There are many numbers on the YouTube announcement page that seem to be frozen in time. One of this blog's commentators, Anonymous, has been posting in the old thread various theories as to what the numbers could mean. I encourage you to go back and read those comments. I think Anonymous is truly on to something as those numbers are fixed, and knowing JKR, chosen for a reason, but I'm just not sure that I buy into them being page numbers in the books as page numbering changes depending on publisher.
I believe JKR IS releasing clues through the Pottermore Youtube video, and I think she gave us a heads-up with the coordinates on the Street View maps as to how to play this game. Like the StreetView coordinates, this is a numbers game, and we've got to figure out what these numbers mean to unlock her clues.
What I'd like to do here is provide a table of the numbers and then we can all throw out theories as to what they could mean, drawing from how JKR has used them in the prior books.
Numbers on Pottermore Youtube:
50 -- videos
0:09/1:13 -- time video holds at
Feb. 4 or 2/4 -- upload date (notice no year is selected)
217,394 -- page views
122 -- likes
25 -- dislikes
360 p (not sure if this one is under her control)
6/23/11 -- date of release
Owl count by date:
6/16: 5
6/17: 7
6/18: 11
6/19: 15
Plus, if you move your cursor around the image, certain leaves will fall from the tree. I don't know if this has happened on prior days because I only noticed it today. But as of today, 10 leaves fall. (Updated from 9 to 10 because one was hard to see).
One very strong clue -- since you can't click "like" or "dislike" these numbers definitely seem to be fixed.
Also, my daughter pointed out that all the suggested videos are frozen, you cannot click to activate them. Each of those videos has numbers attached to them as well, but since they seem to be real YouTube videos, I don't think that aspect could have been manipulated by JKR and her team.
Here are the clues posted by Anonymous with his/her explanation (I left out the book # ones because I'm just not sure that works):
1. The post date is 4th February, the date Septimius Severus died.
2. The timer says 0:09/1:13, and 9/1, or January 9th, is Severus Snape birthday. Also, in some areas, 9/1 means 1 September, the first day of Hogwarts.
Here are my theories for some of the other numbers:
50 - the number of people mentioned killed in the Battle of Hogwarts fighting Voldemort
(I'll be refreshing these theories throughout the day as I've had time to ponder them).
** Please let me know if I missed anything.
Also, even though I'd love Pottermore to be an interactive encylopedia, which was my first theory, see the earlier thread for more, I'm starting to think those who believe it to be a Multi-player Online Roleplaying Exerience may be correct. Notice the letters. PotterMORE.
