988-2358.
 * Episode 29: Similar to Episode 18, the string is sung by Miss Glowbug as she leaves Susan Wise's brain warehouse – Dee-bee zero-eight-two-three one-nine-eight-eight two-three five-eight... She then follows this with "I wonder if any of them knows the meaning of that?"
 * Episode 30: The string is inscribed on the rim of one side of Rebekah and Sarah's coins, along with a cryptic message – DB082319882358...TO REALIZE IS THE KEY -- THE KEY IS TO UNDERSTAND...DO YOU UNDERSTAND IT ALL NOW?

Prose Version

 * Chapter 1: Sprayed on a wall which Osaka looks at – DB082319882358. As noted in-story, the string appears to have been there for some time yet the paint is still goopy.
 * Chapter 2: Confirmation code given by the Third Doctor in Daniel's flashback – Theta Sigma dee-bee-zero-eight-two-three one-nine-eight-eight two-three-five-eight.
 * Chapter 3: Seen on a tile in the TARDIS Room (later covered by the Ship) – DB08231982358. While Daniel recalls having said that string before in his life, the memory has changed to "Theta Sigma one-one-two-three one-nine-six-three one-seven-one-five".

Canon

 * Azumanga Help Desk (Episode 27): Password to access the "special files" on a laptop computer Daniel sends to Kaorin – DB082319882358.
 * Azumanga Politburo – Project Alice (Chapter 2): Experiment number for "Project Nanami" – LD853288913280.
 * Azumanga Randomness RPG (Page 10): Last three suggestions given, in inches, for the approximate circumference of the giant hole outside the school – 823, 1988, 2358. This causes a wide-eyed Daniel to sit in silence for five minutes, eventually broken by Hannah's coconut-scented hair; later, while writing math and science problems, the normal string (DB082319882358) appears as a column...which causes Daniel to hope that nobody finds it.
 * The Matter of the Cake: Given by a depressed Daniel to a slightly-agitated Hannah to be placed on the top layer of a cake – Don't be so hard on yourself, AR. We all have tough times...even me. Signed, DB082319882358.
 * Project RINI: Susan's suicide code, said by her for the first time in her life – DB082319882358.

Altiverses

 * Yomi's Virtual Haircut (Revamped Version): Written in tiny-yet-legible print on each individual part of a machine donated by a mysterious benefactor, who only signed using a question mark – DB082319882358.