The 23 Enigma
The 23 Enigma is the observation that the number 23 appears in the damnedest places. According to a 1977 Fortean Times article by Robert Anton Wilson, the phenomenon was discovered by author William S. Burroughs:
I first heard of the 23 enigma from William S Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch, Nova Express, etc. According to Burroughs, he had known a certain Captain Clark, around 1960 in Tangier, who once bragged that he had been sailing 23 years without an accident. That very day, Clark’s ship had an accident that killed him and everybody else aboard. Furthermore, while Burroughs was thinking about this crude example of the irony of the gods that evening, a bulletin on the radio announced the crash of an airliner in Florida, USA. The pilot was another Captain Clark and the flight was Flight 23. (from Wikipedia)The 23 Enigma has caused some people to attribute mystical or supernatural significance to the number. For example, the Discordians believe that the 23 Enigma is a coralary to the Law of Fives (which states that everything is somehow related to the number 5) since 2 + 3 = 5. Others have pointed out that the act of looking for the number 23 causes a person to notice the number more often than they normally would, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Manifestation
23 Examples of the 23 Enigma
- Humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from each parent.
- The TV station in Max Headroom was Network 23.
- Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times.
- According to Prince, there are 23 positions in a one-night stand.
- There are 23 separate foreskins that, according ot The Vatican, have been verified as belonging to Jesus Christ.
- The most famous room in The Shining's Overlook Hotel is room 237, but the real number of the room where the scenes wer filmed was 23. Kubrick added the "7" to make the hotel seem larger than it really was.
- There have been 23 confirmed Lee Harvey Oswald clones.
- In one Flash story by DC Comics, it only took Barry Allen 23 seconds to eat an entire Volkswagon Beetle.
- Hobos alwasy try to ride in the 23rd boxcar of a train. It's considered good luck.
- Only 23 users were allowed in an America Online chatroom at any one time.
- The train derailment in Die Hard With A Vengeance takes place in subway station 23.
- The average American eats 23 tacos per year.
- The first message sent by telegraph was "What hath God wrought?," whihc comes from Numbers 23:23.
- In The Big Lebowski, the confrontation between Walter and Smokey takes place on Lane 23.
- William Shakespeare is believed to have been born on April 23, 1564. We know for sure that he died on April 23, 1616. There are 23 people who are generally considered to be the viable suspects as the real author of "Shakespeare's" work.
- Both Michael Jordan and David Beckham wore #23.
- Roman emperor Caligula's longest-running orgy lasted 23 weeks, 23 days, 23 hours, and 23 minutes.
- The original Star Trek series is set in the 23rd Century.
- John Dillinger's penus was 23 inches long.
- The Knights Templar had 23 Grand Masters during its existence.
- The Number 23 was the 23rd movie directed by Joel Schumaker.
- In Star Wars: A New Hope, Princess Leia is held in detention block AA23.
- British pop band KLF were previously known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mum, which has 23 letters. The police car in their video for "Doctorin' the Tardis" had a number "23" painted on top of it, their final performance lasted 23 minutes, and they incenterated £1 Million on August 23, 1994.
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