---
title: Hobbes on a calculator
date: "2024-06-24T04:34:55Z"
lastmod: "2024-06-24T04:34:58Z"
categories:
  - links
wp_id: 3563
description: "The discovery that upside-down calculator spellings can produce words like “Hobbes” and even “hillbillies” turns a childish old trick into fresh delight."
keywords: ["calculator spelling", "wordplay", "Hobbes", "curiosity", "retro tricks", "language"]
---

I just [learned](https://paperlined.org/apps/wikipedia/offsite_content/Calculator_spelling.txt) that any word made of just these letters `beighlosz` can be spelt on a calculator.

That includes Hobbes! 538804 upside-down looks like this:

![](/blog/assets/hobbes-calculator.webp)

I'm surprised I never knew that.

The longest, by far, appears to be `hillbillies` -- `53177187714`

![](/blog/assets/hillbillies-calculator.webp)