A friend whose first language isn’t English, recently asked why some people say “oh” instead of zero, when speaking a certain numbers, and I decided to make a list of the circumstances of this nature. This is a list of ones I’ve thought up off the top of my head, and I’ll add to them as I come across more =)
When the zero is pronounced “oh”
“867-5309” from the Jenny song
Hawaii 5-0 (TV show)
“The 405” (an interstate in California)
Beverly Hills 90210 (TV show)
007, (“double-oh”) James Bond’s agent number
Chemistry 101 (stereotypical university class-numbering systems)
Levi’s 501 Blues (old American TV commercial)
5:05 PM / “oh-eight-hundred” (reciting the time of day)
1904 (reciting the year)