Number nuts everywhere must be on Cloud Nine today.

This is it, folks: Never again will there be 09/09/09. Sure, every day will have a unique date that occurs once in our lifetime — but we’re having fun here; and it’s as good a time as any to ponder the nuances of the number 9.

At first glance, nine may seem to take a back seat to its popular neighbor, 10. Ten is so darn even, all rounded and perfect. It’s the base of many number systems, really. There are top 10 lists, 10 commandments and the perfect 10 in body types and Olympic scores. On a scale of one to 10, awareness and use of that number is, well, a 10.

Nine, not so much.

Or maybe it’s just that you haven’t thought about it for a minute.

Cats like the number nine — who can blame them when the belief is they’re invincible for eight lives? Wouldn’t we all take more risks if we had that kind of clout?

The U.S. Supreme Court has had nine justices since 1869 — “nine old men,” Franklin Roosevelt liked to call them.

In the Middle Ages, there were “the nine worthies”: legendary and historical figures that it was said represented all facets of a perfect warrior. From a Pagan background, there was Hector, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Jewish notaries included Joshua, David and Judas Maccabeus. Under the Christian umbrella: King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon. All perfect warriors, or so they say.

Can you name the Nine Muses and their specialties?

In the interest of time, we won’t make you. They are Calliope, epic poetry; Clio, history; Erato, love; Euterpe, music and lyric poetry; Melpomene, tragedy; Polyhymnia, sacred songs; Terpischore, dance; Thalia, comedy and bucolic poetry; and finally, Urania’s specialty is astronomy.

A group or set of nine of anything is called an ennead. Impress your friends today with that one.

Any idea what a polygon with nine sides is called? A nonagon. And nine is the atomic number of fluorine, in case you were wondering. Know the fact, but don’t touch the stuff. Fluorine can cause severe burns when it comes in contact with skin. (It’s not all about math teachers, after all; science teachers need love, too.) Some nine factoids get excommunicated: Pluto was in recent years kicked out of its position as the ninth planet.

The number of innings in a major league baseball game? Typically, nine. Who traditionally wears the number 9 jersey in sports? For starters, the center-forward/striker in soccer, and in league rugby, it’s the hooker. Can you think of others?

The song, “Love Potion No. 9” was not sung by Nine Inch Nails, but rather The Clovers. Both bands dressed “to the nines” in their own special way.

Nine can even help you check your math. If you want to quickly test the calculations of sums, differences, products and quotients of integers, you can use a process called “Casting Out The Nines.” The seemingly complicated technique is explained with ease in the new book, “Number Freak: From 1 to 200, the Hidden Language of Numbers Revealed,” by Derrick Niederman. At almost 300 pages, this book takes the numbers 1 to 200, one by one, and categorizes their relevance from basic mathematical principles to long unsolved theorems, from odd coincidences to number trivia from every genre. Explore this book to find out about “Casting Out The Nines” and other really cool stuff about digits.

Today reminds us to embrace the overlooked and underappreciated nine. The sooner nine gets its recognition as a compatriot of 10 the better. After all, a stitch in time saves nine.

Contact this writer at mbhopkins@coxohio.com or (937) 225-2389.