Unlucky 13? Interesting 13!

1) The number 13 is a Fibonacci number.

2) The natural number after 12 and before 14.

3) It is the smallest integer.

4) It is the age at which children officially become teenagers.

5) Strikingly similar folkloric aspects of the number 13 have been noted in various cultures around the world: one theory is that this is due to the cultures employing lunar-solar calendars (there are approximately 12.41 lunations per solar year, and hence 12 “true months” plus a smaller, and often portentous, thirteenth month).

6) There were thirteen participants at the Last Supper. Tradition states that Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table.

7) Thirteen was once associated with the Epiphany by Christians, as it is said the child Jesus received the Magi on his thirteenth day of life.

8) There are 13 Apostles in Christianity; the 12 Disciples plus St Paul of Tarsus. In addition to being the 13th Apostle, he is also known as “The Apostle” by the Church Fathers.

9) According to famous Sakhi (Evidence) or story of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, when he was an accountant at a town of Sultanpur Lodhi, he was distributing grocery to people and when he gave groceries to the 13th person he stopped there because in Gurmukhi and Hindi the word 13 is called Terah, which means yours. And Guru Nanak kept on saying, “Yours, yours, yours…” remembering God. People reported to the emperor that Guru Nanak was giving out free food to the people. When treasures were checked, there was more money than before.

10) The word “Waheguru” appears only 13 times in Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures and the eternal Guru.

11) The Vaisakhi which commemorates the creation of “Khalsa” or pure Sikh was celebrated on April 13 for many years.

12) Ik Onkar also looks like 13.

13) In Judaism, 13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and becomes a Bar Mitzvah (Age of 12 for Girls, or Bat Mitzvah). when a ceremony is held and the boy reads from the Torah scroll and leads the congregation for the first time.

14) The number of principles of Jewish faith according to Maimonides.

15) According to the Torah, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy.

16) The number of circles, or “nodes”, that make up Metatron’s Cube in Kaballistic teachings.

17) In Mesoamerican divination, 13 is the number of important cycles of fortune/misfortune.

18) The number of Norse gods (there were 12) at a banquet that was crashed by the evil god Loki (making 13) who killed Baldr with an arrow/spear made out of mistletoe using Hodr, thus marking the beginning of Ragnarok.

19) Thirteen (13) is the sixth prime number.

20) In Italy, 13 is also considered to be a lucky number, although in Campania the expression ‘tredici’ (meaning 13) is said when one considers their luck to have turned for the worse.

21) Colgate University also considers 13 to be 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, NY and the all men a cappella group is called the Colgate 13.

22) Youngest age a minor can watch a PG-13 rated movie by the MPAA without the recommendation of parental guidance or parental consent.

23) Youngest age a minor can rent or purchase a T rated game by the ESRB without parental consent.

24) Minimum age a person can buy a 13+ rated movie in the Canadian province of Quebec without an adult 16 or older.

25) The number of colonies that formed the United States. The original flag had thirteen stars, one for each state. New stars have since been added whenever a new state joins the union, but the idea of adding stripes for new states was soon dropped, so the American flag to this day has thirteen horizontal stripes: six white ones and seven red ones.

26) In the Great Seal of the United States there are 13 olive leaves (with 13 olives), 13 arrows, and 13 stars. These form a triangle over the eagle with the number 13 on each point. On the reverse the pyramid has 13 levels.

27) The number of loaves in a “baker’s dozen”.

28) There are traditionally thirteen steps leading up to a gallows.

29) Apollo 13 was the only unsuccessful mission by the United States of America intended to land humans on the moon. The explosion of an oxygen tank on April 13, 1970 sent the flight crew and ground crews into several days of intense survival mode. Three astronauts returned safely to Earth. Although the primary objective of the mission failed, it is one of the most famous and inspiring space adventures in the history of the planet Earth.

30) In Thailand, the traditional Thai New Year (Songkran Day) is on April 13.

31) Thirteen is the tradition number of members of a Coven.

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