There are many superstitions regard

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 number 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 superstition. 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 seventh voyage will be a good one, and the third time around will still be lucky.