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Do you believe that seven is a lucky number or that things happen in sets of three? If so, your ideas are as old as Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher who lived 2600 years ago. Pythagoras believed that certain numbers and their mutiples had mystical power. For centuries, people have given importance to numbers and developed superstitions about them. Many of these superstitions have been passed on through the generations and still exist today. Many of the superstitions surrounding numbers have a basis in science and nature. For example, early astrologers believed that seven planets governed the universe and therefore the lives of human beings. A seventh child was thought to have special gifts. Human life was divided into seven ages. Every seventh year was believed to bring great change. If a person's date of birth could be divided by seven, that person's life would be lucky. For the ancient Babylonians, three was a lucky number because it symbolized birth, life, and death. Some people still believe that a dream repeated three times comes true.

Numbers don't have the same meaning in all cultures. Five is considered a most holy and lucky number in Egypt. But in Ghana, the Ashanti people consider five to be an unlucky number. To give someone five of anything is to wish the person evil. The ancient Greeks amd Egyptians thought the number four was a perfect number symbolizing unity, endurance, and balance. However, the Chinese consider the number four to be unlucky because it sounds like the word for death.

The number that seems to be almost universally considered unlucky is 13. No other number has had such a bad reputation for so long. The ancient Romans regarded it as a symbol of death, destruction, and misfortune. One of the earliest written stories about the number 13 appears in NOrwegian mythology. This story tells about a feast at Valhalla to which 12 gods were invited. Loki, the god of evil, came uninvited, raising the number to 13. In the struggle to throw out Loki, Balder, the favorite of the gods, was killed.

There are many superstitions regarding the number 13. For example, in Britain it's considered a bad omen for 13 people to sit at a table. Some say that the person who rises first will meet with misfortune, even death., within a year. Others say it's the last person to rise. Some British people think it's unlucky to have 13 people in a room, especially for the person closest to the door. The thirteenth day of the month isn't considered a good day on which to begin any new enterprise, including marriage, or to set out on a journey. Many people believe that Friday the thirteenth is the unluckiest day in the year. This belief is so widespread that there are horror movies called Friday the Thirteenth.

Some people will go to great lengths to avoid the nuber 13. Hotel owners do not usually assign the number 13 to a room, preferring to label it 12A or 14 instead. The French never issue the house address 13, while in Italy the number 13 is omitted from the national lottery. Airlines have no thirteenth row on their planes, and office and apartment buildings rarely have a thirteenth floor.

From ancient civilizations to modern societies, the belief in the magic of numbers has persisted in spite of the advances in science and technology. There is nothing quite as stubborn as superstitions. Even today in the twenty-first century, people still believe in bad luck and omens. In the future, people may work in space stations or travel the universe in starships, but there probably won't be a "Starbase 13" or a rocket liftoff on friday the thirteenth. A sevent voyage will be a good on, and the third time around will still be lucky.