Are you feeling lucky?
The power of numerical superstitions across the world influences people more than they care to admit, including this one foible present in nearly every New York City high-rise, according to a new study.
NYC developers skip “unlucky” floor number 13 in 91% of all high-rise buildings, according to a report from online casino McLuck.
Buildings jump straight from floor 12 to 14. Others will rename the floor “12A”, or repurpose it in order to avoid being cursed.
Apartments that do carry the number 13 sell less often than equivalent units in the same building, the study claimed.
“It’s easy to write this off as old superstition, but it’s still actively shaping how buildings get numbered today. . . . That’s what makes it such a fascinating study in how deep-rooted these beliefs really are,” said a McLuck spokesperson.
In Western culture, 13 has become unlucky largely because of Judas Iscariot, the 13th guest at the Last Supper who betrayed Jesus to Romans, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Estimates suggest that US businesses lose over $800 million of potential income every Friday the 13th, as Americans reduce travel and other large expenses for the day, History.com reported.
Enough people are superstitious that omitting certain numbers becomes a business decision.
Airlines like Germany’s Lufthansa, France’s Air France, and United Airlines all skip the 13th row on their flights entirely.
In East Asian culture, the number four spells doom due to its similarity to the Chinese word for ‘death.’
That number is often removed from hospital rooms and apartments.
The number four has even been erased from most license plates in the country. Plates with the number four make up just 1-3% of all cars in China, according to a Bloomberg Report.
Eight, however, is considered lucky because it sounds similar to the Chinese word ‘to prosper.’
This superstition has even affected housing prices.
A study analyzing apartment transactions from 2004 to 2006 in Chengdu, China, found that apartments on floors ending with the number 8 rake in 235 Yuan more per square meter than on other floors.
These apartments are also sold almost seven days faster than if they were on other floors.
Even phone numbers are not exempt from superstition. Numbers ending in 8888 are auctioned off at ludicrous prices, with bidders shelling out over $13,000 for the rights. In 2003, the phone number 88888888 was sold to Sichuan Airlines for over 2.33 million Yuan or $340,000.