Unlucky and Cursed Numbers

Magical numbers, divine numbers, unlucky numbers, cursed numbers, most every culture and religion has numbers that they believe to have power. And many people even have numbers that they believe to be lucky or unlucky for themselves.

Here’s some of the most unlucky and cursed numbers:

In western culture the number 13 has long been considered unlucky, and buildings are still being built ‘without’ a 13th floor:
MSN Real Estate News: http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/post--buildings-still-cater-to-the-superstitious-by-skipping-the-13th-floor

BTW, the floor is still there, they just call it the 14th floor. It gets funnier, no, really, it does:

"…a 2007 Gallup poll found that 13 percent of Americans would be bothered by staying on the 13th floor of a hotel…"
- Stuart Vyse, professor of psychology at Connecticut College.
LiveScience: http://www.livescience.com/39566-friday-the-13th-superstitions.html

Additionally Friday is considered unlucky in Christianity, as the day of the week Christ died, so Friday the 13th is considered particularly unlucky.

Other cultures have selected different unlucky numbers. In some parts of Africa 12 is particularly unlucky. A old folktale tells of a man with 12 sons. One day, while measuring out a portion of grain for each of them, a lion leapt out of the bush and killed the 12th son.

In China 4 is unlucky because it sounds like Death (0, 5, 6 are also unlucky, but not to the same degree). And in Japan both 4 and 9 are unlucky because they sound like Death and Suffering. By the way, 4 + 9 = 13, so while 13 isn’t strictly unlucky, it’s sometimes considered unlucky by proxy.

Furthermore, some numbers are believed to be cursed! In Christianity, there’s the infamous mark of the beast, the dreaded triple 6s. A section of highway running between Colorado and New Mexico, now renamed Route 191, once bore this number and is still believed to be cursed, earning the nickname The Devil’s Highway.