# Is it stupid how buildings have no 13th floor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 1, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471 "2003-07-01T00:59:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/21 "2003-07-01T05:55:43Z")
My building, 16 stories, has a 13th floor. The freight elevator has indicator lights that skip the 13th, so it’s off by one after the 12th floor. ---
**Author:** ![Insecta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3da27b/32.png) [@Insecta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Insecta)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/22 "2003-07-01T09:40:33Z")
Incidentally, many Swiss Air planes do not have a row 13. You wouldn’t want bad luck on a flight would you? May end up in the one row that crashes. A lot of Swiss Mail vans have number plates that start with 666 (666 xxx). This is a little amusing, especially since the German name is ‘ **Die** Post’. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/23 "2003-07-01T09:52:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Insecta \* > \*\*A lot of Swiss Mail vans have number plates that start with 666 (666 xxx). This is a little amusing, especially since the German name is ‘ **Die** Post’. \*\* A friend of mine once said something to the effect: “Recent research has shown that cars with 666 in the registration plate are more likely to have accidents” (I can’t quote the rest of the sentence without risk of misrepresenting it, but it essentially went on to assert that this was proof of the existence of satan and the infallibility of scripture). Good ol’ ‘recent research’ eh? My eyes rolled so far they nearly popped out of my arse. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/24 "2003-07-01T10:13:21Z")
My first job was on the 13th floor. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/25 "2003-07-01T10:20:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Insecta \* > **Incidentally, many Swiss Air planes do not have a row 13. You wouldn’t want bad luck on a flight would you? May end up in the one row that crashes.** I’ve never been in an airplane where I’ve noticed a row numbered 13, and since I noticed it lacking I’ve been checking whenever I could. It just seemed so totally ridiculous, in this day and age, to omit the 13th row. And yet, every time I step on a plane, 14 follows 12. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/26 "2003-07-01T11:45:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lithium \* > **mark down the price and I’ll live there with no complaints.** I think that’s the reason. If buildings traditionally have no thirteenth floor, and you build one, you’ve nothing to gain by having one and possibly something to lose. Why rock the boat? ---
**Author:** ![jennalynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a698b9/32.png) [@jennalynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jennalynn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/27 "2003-07-01T20:41:28Z")
It’s so stupid to not number things correctly. Just because you don’t number the thirteenth floor or the thirteenth row “13” doesn’t change the fact that that is what it is. What’s worse than believing that the number 13 is unlucky? Believing that you can outwit the bad luck by cleverly changing your numbering scheme. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/28 "2003-07-01T21:01:10Z")
My office building goes from 12 to 14- and yes, that is stupid. In America, until the early 20th Century- 13 was considered to be a lucky and patriotic #, not an unlucky one. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/29 "2003-07-02T00:55:28Z")
The building I work in doesn’t have a 13th floor, but several other floors seem to be either missing or inaccessible. I think those floors are where the government does research into UFOs and mind control waves. Fnord. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/30 "2003-07-02T01:28:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wolfian \* > \*\*I think the fear of 13 goes back to the Last Supper. Jesus plus the twelve apostles made thirteen. \*\* > [@](#): > > Many people believe that the superstition about sitting thirteen at table dates from the Last Supper and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That is not possible, for the idea goes back centuries earlier: but it does seem clear that this world fatality gave the idea new life and sent it bounding forward along the years to come. As a matter of fact, this was not an isolated case of at thirteen at table, for Christ and the chosen disciples worked together regularly every day, and must, surely, have risked the fateful thirteen many thousands of times. [http://www.urbanlegends.com/misc/friday\_the\_13th\_origins.html](http://www.urbanlegends.com/misc/friday_the_13th_origins.html) ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/31 "2003-07-02T01:39:07Z")
I work on the 13th floor of The Merchandise Mart in Chicago.[/data point] ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/32 "2003-07-02T01:45:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wolfian \* > **I also remember the purging of the Knights Templar, a group that can be connected with the Masons, happened on Friday the thirteenth.** The Knights Templar are a truly tragic case. Their only crime was that King Philip “The Fair” of France owed a lot of money to them – so, to get out of his debts, he framed them for being “Mohammed worshippers” and had them executed as heretics. ---
**Author:** ![Arcangues181](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cab0a1/32.png) [@Arcangues181](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcangues181)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/33 "2003-07-02T02:27:26Z")
I went on a cruise to Alaska on a Princess cruise ship, and there was no thirteenth deck. The elevator control pads and all the maps showed it going straight from Deck 12 to Deck 14. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/34 "2003-07-02T03:44:24Z")
“Airplane hits building! Seat row 13 wipes out the 13th storey! 666 dead!” ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/35 "2003-07-02T04:16:23Z")
One Metropolitan Square in downtown St. Louis has a 13th story; it’s the headquarters of the RCGA, or Regional Chamber and Growth Association. I was there for an interview last week. (It’s a 40-odd story building, if I recall correctly.) ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/36 "2003-07-02T04:47:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jennalynn \* > \*\*It’s so stupid to not number things correctly. Just because you don’t number the thirteenth floor or the thirteenth row “13” doesn’t change the fact that that is what it is. > > What’s worse than believing that the number 13 is unlucky? Believing that you can outwit the bad luck by cleverly changing your numbering scheme. :rolleyes: \*\* Ah yes, but the savvy superstitious will avoid the _14th_ floor for just this reason. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/37 "2003-07-02T04:49:34Z")
Is there still a 666 Lakeshore Drive? That was a well-known building when I lived in Chicago (shortly after the Fire) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/38 "2003-07-02T15:28:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Attrayant \* > \*\*I’d like to know what that job entailed. Coming up with new ideas for button arrangements? \*\* Yup. And they had to meet the ADA requirements AND fit in the space alloted. Not always as moronically simple as it sounds, but it usually was. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/39 "2003-07-02T15:36:51Z")
My building has a thirteenth floor. The mailing address is 1313 M\_\_\_\_\_. The first phone number was 634-1313. There were 13 original staff members when it opened. I believe the first day of business was on a 13th, but I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_User](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Abe\_User](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_User)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471/40 "2003-07-02T17:21:36Z")
My office building on Madison Ave, NYC has a 13th Floor. The elevators are always breaking down too, mostly from over use by the 13th floor tenant – a computer traning school. If the dot-com economy isn’t the tool of the devil – what is then? Regarding the 666 address hijack, there is a famous building up the street – 666 Fifth Avenue, which had a penthouse restaurant called ‘Top of the Sixes’ (now closed). I recall hearing that in the 60’s or 70’s local newspapers reported that the owners were into devil worship. Just to drive the point home – the building has the numbers ‘666’ blazing in large red neon on the top floors. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-stupid-how-buildings-have-no-13th-floor/185471.md?page=3)