What does “Lychrel” Mean?
196 exists as the lowest (base-10) number that does not seem to terminate on iteration of reverse-and-add, but not the only one. Obviously, any consequent of 196 (such as 887) will also never terminate. Other numbers also never terminate, such as 879, and they never converge with the series (known as the thread) generated by earlier numbers either. So, needing a name for these numbers, Wade VanLandingham picked the word “Lychrel” (pronounced la-shrel), and the active 196 community accepted it into common use.
