There has long been controversey surrounding the number 13. While some consider it good luck, such as in the case of number theory, others are superstitious that it causes bad luck. Where did these beliefs come from? Why are there conflicting beliefs to begin with? How are lucky numbers like 13 positive or negative?
The Number 13 And Businesses
From a business standpoint, 13 is a number thought to be cursed. This means that some hotels and other buildings will not include a 13th floor, simply going from the 12th floor to the 14th floor. In addition, many airplanes skip row 13 in their seating charts. Airlines that refuse to have a row 13 include AirTran, ComAir, and United. This is mostly because of the number of people who would be afraid to sit in row or seat 13.
The Irish Motor industry’s official society also considers the number 13 to be unlucky. As a result, they have called for removal of the number 13 from license plate numbers.
The housing industry is also affected. According to Findaproperty.com, between 1999 and 2011, the 13th of any month was the day a house was the least likely to be sold. It’s been said that fear of the number 13 is the biggest superstition within the real estate industry. In countries like India, when new housing developments are being constructed, house numbers never include 13. And in high rise apartment buildings, there is often the absence of a 13th floor.
Many businesses despise the number 13 because of its implications. They often see a drop in customers and revenue on any Friday the 13th. This is because so many people associate the number with bad luck.
The Number 13 In Sports
Even in the sports industry, 13 is considered an unlucky number. One example of why is that Dan Marino’s jersey number was 13 and he never won a Superbowl, despite being considered among the best quarterbacks in history.
NBA MVP Steve Nash also wore a number 13 jersey. Many people believe this is the reason why Nash was never able to win a championship even though he was considered one of the sport’s greatest point guards.
Further proving how unlucky the number 13 was, from a betting perspective, Superbowl 13 was considered a failure. Due to a constantly changing spread during the game, many people betting on it lost significant amounts of money.
Buck Martinez wore the number 13 jersey during his time with the Toronto Blue Jays, but sadly had to retire after a 17 year career when an opponent dislocated his ankle. And baseball player Jeff Fassero also wore the number 13 jersey during the 1999 season and ended it with the worst league performance in a single season.
It is easy to see why so many businesses and industries would want to shy away from using the number 13. Only time will tell if this changes or remains the same.
