Is the number thirteen really and unlucky number?

Question

The number 13 is a number that seems to get people scared and very cautious. My students asked me this morning why people are so scared of the #13. I told them not to worry about it because it has never been proven that 13 really causes bad luck to anyone. Anyway anybody out there have any real facts on the number 13.

Answer 1

13 is very lucky for me. It iwas a popular number at the time of Lincoln and it is repetedly on the flag and on the Great American Seal where everything is counted by13.
So why should it be unlucky ? I see that Sky is like me....

Answer 2

People are funny. They can make anything true just by putting things together. On the full moon at night, the crazy people come out. OK, what about the crazy people that are out on the qtr moon?

So when something bad happens in Friday the 13th, or a fire occurs on floor 13, or someone has some bad even associated with floor 13, they instantly say, Curse!

So now they make buildings with no floor 13. What does that mean? there is still a13th floor.

You wanna know what's good luck about 13. A bakers dozen. That means 13 cookies, 13 cupcakes, 13 cream filled croisants.

Yum. 13 is my favorite number.

Answer 3

No it is not!

The idea that 13 is unlucky is based not on facts but ancient superstitions! It is like the fear people have of the number 666. The idea that any number is good or bad is man made crap!

It is just like the ideas of a God or devil. Some person comes up with the notion of a thing and passes it on to others who buy into it and make a crazy belief system out of it!

Answer 4

Thirteen is regarded as an unlucky number in many cultures. Thirteen may be considered a "bad" number simply because it is one more than 12, which is a popularly used number in many cultures (possibly due to it being a highly composite number). When a group of 13 objects or persons is divided into two, three, four or six equal groups, there is always one leftover, "unlucky" object or person.

Unreasoned fear of the number 13 is termed triskaidekaphobia. Due to this fear, some tall buildings have resorted to skipping the "thirteenth floor", either by numbering it "14" (though it's really still the thirteenth floor) or by designating the floor as "12a" or something similar. Similarly, some streets do not contain a house number 13. The thirteenth of a month is likewise ominous, particularly when it falls on a Friday (see Friday the 13th), a Tuesday in the Greek and Spanish-speaking world, or a Monday in Russia. Months with a Friday the 13th always begin on a Sunday.

Some Christian traditions have it that at the Last Supper Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table, and that for this reason 13 is considered to carry a curse of sorts. According to another interpretation, the number 13 is unlucky because it is the number of full moons in a year. Women living in a natural environment tend to have their period during a full moon. A woman typically has 13 periods in a year. In the past, a woman who "bled" during a full moon was seen as a witch. The fear of women's connection to the moon, as well as the association of the full moon with mental disorders has, according to this theory, caused the number to be seen as bad luck, and connected to supernatural forces.

In the Persian culture, 13 is also considered an unlucky number. On the 13th day of the Persian new year (Norouz), people consider staying at home unlucky, and go outside for a picnic in order to ward off the bad luck.

In Sikhism, the number 13 is considered a special number since 13 is tera in Punjabi, which also means "yours" (as in, "I am yours, O Lord"). The legend goes that when Guru Nanak Dev was taking stock of items as part of his employment with a village merchant, he counted from 1 to 13 (in Punjabi) as one does normally; and thereafter he would just repeat "tera", since all items were God's creation. The merchant confronted Guru Nanak about this, but found everything to be in order after the inventory was checked.

Legendary NBA superstar Wilt Chamberlain wore the number 13 on his jersey throughout his career. It signified that the number 13 was not unlucky for him, but unlucky for his opponents. Another legendary athlete who wore the number 13 was Dan Marino, who passed for more yards than any other quarterback in NFL history, but has never won a Super Bowl. Most race car drivers consider 13 a very unlucky number, as a car carrying that number has never won the Indianapolis 500 or a NASCAR Nextel Cup race, and most all Formula 1 teams opt out of carring the number 13 when car numbers are given out to teams on basis of points.

Answer 5

No, of course not. There is no such thing as luck anyway, only what we perceive it to be according to the circumstances and the sequence of events.
Thinking of a particular thing like the number 13 as unlucky could however influence our mood and thereby we could see our performance at that time as being negatively affected. If say bad things happen on Friday 13th we may feel that that was due to bad luck because we were expecting it, when in fact good things can happen just as eaily on that day as any other.
The important thing is not to allow such fears or superstitions to take a hold on your mind either for good or bad. That way leads to a happier life. I speak as one whose family held to superstitious belief 50 or more years ago which today would seem absurd. My grandma would not have bluebells indoors as she thought that unlucky. Opening an umbrella indoors was more commonly regarded as unlucky as was breaking a mirror.
As a Christian I believe in God and the power of prayer as a force for good. Many people think that mere nonsense but it has been of huge benefit to me in many situations and it means that I do not have to rely on luck, good or bad.

Answer 6

It's to do with something about the last supper. Jesus with his 12 diciples makes the number 13 (of course). 13 is unlucky because associated with the betrayal and death of Christ.

Friday 13th is something to do with the Knights Templer. I think it's to do with the day that they were rounded up for heresy and blasphemy in the 1300's.

Answer 7

Friday the thirteenth, the day and date considered by many to hold ` ill omen`, is often attributed to the demise of the Knights Templar, on Friday ,13th October, 1307. The French King Philip IV and Pope Clement conspired to destroy the Templar order, steal its wealth and lands, torture and imprison its members. They achieved all of their aims,and the brutality of that time has since settled within folklore as `unlucky`. Only if you were a Templar that is !

Answer 8

not in china, in china it's a lucky number. some people think 12 is unlucky and therefore 13 cannot be unluck because you can't have unlucky numbers that have adirect increase to the next number (i can't think of the word i'm looking for i've just stoped thinking in the right language, even though i am british.)

Answer 9

It depends on your culture.

One theory about 13 is that the Knights Templar were betrayed in a mass arrest on Friday December 13, 1307.

Answer 10

Having read all your question... 13 is unlucky for me Fact: the last email from my wife, who is missing, 13th December 2006 but no doubt the sceptics will think of something to prove me wrong!