Bad The number 13 is considered an unlucky number in some countries. The end of the Mayan calendar's 13th Baktun was superstitiously feared as a harbinger of the apocalyptic
2012 phenomenon. Fear of the number 13 has a specifically recognized
phobia, triskaidekaphobia, a word first recorded in 1911. The superstitious sufferers of triskaidekaphobia try to avoid bad luck by keeping away from anything numbered or labelled thirteen. As a result, companies and manufacturers use another way of numbering or labelling to avoid the number, with hotels and tall buildings being conspicuous examples (
thirteenth floor). It is also considered unlucky to have thirteen guests at a table.
Friday the 13th has been considered an unlucky day. ;Knights Templar: On Friday, 13 October 1307, King
Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the
Knights Templar, However, a typical century has about 37 years that have 13 full moons, compared to 63 years with 12 full moons, and typically every third or fourth year has 13 full moons. ;A suppressed lunar cult: In ancient cultures, the number 13 represented femininity, because it corresponded to the number of lunar (menstrual) cycles in a year (). The theory is that, as the solar calendar triumphed over the lunar, the number thirteen became anathema. ;Hammurabi's code: There is a myth that the earliest reference to thirteen being unlucky or evil is in the Babylonian
Code of Hammurabi (circa 1780 BC), where the thirteenth law is said to be omitted. In fact, the original Code of Hammurabi has no numeration. The translation by L.W. King (1910), edited by Richard Hooker, omitted one article: If the seller have gone to (his) fate (i. e., have died), the purchaser shall recover damages in said case fivefold from the estate of the seller. Other translations of the Code of Hammurabi, for example the translation by Robert Francis Harper, include the 13th article.
Good considers the number 13 to be lucky and references it throughout her work. • In France, 13 was traditionally considered a lucky number in France prior to the First World War, and was used in numerical form as a good luck symbol on postcards and charms. • In Italy, 13 was the lucky number in the Italian
football pools (
Totocalcio). The Italian expression (literally, "make thirteen") means to hit the jackpot. •
Colgate University also considers 13 a lucky number. The university was founded in 1819 by 13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers and 13 articles. (To this day, members of the Colgate community consider the number 13 a good omen.) In fact, the campus address is 13 Oak Drive in
Hamilton, New York, and the male
a cappella group is called the Colgate 13.
Other A
baker's dozen, devil's dozen, long dozen, or long measure is 13, one more than a standard dozen. The thirteenth loaf is called the
vantage loaf because it is considered advantageous overall to get 13 loaves for the price of 12. In a
tarot card deck, XIII is the card of Death, usually picturing
the Pale Horse with its rider. ==Age 13==