13/Historical Note
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Historical Note on $13$ (Thirteen)
The number $13$ is traditionally unlucky.
This is apparently based on the fact that there were $13$ people who attended the Last Supper.
It is believed that this superstition originated in the middle ages.
The word triskaidekaphobia means fear of the number $13$.
The fact that $13$ is in fact classified by number theorists as a lucky number is just one more indication of how mathematicians delight in confusing muggles.
Apart from that, there are several instances of the number $13$ in the mundane world:
- There are $13$ cards in each of the $4$ suits of a deck of cards
- The number of objects in a baker's dozen.
Sources
- 1986: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers ... (previous) ... (next): $13$
- 1997: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $13$
- (although in this edition there is a misprint of triakaidekaphobia fpr triskaidekaphobia)