World Notes NUMBERS

Octophiles were transfixed last week when the second Monday of this month produced the rhythmic four-digit 8-8-88. Gamblers bet on the numeral, and some came up lucky, albeit a little bit late. Three straight eights topped the New York State lottery on -- sorry -- the ninth day of August, and 10,000 bettors who kept the faith for 24 hours will divide $6 million.

Couples considered the day an auspicious start toward the risky business of living together happily ever after. Manfred Kies and Regine Kubos, two West Berliners, outdid 55,000 other West German couples who exchanged vows on the day by adding on a few pieces of eight to go with their wedding attire. They were married in Blindheim, a village 20 miles northwest of Augsburg, which has the postal zip code of 8888. The ceremony was scheduled for precisely 88 min. past 8 a.m. on, of course, 8-8-88. Ten thousand philatelists also swarmed into Blindheim to collect a rare postmark.

For the Japanese, the character that represents the numeral -- two vertical lines widening toward the bottom -- indicates suehirogari, or increasing prosperity. So does Mount Fuji, whose graceful slopes mirror the character. To observe the once-in-a-century day, nearly 1,000 Japanese climbers gathered at the top of Fuji in the early-morning hours of the 8th. They erected a cairn at the crest with 216 stones collected from mountains whose names include the word fuji, such as Kofuji or Rishirifuji. At 8:08 the last stone was placed by an eight-year-old boy, Akinori Yasuda. His birthday: 8-8.