Number 13 is considered unlucky around the world, but it seems that it has gained undeserved fame and many other numbers are considered ‘more cursed’ than it. In some cultures they are completely and somewhat absurdly avoided, all due to various legends and stories for which they have the adjective ‘unlucky’.
Number 191.
Although many believe that any connection with numbers with the accident is purely coincidental, some cases are really spooky. Since 1960, five different planes with number 191 suffered catastrophic accidents, and the worst one was that of American Airlines from 1979, that crashed at O'Hare airport in Chicago with 273 dead victims. Flights with that number don’t fly for Delta or for American Airlines.
Number 26.
This number is considered very unlucky in India, and this belief was further strengthened by a catastrophic earthquake that happened on January 26, 2001 in Gujarat, which killed over 20 thousand people. Tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, which killed over 230 thousand people took place on December 26, on May 26, several bombs exploded in Guwahti, and on November 26, 2008 the terrorist attack in Mumbai happened. According to numerology, adding numbers two and six leads to unlucky number eight, which is believed to be a number of destruction and bad luck, so in India it is not advisable to get married on the 8th of any month.
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Number 7.
In many cultures number seven is considered lucky. However, this is not true for China, where it has the meaning of abandonment, anger and death. The seventh month of the Chinese calendar is also called ‘month of ghosts’. This number is also connected with numerous plane accidents, and in 2014 starting from July 7 within a period of seven days there were several plane crashes - Flight MH17 Boeing 777 was shot down at exactly 17 hours and 17 minutes in the eastern Ukraine, Indian military helicopter fell down at 17.00 sharp which killed all seven passengers, and the same fate had Vietnamese military helicopter Mi-171 which crashed at 7 o’clock past 37 minutes, and one of the most famous cases is disappearance of Malaysia plane flight MH370.
Number 250.
This number in China is not considered only unlucky, but also an insult. In Mandarin, it is pronounced as "er-bai-wu," which means an imbecile. Origin of the use of numbers as an insult comes from ancient China while they still used copper coins. The standard measure was 1000 coins, and number 500 or half of that related to someone or something inferior, while 250 was regarded as completely inferior. In China, this number is avoided to the extent that the Gulfstream Aerospace business plane changed its name to G280.
Number 17.
In Italy, this number is considered unlucky and a symbol of death because written in Roman numerals it writes XVII, which can be rearranged into ‘VIXI’ which means ‘I lived’. This inscription is often found in Roman tombs. Mythology about the misfortune of number 17 dates back to the Bible, where the 17th of February is stated as the beginning of the great flood. Some hotels in Italy don’t have room number 17 and some Alitalia planes don’t have aisle number 17.
Number 0888 888 888.
Bulgarian mobile phone company Mobitel abolished the use of this number after three of their users with number 0888 888 888 died in a short period of time. One of them was the former director of the company, who is believed to have been poisoned by a business rival. Another victim was lord Konstantin Dimitrov, who was killed in the Netherlands by the Russian mafia. The third man who used that number was a drug dealer and the hot shot in the world of real estate sales, and after he was killed in the street in front of a restaurant, the number was officially abolished and it can’t be given on demand.
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Number 39.
In Afghanistan they believe in the curse of that number, and they maximally avoid it in the capital Kabul. According to myth, allegedly a pimp had a car with the number 39 on the license plate, and he lived at number 39, and it brought him death and brutal torture before he died. There is speculation that 39 is a number of hate according to the old mode of calculation called abjad. Afghans avoid this number on license plates, in telephone numbers and addresses. This goes so far that cars with that number on license plates are sold at half the price, and people who are 39 years old won’t say it if you ask them, but ‘I have one more year up to 40’.
