Relationships always have their mysteries. That’s what keeps things exciting, right?
Well, I’ve been married 18 years now and I still haven’t fully cracked the secret numerical code my wife speaks in. She uses it with her sisters, some of her friends and especially her father.
For years I’ve heard her drop a hint here or there. She’ll tell her friends, “Oh my God, yes! 4022 or 4023, right?”
It’s too short for a zip code or phone number. Could it be a page number in the enigmatic book A Women’s Guide to Confusing Men? Or maybe it’s the answer to the ultimate math equation?
Extensive research over the years left me scratching my head. I asked my guy friends if they’d heard anything of the secret number code women speak on. Most had no clue what I was talking about.
A few mentioned they’d heard but were too frightened to look further into it.
I knew I had to find the answer. I had to channel the ultimate cryptographer in my blood and crack the case.
And then… then it hit me. At the supermarket of all places.
We were picking out fruit for the week and there it was starting me in the face. So simple yet so elusive.
The grapes held the answer.
4023 was plastered all over the packaging. Along with some secret three-letter word called PLU. What could that possibly mean?
Was it short for Plutonium?!? Or maybe it’s an acronym of sorts. But for what?
People, Look Up?
Poisoned Little Umbrellas?
Prime Live Units?
I was stumped. Dumbfounded. Perplexed. Confused even.
Further shopping revealed the same letters but different numbers.
PLU #4056. Definitely sounds like some military code to me. I decided to test things out and held the bag of Black Seedless Grapes up to my wife. She shook her head and said, “No. Those aren’t good.”
Interesting.
I then went to the green grapes and tried the same with the PLU #4498s. Same result. “No, those red ones over there are better,” she said.
Yes, the red ones. The #4023s. There was that number again.
To this day, she still claims it has something to do with “species” of grapes. As if fruit could have different species like animals. I’m not buying it.
I know there’s a hidden message in there somewhere. I also know that I’m risking life and limb by posting this live for the world to read.
But I implore you, my faithful reader, to share any knowledge you have of this secret code that seems to be delivered via fruit packaging.
The future may depend on it!
What does PLU #4023 mean to you?
My son only eats grapes PLU 4023 lol !! They are sour on top and sweet on bottom. PLU is the price look up code?? after reading your post I had to ask them working at the groceries?
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Well im not sure if you have cracked it by now but those numbers represent the specific fruit or vegetable that it is labeled on. 4023 for example are red seedless grapes. Also a 4 digit starting with 3 or 4 category is to tell you that the fruit was grown using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. A 5 digit number starting with 9 is organically grown. Starting with 8 means it was genetically modified. Hopefully that helps.
You just totally made my day, Miller. This is an old post and I’m used to getting oodles of SPAM comments. But this is a legit comment that actually offers some great information! Thanks for sharing that. I wasn’t aware of all the different meanings behind the first number!
I had these grapes today and they were the best thing I’ve had in my entire life. I had to google the code to see where I could buy them myself. They are DELICIOUS. I don’t think there’s a hidden code, I think the grapes are just the best thing ever.
I am a woman, been one all my life and have never heard of it. Through the power of Google which I think is the magic 8 balls of all magic 8 balls for answer questions, a type of red seedless grapes comes up. I had no clue.
I have never ever even noticed this stuff, so your wife must be into organics … ? Or like numbers. orits a younger person thing. Or she is smart as heck and noticed this stuff.
Wow – I never heard of this either. I know some grapes taste better than others. I have grocery shopping to do tomorrow so I’m going to have to visit the grapes and look at the PLU numbers.
I got nothing. What is the context usually? Maybe you can connect it with a subject? I don’t do this so I’m stumped as well, Did they all share a certain profession? Now I wanna know what it means, lol.