Why is 13 an unlucky number in foreign countries?

They are superstitious that this number will bring bad luck to themselves, so they avoid it: "If 13 people sit at a table, one of them will die within this year", "Friday the 13th is a very unlucky day", "The 13th floor is unlucky" and "Thirteen steps will bring bad luck". Many people who are afraid of 13 will regard any number with 13, such as 713, as an unlucky symbol. The superstition about 13 people sitting at the same table deduces 13 absurd statements, such as "If someone sneezes at 13 people sitting at the same table, the oldest or youngest person will die within one year".

These superstitions, which look more like jokes to us, are enduring in the world. An American surveyed the representatives of all foreign embassies in Washington and found that at least 46 countries have a history of fear 13.

One result of superstition is that the 13th floor disappears in the construction industry. As early as 193, the high-rise buildings in Manhattan, USA, were all unmarked with the 13th floor. Some buildings that were built before superstition became popular or those that had been designed but dared to ignore this superstition were asked to rearrange the floor numbers, and more hotels cleared all the 13 rooms at one fell swoop.

An elevator worker disdained this practice, and his words were praised by Martin Luther King. He said, "When you find that the 14th floor is actually the 13th floor, you will feel that fear is a downright stupid idea." What he didn't notice, however, was that people who were afraid of 13 regarded the sign of "13th floor" rather than the floor itself as the source of bad luck.

When and where did this superstition originate? If there is an answer, it must be hidden in a long unknown age. Early Christians pointed the finger at the "Last Supper": Jesus and his 12 followers once had dinner at the same table, and the next day Jesus was crucified. Judas, one of the 12 believers, betrayed Jesus, and he also ended up in born to die. This fatalistic story inspired people's imagination of Thirteen, and most people speculated that the superstition of thirteen people sitting at the same table began to enter people's hearts from the day of Jesus' crucifixion and was constantly strengthened.

Before that, the most striking origin theory came from Norwegian mythology: at a banquet in the city of Vihara, the devil Rocchi was the 13th guest to break into the banquet, and he killed one of the gods, Bodur.

In the United States at the end of 19th century, the news and stories of unlucky 13 occupied the headlines of newspapers year after year, showing the strong vitality of this superstition. In 1896, The New York Times tried to give a once-and-for-all answer to the question "Is thirteen unlucky?" They investigated a large number of railway, military police, fire brigade and other units and got an encouraging conclusion: thirteen is as good as any other number. But this kind of effort seems insignificant to superstitious people.

The most courageous action began more than ten years ago. In 1881, a group of new york people who regarded superstition as a historical legacy that hindered social development set up "Club 13" and decided to challenge the superstition caused by that number. Captain william fowler, the founder of the club, is a retired veteran of the American Civil War. His life became attached to thirteen: he participated in thirteen battles, retired on August 13th, 1863, bought a house on the 13th of the second month after retirement, and then became one of the thirteen best members of the club.

It took Fowler a year to find 12 "warriors" and form "Club 13" by himself. At 8: 13 pm on Friday, January 13th, 1881, in Room 13, the opening banquet of the club began. According to the agreement, the members of the club will have a dinner on the 13th of each month, and 13 people will sit at the same table. If everyone survives the year of dinner, the 13 superstitions will be broken.

The club deliberately plays up the horror of death. For example, it writes "We who are about to die salute you" on a huge red and white flag. The tombstone-shaped menu and skeleton-shaped candlestick are impressive. Sometimes members will eat lobster salad in a coffin shape with a miniature coffin-shaped plate engraved with the number 13 on it. Broken mirrors, open umbrellas and the silhouette of black cats, which are regarded as unlucky symbols, have become standard banquet decorations and have been ridiculed and attacked by the club.

Club 13 quickly became the most outstanding social club in new york, and grew at an amazing speed, with five consecutive American presidents becoming its honorary members. Thousands of club members have had the experience of 13 people sitting at the same table, and all of them survived. They proved the absurdity of this superstition with their own personal experiences. However, it is obviously a long way to prove and convince people. The 13th Club is gradually forgotten, and the 13th superstition still pervades the world.

