What's in the number?

Triskaidekaphobia (a word coined in 1911) means fear of the number 13. 

I have never seen the 13th floor of a hotel. Have you? The funny substitutes like 12B and 14A always caught my attention! Why only hotels, skipping the number 13 from any series is a widely prevalent practice - Be it a house number, a floor number, a tower number, even sectors numbered by state housing body like Haryana Urban Development Authority etc.! Next time whenever you are in an elevator, don't forget to look at it's control panel!

No. 13 and the notions surrounding it always fascinated me. No. 13, a Fibonacci number, the smallest EMIRP (a prime that is a different prime when its digits are reversed) and the number that embarks the beginning of a new and arguably the most remembered phase in our lives (teens), happens to be the first compound number (the numbers from 0 to 12 have their own names!). 

No. 13 has too many stories around it. Some interesting. Some scary. Jersey No. 13 apparently isn’t considered to be lucky. Traditionally, there were 13 steps to the gallows. In a tarot card deck, XIII is the card of Death, usually picturing the Pale horse with its rider. There were 13 people at the last supper. There’s an old superstition that says if you have 13 letters in your name, you’re bound to be cursed. Examples are many. Adolf Hitler tops the list. Does it count 11? Count again – Adolfus Hitler!

Many people in the USA choose not to do any business on Friday the 13th. And that effectively means a loss running in millions of dollars. In spite of being considered not too lucky, there are thirteen stars on the Great Seal of the United States and there are thirteen stripes on the American flag.

But not everything is wrong about No. 13. A healthy woman menstruates roughly 13 times a year. In India, a lot of festivals like Baisakhi etc. get celebrated on 13th. On many social media platforms, thirteen is the standard minimum age to be allowed to create an account – TGIT (Thank God It's Thirteen)! An application for Nil / Lower deduction of TDS is required to be filed in Form 13 to the Income Tax Officer, and the tax officer on being satisfied that lower deduction of TDS is justified shall issue a certificate for the same under Section 197 of Indian Income Tax Act. And something great - iPhone 13 is slated to launch in September 2021. 

The next-gen iPhone is expected to bring a host of upgrades including a super-fast 5G modem, ultra-wide camera lens and Apple's first-ever 120Hz display. Considering how diversely the number 13 is treated in different parts of the world, it would be interesting to see how Apple finally chooses to brand iPhone 13. iPhone X3? Or iPhone X+3? Or maybe it’s about time to upgrade the category from Smart Phones to Super Phones? 

How about calling it Super iPhone?