“13” Precautions

In many countries around the world, in order to help citizens cope with their fears of the number 13, authorities take certain actions they consider necessary to keep everyone happy. For instance, in Scotland, there is no gate at any airport numbered 13. Instead, it is referred to as Gate 12B. In many airplanes, they tend to skip row 13 altogether. Many cultures tend to discourage getting married on the 13th of a month. A race car has never won the Indianapolis 500 or NASCAR Nextel Cup, causing most race car drivers to shy away from having 13 in their number. There is no 13th law in the Code of Hammurabi. According to a superstition, when 13 individuals sit around a table for a meal, one is presumed to die within the following year. There is no sound stage number 13 in Universal Studios, California and no Microsoft Office 13. Bill Gates lost his title of being the richest man in the world after 13 years, according to the 2008 list of world billionaires in Forbes’ magazine. And to reiterate why these superstitions are taken into such account, it was on April 13th that the Apollo 13 spacecraft broke down forcing a return to Earth without reaching the moon and jeopardizing the entire crew.