# 13th floor **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270 "2003-03-14T05:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/21 "2003-03-14T22:54:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mace \* > \*\*FYI, the aversion of a 4th floor to Asians has to do with the similarity of the word for “4” and the word for “death” in some Asian languages (I think originating from Chinese). \*\* In Cantonese, certainly, “sei” is the number for 4, which is a similar syllable (though not the same tone) for “death”. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/22 "2003-03-14T22:56:14Z")
The new building my company is in ( we built it, sold it and lease back the space) has a 13th floor but that is set aside for other tennants. The building is segregated so we have a private lobby and elevators that only go from 1-5 (lobby and our parking levels) and our floors on 14-20 while skipping 6-13. The other floors are served by an elevator bank in the public lobby. Curiously our elevator cars have a button for the 13th floor though it isn’t active. The security guard told me the elevators can be configured to stop there so we can overflow to the 13th floor. Sounds like a plot for _The Twilight Zone_. The building is designed so our private floors, 14-20, have an exposed atrium stairwell that doesn’t extend below the 14th floor. While they didn’t skip 13 it’s obvious we intended for someone else to use it. The old building skipped no floor numbers and we occupied floors 12-17 of a 20 story building with common elevators. ---
**Author:** ![rostfrei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7bcc69/32.png) [@rostfrei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rostfrei)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/23 "2003-03-14T23:06:15Z")
I recently stayed at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas and noticed that they had a 13th floor in one of the towers. I thought this was strange for a casino. Maybe the ancient Egyptians didn’t fear 13. Eric ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/24 "2003-03-15T01:29:18Z")
I’ve stayed in 5 hotels in Atlantic City, and none of them had a 13th floor. Rats to that; 13 has been my lucky number like forever. I seek it out all the time. (4th floor works…1 plus 3) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/25 "2003-03-15T01:43:40Z")
> [@](#): > > How soon after you asked the question did you get the rejection ?Just interested, as I never got any answer at all when I asked one. > [/small hijack] **ChalkPit** Welcome to the SDMB. If you could see the volume of questions which comes in on a daily basis for Cecil/Staff to answer, you’d appreciate why you didn’t get an answer(yet?). But keep hoping. Quite often questions get answered which are VERY old. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/26 "2003-03-15T01:49:40Z")
Many commercial airlines do not have a 13th row of seats in their airplanes. Air Berlin is especially picky, one customer rep did not like the fact that -13B ceiling panels were being installed on his airplane. ---
**Author:** ![teemingONE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@teemingONE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teemingONE)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/27 "2003-03-16T02:42:34Z")
why is 13 bad luck? ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/28 "2003-03-16T02:49:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by teemingONE \* > \*\*why is 13 bad luck? \*\* Supposedly because of the Last Supper. Jesus and the 12 apostles made a dinner party of 13, shortly after which Judas betrayed Jesus, and Jesus was captured and executed. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270/29 "2003-03-16T03:10:59Z")
Isn’t there also supposed to be an idea that thirteen was/is a sacred number to pagans and so it became discredited as Christianity replaced paganism in Europe? There are thirteen months in the lunar calendar, thirteen witches in a coven, thirteen constellations in some interpretations of the zodiac etc. etc. FWIW there was no house number thirteen in the street where I grew up due to the superstition of the man who planned it, but that wasn’t the custom anywhere else in the town. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/161270.md?page=1)