{"id":2164771,"date":"2025-11-18T18:35:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2164771"},"modified":"2025-11-18T18:35:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:35:05","slug":"the-inside-joke-that-appears-in-nearly-every-star-trek-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-inside-joke-that-appears-in-nearly-every-star-trek-series\/","title":{"rendered":"The Inside Joke That Appears In Nearly Every Star Trek Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Since 1966, the “Star Trek”\u00a0franchise has grown to encompass a dozen TV shows and just as many movies<\/a>. Throughout its nearly 60 years of existence, there are many common threads that wind their way through every iteration. But beginning in 1990, the series also included something in every series that few have noticed: an inside joke among the many “Trek” writers. It might seem odd, but the number 47 began popping up repeatedly, and it’s all thanks to screenwriter Joe Menosky and a real-life organization called the 47 Society.<\/p>\n

The 47 Society began as a kind of tongue-in-cheek project, whereby a group of students at Pomona College in California theorized that the idea that the number 47 occurs in nature more often than any other number. Joe Menosky was a member of this society, and when he began writing for “Star Trek:\u00a0The Next Generation” in 1990, the number began conspicuously showing up in episode teleplays. And when Menosky moved to “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and later “Star Trek: Voyager,” the number kept appearing in episodes of those shows.<\/p>\n

Decades later, Menosky was brought on board “Star Trek:\u00a0Discovery,”<\/a> and suddenly the number began turning up in episodes of the current crop of shows, too. Because it wasn’t just Menosky; Other writers of “Star Trek”\u00a0have had fun with this little inside joke, putting it into scripts seemingly wherever possible, over the course of decades. So next time you’re watching an episode of “Star Trek” and hear the number 47, it’s probably thanks to Joe Menosky.<\/p>\n

Read more: Star Trek Characters Who Look Completely Different In Real Life<\/a><\/p>\n

Ronald D. Moore revealed the joke in an AOL chat<\/h2>\n
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