Number 13

The belief that no. 13 is unlucky comes from time immemorial. The Romans believed that no 13 was a symbol of death and destruction. The Norse people who lived in ancient medieval Scandinavia or modern Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark believed that the 13^th guest at a feast is a spirit of evil. The Christian belief that the no 13 brings bad luck comes from the painting the “Last supper”(Leonardo da Vinci), when Christ sat down with his 12 disciples-making 13 people, the day before he was crucified. It is also believed that the first person to leave a dinner table at which there are 13 dinners will die before the end of the year. The popularities of these believes in Italy can be seen as Paris has no building that bears the no. 13. Also Italy omits the no 13 from its national lottery.

Some instances that suggest that 13 is in fact an unlucky number are as follows-

• The 13^th Apollo space mission was known as Apollo 13. On 13 April 1917 there was a explosion on board and the space craft began to leak oxygen. This happened 2 days after it took off at 13:13 Hr. the spacecraft only just made it to back to earth.
• On Friday 13 September 1928, a hurricane killed 2000 people in Puerto Rico, Florida and the Virgin Islands and caused approximately $25 million worth of damage.
• The 13 of the month costs the usa about $ 1 billion a year through cancellations on trains and plane, absenteeism from work and reduced business activities.