Triskaidekaphobia

Is the fear of the number 13. The idea that 13 is an unlucky number is probably one of the most well known superstitions out there. It also seems to be the most widespread. Most people will agree that it's a stupid fear - after all the number 13 is only a number! Yet it seems to be one of the most universal fears there are.

Here are some examples, both of people's fear of 13 and of unlucky things that have happened that have been associated with the number 13:

- Apollo 13 was launched at 1313 hrs. The explosion that almost destroyed the spacecraft occured on April 13. The date of launch was 11/04/70 and 1 + 1 + 0 + 4 + 7 + 0 = 13. It was launched from launchpad 39, which is 13 x 3.

- Some tall buildings are missing a 13th floor - they just go straight from 12 to 14, like in this picture:























- The Ancient Egyptians saw life as progressing in stages. The thirteenth stage of life was Death.

- In Formula 1 racing, no car is numbered 13.

- In some horse racetracks, there is no 13th stall - they go straight from 12 to 14.

- The arrest and murder of the Knights Templar happened on Friday October 13, 1307.

- Napoleon, J Paul Getty, Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt all feared the number 13.

- In Paris you can hire a quatorzieme - a professional "14th guest" if your gathering only comes to 13.

- On some passenger planes there is no row 13. They go straight from 12 to 14. (See a picture)

- The working title for the most recent release of Microsoft Office (the 2007 version) was "Office 12". The working title of the next release (currently in production) is "Office 14". There is no "Office 13".

- The Code of Hammurabi (which was written around 1760BC) contains a numbered list of 282 laws, however there is no number 13. The list goes straight from 12 to 14.

- It was thought for a while that the asteroid 99942 Apophis might hit the Earth on Friday April 13 2029, however more recent observations have shown that it will miss. However there is still a small possibility that the encounter will affect its orbit in such a way that it collides with us on April 13 2036.

- Many numbering systems all over the world have unique names for each of the numbers from 1 - 12. After 12, numbers start getting named according to the form "three-ten, four-ten", which some claim shows evidence of the human mind's idea that numbers up to twelve are complete - 12 is as high as you need to go, and adding more makes them incomplete again. Another example of this is the fact that school kids only ever learn their multiplication tables up to the twelve-times table.

- In Scotland 13 is known as the "devil's dozen."

- The 13th day of any month is more likely to fall on a Friday than on any of the other days.


Bizarre.