The Legends of the Number 23

Author:  Matthew Montalto-Cansler

The number 23 is one of the most commonly cited prime numbers which is a number that can only be divided by itself and one.  Twenty-three is the lowest prime number that consists of consecutive digits.  Primes are often described as the “atoms” of mathematics or the building blocks of the world of numbers.  An American businessman has put up a $1,000,000 prize for the first mathematician to find a pattern in primes, a problem in the mathematical world known as the Riemann hypothesis.

Riemann Zeta Function Image

The 23 obsessions began with William S. Burroughs who claimed to have met a sea captain named Clark who said he had never had an accident in 23 years.  Later that day, his ship sank, killing him.  That night, Burroughs supposedly heard a radio news broadcast about a flight 23 that had crashed in Florida though he may have been thinking ofthe flight 23 that was destroyed by a bomb in 1933.  After that, Burroughs kept meticulous records of his 23’s.  He later published a short story titled “23 Skidoo”.

There are so many freaky numerical coincidences such as Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species that was published in 1859.  1+8+5+9=23.  The Hiroshima bomb was dropped at 8:15 am –8+15=23.  The World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11/2001 (9+11+2+0+0+1=23).  This is one of the more disturbing examples of the power of 23.  The independent US commission which investigated the attacks found the date had been chosen randomly by the hijackers and had originally been planned for later in the year.  Alternative explanations for the date included the taking over of Palestine by Britain in 1922 and the fact that 911 is the US emergency code.

The movie, The Number 23, starring Jim Carrey, is a psychological thriller.  It was released in 2007 with the center of the theme being the number 23.  Some say the number is cursed, associated with bad luck, tragedy, and death.  In the movie, the same is true of Walter Sparrow who begins to unravel as he reads an obscure book, “The Number 23”.  The book seems to mirror Walter’s life in unexplainable, dark ways like the book’s main character,Detective Fingerling.  The number 23 becomes an obsession as Sparrow follows in the footsteps of other men who became obsessed with the number 23 such as Albert Einstein and William Burroughs.

Jim Carrey from the movie poster, “The Number 23”

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford Upon Avon on 23 April 1564.  He died 52 years later on his birthday, 23 April 1616.  Kurt Cobain, the god of grunge, was born in 1967 and died in 1994 = 1+9+6+7=23 and 1+9+9+4=23.  The first Morse Code transmission –“What hath God wrought?” was from the Bible passage Numbers 23:23. In telegraphers code 23 means “break the line”.  “23 Skidoo” is an American catchphrase from the early 20th century meaning to make a sharp exit.  It was used as the title of a book of short stories by William Burroughs, the first 23 aficionado.  But some believe its origins lie in Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, where the old woman counting the daily victims of the guillotine calls “23” as the hero is beheaded in the last chapter. 

The Bible does not let the number 23 pass with some significance.  It is widely held that Adam and Eve had 23 daughters.  The 23rd verse of the first chapter of Genesis brings the act of creation to a close while the 23rd chapter of the book of Genesis deals entirely with death, the death of Abraham’s wife, Sarah. The most famous and most quoted of the Psalms is number 23: “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:  He leadeth me beside the still waters.” 

What is all the fuss about. The number 23 is only the whole number between 22 and 23.  23 is the ninth prime number and the fifth factorial prime.  It was the center of one of Einstein’s studies, calling it the Einsteinian prime.  William Burroughs started it all and still we are left with this enigma.

Works Cited:

Kiger, Patrick J.  “What's the Fascination with Number 23?” Science.howstuffworks.com, InfoSpace Holdings LLC, 2019. https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/whats-fascination-with-number-23.html .

“The Number 23.”  Christianity Today.com, Christianity Today, 2007. https://www.christianity today.com/ct2007/february-web-only/number23.html. 

“What does the Number 23 Mean.”  Reference.com, https://www.reference.com/world-view-number-23-mean-e823fc)f9c74511a. Accessed  29 Oct 2019

Tegun, Tamar Melike. “Weird and Enchanting Facts About the Number 23”,                            interestingengineering.com, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep 2019.  Reference*,https://interestingengineering.com/weird-enchanting-facts-number-23.

 Links for further research:

TnPihl. “Jim Carrey Online”. jimcarreyonline.com, Jim Carrey,         www.himcarreyonline.com/recent/news.php.?id=, Accessed 21 Oct 2019.

“23 enigma”. Wikipedia, 13 Sept 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23_enigma

“Meaning of Numbers in the Bible”. Biblestudy.org, Interac, https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/. Accessed 21 Oct 2019.

The Secret Number

DaddyfroPrince

You may think of 23 as an ordinary number on a number line. What number could have a secret you say it’s just not possible.  The 23rd enigma is interesting concept in many countries it refers to most events and disasters happening around 23. William S. Burroughs was the first person ever to believe the 23rd enigma. With his beliefs he went on and wrote a book titled the 23rd Skidoo, which was the first book on this theory to ever be published. Burroughs knew a captain who sailed for 23 years without an accident happening. One day they conversed about the captain’s spotless record of never having an accident for 23 years.  On the very next day there was a horrific accident which ended up killing the captain and everybody aboard.  No one really knows why this number is unlucky and thought to be very dangerous. There have been many questions related to the number and its secrets and origins of where it comes from. Where did it originate from,  and What are some of the events to occur?  “Unexplained Mysteries” is an article explaining events associated with 23.  Numerous  events such as Hitler joining a secret society in 1923, Adam and Eve having 23 daughters,  and 2/3=.666, which is the number of the devil, are examples of the 23rd Enigma.
 
Based upon this mysterious theory the movie 23 was created . Jim Carrey plays a man who finds a novel called The Number 23 where he becomes obsessed with the number and it’s patterns . Everything begins to spin out of control for him after strange events began to occur. The movie demonstrates all numbers have a pattern and but only some people are willing to figure out this pattern. When he finds the pattern it puts his life in danger and he becomes a person no one knows. He becomes addicted to this number and won’t let it go. Consuming his life until he goes completely insane. The movie trailer for The Number 23  gives an example of what actually happens in the movie and some of the events that’s to his character and his family.
 23 can also be considered a lucky number because sometimes people have good luck and achieve items they have never had before due to this number. The 23 Enigma Goddess Accord explains how someone won the lottery, and 23 was one number that was associated in the line -up. They won 2 million dollars just because of that, one number. According to this article, 23 isn’t all bad and it can actually help you.

There is a lot the number 23 is associated with sometimes it can be good sometimes it can be bad. It is definitely a number that is mysterious but has great meaning behind it.

Works Cited
Embryo, Alien. “The 23 Enigma Sightings, Reports, and Experiences.” Unexplained Mysteries (2006) Unexplained Mysteries Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
 
Hertz, Todd. “The Number 23.” Christianity Today (2007). Christianity Today Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
 
Stetten, Melissa “Illuminati Lotto, the 23 Enigma and the Goddess of Discord. History of things to come (2012) Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
 
Cameronknowlton “Official The Number 23 New Movie Trailers” Youtube  Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
 
Enigma “blogspot” “:23 Enigma Picture” Blogspot Web. 20 Oct. 2015.