[Phys-L] Re: Triskaidekaphobia (was: Elevators)

[swansonr at EMAIL.SANDHILLS.CC.NC.US (Rick Swanson)]

> From a mathematical standpoint, 13 is special because it is the first number that does not have a unique name (3-teen, 4-teen and so forth).

I have been told that this evolved from early traders who, prior to numerical counting, had a concept of amounts for only those things they could see to count with:  ten fingers and two feet -- twelve.

Whenever there were 13 of something it was more difficult, and uncomfortable, to comprehend.  Unlucky? hmmmm.

Cheers,

Rick

Richard E. Swanson, Ph.D.
Dean of Instruction
Physics Professor
Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst, NC 28374
swansonr@sandhills.edu (910) 695-3715

> > > clement@HAL-PC.ORG 12/15/04 12:41PM >>>
Well, I just forwarded some random thoughts from a reasonable web
site.  However this particular idea has been repeated on many sites.
 Apparently the Egyptians considered 13 a good number associated with
the afterlife, but it seems clear that 13 does seem to have special
associations in many cultures.  Whether it is good or bad seems to be
variable.  The USA seems to be one of the major places where 13 is
evil, but I would suspect this came from other European cultures.
 Tracing superstitions is probably harder than tracing words.

The list of phobias is quite large, but apparently button phobia does
not have an official name.

Incidentally Friday the 13 came on Monday this month.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX
> > In Christian countries the number 13 was considered unlucky because
> > there were 13 persons at the Last Supper of Christ. Fridays are also
> > unlucky, because the Crucifixion was on a Friday. Hence a Friday
> > falling on the thirteenth day is regarded as especially unlucky.
>
> I think you may consider Italy a Christian country, after all.
> But here 13 is a *lucky* number, if not for imported (US made)
> cultural items. A very unlucky number is 17, especially on
> Friday, 17 (like the day after tomorrow...).
>
> Paolo Cavallo