In 1933, a survey of college students showed that more than 9% people thought "Friday the 13th" was unlucky. Sixty-seven years later, a survey by American Demography showed that 3% of teenagers were still terrified of that number. Compared with the heyday of superstition, this ratio is gratifying, but no one knows how long the vitality of superstition will last

Related:

It happened in a hotel in a small town in Denmark.

A traveler named Anderson stayed in this hotel and was arranged in Room 12. The room is a very tall and long ancient pattern, and the two windows facing the street can enjoy the bustling market customs. In the evening, Anderson went upstairs after dinner and found that there was no.14 next to his room. No.12 and No.14 are adjacent, that is to say, there is no room 13. This is also a local agreement that is silently observed. Even if the owner of the hotel has set up Room 13, no travelers will easily check in.

Anderson went into his room. Under the graceful lighting, the room seemed much smaller than it looked during the day, and it was obviously two windows. Now there is only one left! Anderson began to suspect that his journey was too tiring, and the red wine with dinner at night had a little anesthetic effect. He was angry to find that his small suitcase had disappeared, and it was not in his room, but it was beside the bed in the afternoon. Sleepiness made him unable to support himself. He lay in bed, turned over and found that sleep was the smartest choice at the moment. Leave those trivial things to tomorrow! Maybe the hateful waiter moved his position privately! Tomorrow, I will teach that boy a good lesson ...

He fell asleep with all his calculations, and when he opened his eyes again, two windows facing the street greatly shone into the bright morning sunshine, and his suitcase was still leaning against the bed. Maybe I really drank too much last night.

In the afternoon, a well-dressed lawyer moved into Room 14. Everyone said hello at dinner, which means they know each other.

After dinner, Anderson went back to his room and suddenly found another window missing. A little depressed, he went to the only window and wanted to enjoy the night view of the street. As a result, I heard strange laughter from next door. He thought it might be that the lawyer was looking for some fun himself and didn't care too much.

Anderson was reading in his own bed, and he was getting sleepy. He was about to go to bed, but he heard a high-pitched song next door-it was terrible, like a sad cry when a cat was caught in a chimney and couldn't get out. Anderson then got off the bed again, went to the window and leaned out to see what the lawyer next door was doing, but he saw nothing but a small piece of white clothes fluttering in the wind. The candle was shaking badly, and a slender shadow was twisting wildly. Anderson thought, when a person is alone, it is more necessary to vent like this!

He went back to bed, determined to put up with the lawyer's ugly singing. But someone knocked at the door.

As soon as he opened the door, he found that it was the lawyer in Room 14. He jumped at the door in anger. "I said, Mr. Anderson, would you please not ..."

The song echoed in the room again, like a demonstration.

Anderson and his lawyer looked at each other, and they were frightened.

they went downstairs together to find the boss. When the boss went upstairs, he brought two big guys. Together, they came to the position between Room 12 and Room 14, and found that there was a door where it was originally a wall, and the words "No.13" hung impressively on it. The song came from inside, and suddenly it was quiet again.

all the people stood stiffly at the door, wondering what to do next.

A guy patted the door hard first, then twisted the handle of the door and pushed a small crack in the door from the outside to look in.

Suddenly, a slender arm covered with yellow hair stretched out from the crack of the door and grabbed the guy's shirt sleeve. The guy dragged the arm outwards, and the sleeve was broken, and the door slammed again, and there was a giggle from inside.

another guy wants to break down the door by force to see which fairy is inside. As a result, the sound of the stick knocking on the door was not like knocking on the wooden door at all, but like knocking on the wall and making a dull sound, and it made my hands ache. The man cried out in pain, and everyone's attention was suddenly attracted by him. When everyone looked up again, the door of room 13 had disappeared on the wall, leaving only the wall between rooms 12 and 14, with traces left by a stick.

after dawn, everyone tried to tear down the wall. Found a skeleton hidden in the wall and a parchment printed with ancient Danish. Later, it was said that the book was sent to a historical society for research and preservation.