Overview

Lately I’ve been hearing some chatter about the proper spelling of Mr. Grier’s nickname. I have always spelled it ROSIE, but others feel it should be ROSEY. And if it is ROSEY, that would invalidate my three proofs. Obviously, my various numerical analyses produce different results depending on how you spell his nickname. So I’m here now to put an end to this controversy. 

Does it matter?

Both nicknames contain five letters, with R, O, S, & E in common. The only difference is that one name contains an I, and the other a Y. But Y is frequently used as a vowel, often in place of I: • cymbal • cynical • rhythm In this sense, I & Y are interchangeable. Furthermore, if we correlate the alphabet to the digits of pi, we find that I &Y are both associated with the number 3! Therefore, I hereby proclaim that ROSIE & ROSEY are equivalent, and it doesn’t matter which one is used!

Cockamamie Spelling

But let’s play devil’s advocate and say that it DOES matter. If that is indeed the case, then we are obliged to decide which spelling is the most appropriate – we have to choose between the two. While both versions have appeared in print, I feel that ROSIE is the best choice for the following reason: • Rosey – this is how Mr. Grier wants you to spell it • Rosie – this is how YOU want to spell it – i.e., the NATURAL way [fun fact 1] In this article, the headline contains “Rosie,” but the cockamamie spelling is used in the body. [fun fact 2] The natural spelling is used many times in Jet magazine. Here are several examples:       •   Dec 12, 1968 - p.66 •   Mar 23, 1972 - p.61 •   Apr 27, 1972 - p.45 •   Apr 26, 1973 - p.55 •   Oct  5, 1978 - p.60 •   Dec 18, 1980 - p.66 •   Jun 25, 1981 - p.21 •   Oct 15, 1984 - p.47 •   May 10, 1993 - p.45 •   Aug  1, 1994 - p.17 •   Mar 19, 2007 - p.18 You can access the issues here