title: how exactly do Javascript numeric comparison operators handle strings?
body: <pre><code>var i = ['5000','35000'];
  alert((i[0] &lt; i[1])?'well duh!':'fuzzy math?');
  alert((Number(i[0]) &lt; Number(i[1]))?'well duh!':'fuzzy math?');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What's happening here? In the first alert, the text string "5000" evaluates as <em>not</em> less than "35000". I assumed Javascript used Number() when numerically comparing strings, but apparently that's not the case. Just curious how exactly Javascript handles numerically comparing the strings of numbers by default.</p>