On the day that many, for whatever reason, believe is unlucky, we thought it would be fun to dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly about the number 13.
In mathematics
- The number 13 is the sixth prime number. It is a twin prime with 11, as well as a cousin prime with 17. It is the second Wilson prime, of three known (the others being 5 and 563),[2] and the smallest emirp in decimal
- A happy number and a lucky number
- A Fibonacci number, preceded by 5 and 8
- A 13-sided regular polygon is called a tridecagon
- There are 13 ways for the three fastest horses in a horse race to finish, allowing for ties, a fact that can be expressed mathematically by 13 being the third ordered Bell number
In science
The atomic number of aluminium is 13
In languages
Thirteen is one of two numbers within the teen numerical range (13–19), along with fifteen, not derived by cardinal numeral (three) and the teen suffix; instead, it is derived from the ordinal numeral (third)
In religion
Islam
In Shia, 13 signifies the 13th day of the month of Rajab (the Lunar calendar), which is the birth of Imam Ali. 13 also is a total of 1 Prophet and 12 Shia Imams in the Islamic School of Thought.
Christianity
In all branches of Christianity it’s said that Christ had 12 disciples, thus forming a group of 13. It’s best known by the representations of the last supper.
Catholicism
The apparitions of the Virgin of Fátima in 1917 were claimed to occur on the 13th day of six consecutive months.
In Catholic devotional practice, the number thirteen is also associated with Saint Anthony of Padua, since his feast day falls on June 13. A traditional devotion called the Thirteen Tuesdays of St. Anthony[13] involves praying to the saint every Tuesday over a period of thirteen weeks. Another devotion, St. Anthony’s Chaplet, consists of thirteen decades of three beads each.
Sikhism
According to famous Sakhi (evidence) or the story of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, when he was an accountant at a town of Sultanpur Lodhi, he was distributing groceries to people. When he gave groceries to the 13th person, he stopped because in Gurmukhi and Hindi the word 13 is called terah, which means yours. And Guru Nanak Dev Ji kept saying, “Yours, yours, yours…” remembering God. People reported to the emperor that Guru Nanak Dev Ji was giving out free food to the people. When treasures were checked, there was more money than before.
Judaism
- In Judaism, 13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and becomes a Bar Mitzvah, i.e., a full member of the Jewish faith (counts as a member of Minyan)
- The number of principles of Jewish faith according to Maimonides
- According to Rabbinic commentary on the Torah, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy
Zoroastrianism
Since beginning of the Nowruz tradition, the 13th day of each new Iranian year is called Sizdah Be-dar, a festival dedicated to pranks and spending time outdoors.
Aztec mythology
According to Aztec mythology, the Thirteen Heavens were formed by the gods from the head of Cipactli during creation
Wicca
A common tradition in the religion Wicca holds that the number of members for a coven is ideally thirteen, though this tradition is not universal
Luck
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.
There are a number of theories as to why the number thirteen became associated with bad luck, but none of them have been accepted as likely.
- The Last Supper
- At Jesus Christ’s Last Supper, there were thirteen people around the table, counting Christ and the twelve apostles. Some believe this is unlucky because one of those thirteen, Judas Iscariot, was the betrayer of Jesus Christ. From the 1890s, a number of English language sources relate the “unlucky” thirteen to an idea that at the Last Supper, Judas,
- the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table.
- Knights Templar
- On Friday, 13 October 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar, and most of the knights were tortured and killed.
- Full moons
- A year with 13 full moons instead of 12 posed problems for the monks in charge of the calendars. “This was considered a very unfortunate circumstance, especially by the monks who had charge of the calendar of thirteen months for that year, and it upset the regular arrangement of church festivals. For this reason, thirteen came to be considered an unlucky number.” 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.
Good
- Singer Taylor Swift considers the number 13 to be lucky & references throughout her work
- 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.
- Italy: 13 was the lucky number in the Italian football pools (Totocalcio). The Italian expression “fare tredici” (literally, “make thirteen”) means to hit the jackpot.
