YESTERDAY was June twenty-two twenty twenty-two and I overheard some people at the bank say it was a lucky day. “Patdan!” (Bet on it!) the guard at the entrance had said. At first, I was tempted to ask why but feared that the answer might disappoint me. The last time had been during similar circumstances, and all I got as an equivalent of a reply was a stone-cold “Just because”. Had yesterday been February (the second month) 22, 2022 and then falling on a Tuesday (twosday), Lotto betting stations all over the country would have had a field day and I’m not kidding.
If you’re in it for the fun facts, believing such pseudo-science ek could be okay but truth is, skeptics abound. As posted by one Barry Markovsky, a sociology professor at the University of South Carolina, on MSN.com: “Twos-day carries absolutely no historical significance or any cosmic message yet it does speak volumes about our brains and cultures…They’re nearly always absurd from a scientific perspective, but they’re great for illustrating how brains, people, groups and cultures work together to create shared meaning.”
I remember an office mate who changed his name somewhat (by adding an additional letter to it) so that numerically, it would invite good luck. I have likewise encountered other related beliefs, such as dreading the number 13, or refusing to have your photo taken if you’re only three people in the pic among most people I have known. We must have gotten all these from whatever mumbo jumbo we’ve collected through the years… beliefs about numerology and other new age dogma (although during the biblical times, such things already existed). Back in college, one classmate described it as a rechanneling of the earth’s energies kwek-kwek, after failing to recruit me into joining their campus “cult”. Then much earlier, my aunt Pilar told me the number 13 was particularly bad because Jesus was 13th at the dinner table.
As I’ve said, all for the fun of it is just fine, but letting it completely rule your life is… none of my business. I for one, do not find any proof to support such superstitions although quite honestly, I have yet to hear of a 13th floor in all the hotels and buildings I’ve ventured in. So, what’s that saying about science? Then a few nights ago, we were having a late dinner at a restaurant and I noticed that we were seated at table 13. I’ve never experienced that before, is the universe trying to tell me something then?
Lastly, across the seas, here’s a fun news bit from The Independent related to numerology. On June 6, 2006 (6-6-6), hundreds of expectant mothers were desperate not to give birth on the “day of the devil”. All except Suzanne Cooper of Bristol, England. She delivered a 6lb 6oz boy at 6am on 06/06/06. His name: Damien. His proud dad, Mike was thereby quoted in the papers the next day as saying: “It was a devil of a birth – a bit of a horror show”.
