wybo>cat t
def out; print "#$. "; end # print $. plus a space
out
$. = 0
out
DATA.each { out }
puts
__END__
1
2
3
4
wybo>ruby t
7 0 8 9 10 11

This should, probably even without the $.=0 statement, print:
7 0 1 2 3 4

Am I wrong?
-- 
Wybo