- United States: Colgate University also considers 13 a lucky number. They were 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
In the Mayan Tzolk’in calendar, trecenas mark cycles of 13-day periods. The pyramids are also set up in 9 steps divided into 7 days and 6 nights, 13 days total.
In the standard 52-card deck of playing cards there are four suits, each of 13 ranks.
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 Arthurian legend, which was recorded in Medieval texts, King Arthur is resting in Avalon with the twelve greatest knights of the Round Table, totalling 13, and will return when his country is in peril.
The Thirteen Treasures of Britain are a series of magical items listed in late Medieval texts.
The Thirteen Postures of Tai Chi are thirteen postures (consisting of Eight Gates and Five Steps) which are considered to be of fundamental importance in the practice of tai chi.
In astronomy there are 13 star constellations in the zodiac (including Ophiuchus); this can be compared with astrology where there are 12 signs of the zodiac.
In Judaism, 13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and becomes a Bar Mitzvah, i.e., a full member of the Jewish faith (counts as a member of Minyan). The number of principles of Jewish faith according to Maimonides. According to Rabbinic commentary on the Torah, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy.
In a tarot card deck, XIII is the card of Death, usually picturing the Pale Horse with its rider.
History
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- The United States of America was created from thirteen British colonies and as such, the number thirteen is a commonly recurring motif in American heraldry. For example, there are thirteen stars on the Great Seal of the United States and there are thirteen stripes on the American flag as well as thirteen rays on the Flag of Arizona.
- The first flag of the United States bore thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, and thirteen white stars in the blue union. The thirteen stripes represented the Thirteen Colonies from which the United States was created, and the thirteen stars represented the number of states in the new nation. When two new states were added to the Union in 1795, the flag bore fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. With the addition of five new states in 1818, the number of stripes was re-set and permanently fixed at thirteen.
- The Great Seal of the United States bears many images of the number thirteen, representing the Thirteen Colonies from which the United States was created. On the Seal’s obverse, the overhead glory bears thirteen stars. The chest shield in front of the spread eagle bears thirteen stripes (seven white and six red). The eagle’s right talon holds the Olive Branch of Peace, bearing thirteen olives and thirteen olive leaves. The eagle’s left talon holds the Weapons of War, consisting of thirteen arrows. The eagle’s mouth holds a scroll bearing the national motto “E Pluribus Unum” (which, by coincidence, consists of thirteen letters). On the Seal’s reverse, the unfinished pyramid consists of thirteen levels.
- The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (except as a punishment for crime).
- Apollo 13 was a NASA Moon mission famous for being a “successful failure” in 1970.
In sports
- The number 13 was not used in the Indianapolis 500 from 1915 to 2002. It was not permitted for use between 1926 and 2002. In 2009, E. J. Viso, driving for HVM Racing in the 2009 IndyCar Series season, drove a green number 13 car full-time, despite terrible superstitions about it in motorsports.
- The number 13 was not used in Formula One from 1977 to 2013.
- In rugby league:
- Each side has 13 players on the field at any given time.
- The jersey number 13 is worn by the starting loose forward or lock forward in most competitions. An exception is in the Super League, which uses static squad numbering.
- In rugby union, the jersey number 13 is worn by the outside centre.
- In triathlon, the number 13 is not used. As such, the numbering goes 11, 12, 14, 15 under the current numbering system.
- In Petanque, standard games are won when a team reaches the score of 13 points. A 13–0 score is called Fanny.
- Effective with the 2020 season, Major League Baseball teams are allowed no more than 13 pitchers on their active rosters at any time during the season. The main exception is from September 1 to the end of the regular season, when this number increases to 14.
- In NCAA Division I men’s college basketball, teams are allowed to provide scholarships to no more than 13 players at any given time.
- In pool:
- The pool ball 13 is the 13th in pool and its color is orange (pink in the Brazilian pool).