# 13th floor **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958 "2000-03-20T17:57:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mbuckland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@mbuckland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbuckland)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/1 "2000-03-20T17:57:00Z")
I was just thinking about this and I cannot figure out why a building would not have a 13th floor. Does anyone have any thoughts about this? ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/2 "2000-03-21T06:03:00Z")
All buildings with 13 or more stories has a 13th floor. The building owners just decide to call it the 14th floor. Building owners have to rent space on the 13th floor. There are just enough superstitious people in the world to make this difficult. Calling it the 14th floor (or 12A) just removes that difficulty and doesn’t cost them anything but a little confusion when someone is trying to locate their 18th floor apartment from the outside (hint: only count 17 floors!) ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/3 "2000-03-21T06:13:00Z")
I live in “Apartment 1A” of my apartment building. However, when I go out the fire escape in the back, I see the ghostly imprint of the number “13” on the door. So evidentally, this was once “Apartment 13”, and somebody asked to have it changed to “1A”. Gee, like that’s going to fool the Forces of Evil? Well, I’ve been living here for 12 years and I have exploded … yet. So I’m not too worried about … what a sec. Hang on I’d better send thisquickbecauseasjdf;lksjafdjk * * * Are you educated, erudite and maybe a bit eccentric? Please help us test a [new web game](http://www.pyroto.com)! ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/4 "2000-03-21T06:34:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, I’ve been living here for 12 years Next year Timothy, next year. :eek: * * * _It is too clear, and so it is hard to see._ ---
**Author:** ![Shagrath\_Borgir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@Shagrath\_Borgir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagrath_Borgir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2000, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/5 "2000-03-20T22:36:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Timothy Campbell: > **Well, I’ve been living here for 12 years and I have exploded … yet.** ## You HAVE exploded yet? Really, how many times? 😉 God WAS my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and i had to eat him. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2000, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/6 "2000-03-20T22:40:00Z")
I exploded once in my apartment (well, my appendix). But that was apartment 508. Wait! 5+0+8= **13**! AAAUUUGGGHHH!!! * * * Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination. ---
**Author:** ![Danielinthewolvesden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/7 "2000-03-21T10:12:00Z")
It is interesting that for the 1st 100years or so of the USA, 13 was a LUCKY & patriotic #. They make a big deal of #13 @ the San Jose Wichester Mystery House, hinting strongly of occult significance. However, Sarah was likely only being pariotic. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/8 "2000-03-21T11:14:00Z")
I noticed while boarding an airplane recently that it had no row 13 on it. I suppose that it’s rather hard for them to explain to some people that just because seat 13A is the only one left doesn’t mean they’re going to crash. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/9 "2000-03-21T12:25:00Z")
_ **waterj2:** I noticed while boarding an airplane recently that it had no row 13 on it._ Do you really want to fly on an airline that’s that supersticious? 😃 * * * Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/10 "2000-03-21T12:28:00Z")
## I’m just tempting fate: [ul][li]My last apartment was in the 1300 building, # **1** 0 **3**.[/li][li]I now work on the 13th floor of my office building (yes, it’s actually numbered 13)[/ul][/li] Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/11 "2000-03-21T12:59:00Z")
Any particular reason that the #13 is considered bad luck? * * * [Cessandra](http://envy.nu/cessandra/profile.html) I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids! ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/12 "2000-03-21T13:05:00Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_080.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_080.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/13 "2000-03-21T13:14:00Z")
I knew that was coming, thanks. * * * [Cessandra](http://envy.nu/cessandra/profile.html) I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids! ---
**Author:** ![InutilisVisEst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d2c977/32.png) [@InutilisVisEst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InutilisVisEst)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/14 "2000-03-21T17:53:00Z")
I lived on the 13th floor of a college dorm, but opinion is divided as to how that turned out. Certainly dorms don’t have any problem renting out rooms on that floor, unlike privately-owned structures. Related but different: We recently bought some FRS handheld radios, with 14 channels. In order to decide which channel to routinely use in order to reduce interference, I’ve been using a scanner for the past several months to see how much traffic each channel gets. This includes around Gainesville as well as all the way down I-75/turnpike to south Florida. The channel with only one-third as much traffic as the next lowest? 13. You should see the huge dip in the graph of those data. * * * I lead a boring life of relative unimportance. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Matt\_MacKinnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@Matt\_MacKinnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matt_MacKinnon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/15 "2000-03-21T21:16:00Z")
Actually, the reason that large buildings don’t have a 13th floor is not primarily for superstitious reasons. Buildings sway in the wind, something like 1 inch in either direction at the top for each story of the building. This is acceptable to a point, but when buildings are really big, people start to get nauseous. To compensate, every 13th floor (26, 39, etc.) of a building is usually taken up by equipment. My understanding is that it’s basically just a bunch of big pistons that compensate for the tilt, but I’m sure it’s actually a lot more complicated than that. I thought this was an urban legend, but I saw a diagram of Trump Towers once that depicted this. I suspect that architects originally chose the 13th floor for this equipment because no one wanted to live there anyway. Matt ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13th-floor/8958/16 "2000-03-21T23:18:00Z")
It doesn’t really matter what you call a floor. If there is no 13th floor the 14th floor is it.