AT THE END OF PATH 9

MCGURK: Aaaah! A dead end! 9 must be an unlucky number.

SOLOMON: Oops! It is. In Japanese, 9 is pronounced "ku," which is also the word for "agony" and "torture."

MCGURK: How do you know that?

SOLOMON: Uh... when I was getting toothpicks back in the restaurant, I grabbed nine of them. Pink told me take either one or eight, as 8 was considered lucky. Japanese people consider the way the Kanji for "eight" is shaped to mean good things are in the future. I didn't think of it until just now.

MCGURK: So I guess it's back down the mountain, then up path 8.