If you travel much you might have noticed, a lot of hotels DON'T have a 13th floor. Why?
Well, the number 13 is generally considered unlucky. Why? One theory has it that in 1307 on Friday the 13th the King of France, King Philip, needed some cash and was threatened by the growing power of the Knights Templar and decided to have them all rounded up and killed to get his hands on their treasure. There is even a name for the fear of the number 13, triskaidekaphobia.
- In some forms of motor sport, for example Formula One, there is no number 13 car
- In many cultures, getting married on any day of the week with a 13 is discouraged
- In Scotland, there is no gate 13 in any airport, instead there is a gate 12B
- Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926
- Dan Marino wore 13 on his jersey, he NEVER won a super bowl ring
- The failed Apollo 13 mission was launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970
- The Empire State Building, one of the most famous buildings in the world, has a 13th floor. Supposedly, according to its official site, the whole thing is available to lease.
Some famous hotels without a 13th floor? Fairmont Hotels in Mexico and Canada, Radisson Hotels, London's One Canada Square, the Marriott Pinnacle in Vancouver and lots of Asian hotels. Based on an internal review of records, Dilip Rangnekar of Otis Elevators estimates that 85% of the buildings with elevators did not have a floor named the 13th floor.
So, would YOU stay at a hotel on the 13th floor? Does any of this matter to you? Can you report back with any hotels that DO or DON'T have 13th floors?
BONUS TIP: The next upcoming Friday the 13th is August 2010, the only time in 2010.
If you think missing a single floor is weird, check out the Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Their elevators have 10 or so "missing floors"! After grilling their staff for several days and counting the floors from the outside, they finally let me in on their secret....they "skipped" a "few" floors to make the people on higher floors feel like they were higher than what they really were.
ReplyDeleteWell now I'm going to have to check out Planet Hollywood! In fact, we should be in Vegas soon so we'll have to swing by there.
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