I keep confusing the names of three companies with each other. Maybe you can see why.

43 Folders
43 Things
37 Signals

Adding numbers to your web site name is apparently a hip thing to do nowadays, but I don’t really like it. I find myself wondering if there were 41 things, or 43 signals, or maybe 37 folders. I prefer regular names mainly because it’s easier for me to remember them. However, there’s an upside; it made me wonder what Google would return for a given number. What would you get if you Googled a number, like 1, or 2 or even, dare I say it, 3?

Yes, indeed I do dare say it and I can tell you what happens because I just did it and saw exactly what happened.

You get results.

But that’s not all. I’ll even tell you what the #1 result was for each of those numerical searches if you continue to read this post. My comments are after the link to the number one site for each of the searches.

1 – mozilla.org (Because it’s the #1 browser in the world? No, because it’s been at version 1.x for so long.)

2 – shrek2.com (Why Shrek2 and not one of the other bazillion-gillion sequels? Strange…)

3 – three.co.uk (It appears to be a UK-based cell phone provider and their site is chock full of the word and number three, so their spot is no surprise.)

4 – channel4.com (Makes sense.)

5 – macromedia.com (Flash 7 is out, but version 5 was out for a long time so I guess it stuck.)

6 – apple.com/quicktime (Even though version 7 is out, 6 must be more prevalent.)

7 – opera.com (I guess Opera 8 hasn’t caught on yet. Maybe Flash and Quicktime can hop up here and Opera 8 can bump up one.)

8 – super8.com (Not just 8, super 8!)

9 – michaelmoore.com (Of Fahrenheight 9/11 fame.)

10 – number-10.gov.uk (10 Downing Street – the historic office and home of the British Prime Minister)

And just for kicks…37 and 43.

37 – 37.com (Too bad, 37 signals missed it by one spot)

43 – 43folders.com (43folders won, but 43things is nipping at their heels in second place.)