23

The other day at work the UW received and email asking to look up the importance/signifigance of the number "23".

So here you go...developing.....

Like other numbers that have long been linked to unusual coincidences, 13 and 17 also being favorites, the 23 Enigma can be seen as no more than an example of apophenia. Skeptics point out the fact that 23, being a fairly low number, occurs often in the media, current events, and daily life, concluding that it appears probably no more often in conjunction with catastrophe or coincidence than 22 or 24. In interviews, Wilson has acknowledged the self-fulfilling nature of the 23 enigma, implying that the real value of the Laws of Fives and Twenty-threes lies in their demonstration of the mind's power to perceive "truth" in nearly anything.

As a number with which to associate things, 23 has several helpful properties. It is a prime number, and therefore more likely to be associated with coincidences because events associated with composite numbers would be divided by a factor to arrive at it or some other prime. In addition, it enjoys the boon of having the two lowest primes as digits; 2 and 3 are small and therefore can be included in complex calculations that arrive at numbers only remotely related, which can then become coincidental with significant events. Two and three are also the most frequent factors (excluding 1) of a given range of whole numbers. 23 less the numeric base is 13, which has many phobias attached to it.

Many of these cultural references are deliberate, by artists who were fully aware of the mythical status of the number 23.

FILM

-A 2007 film titled The Number 23 starring Jim Carrey is about the subject. -23 humans were killed by androids in the movie "Blade Runner" -Cell 23 was used in "A Clockwork Orange" -Lane 23 was the lane favoured by the Dude in "The big Lebowski" -Princess Leia was in cellblock AA-23 cell 2187

Other Occurences

-Twin Towers attacked on 9/11/2001 (9+11+2+0+0+1=23) -Two Twin Towers attacked... 2 on 9/11/01 (2+9+11+1=23) -Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player to ever play the sport, wore the number 23 -A human baby recieves 23 chromosomes from each parent -Jim Carrey's production company is called JC23 (long before he got the script) -The 23rd letter of the alphabet is W, a letter whose shape suggests two horns pointing down and three points up, like the devil-horns hand-sign thrown up at rock concerts. -On a keyboard, W lies directly below the two and three. -Mayans believed the world will end on December 23rd, 2012(2+0=2 1+2=3) -The human biorhythm cycle is generally 23 days -It takes 23 seconds for blood to circulate through the human body -Julius Ceasar was born on Sept. 23 and stabbed 23 times -Geosynchronous orbit occurs at 23,000 miles above Earth's surface. -The tilt of Earth's axis is roughly 23o accounting for the changing seasons and the procession of the Zodiac -The United States set off 23 atomic bombs at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific -The first prime number in which both digits are prime and add up to make another prime is 23. -There are 23 letters in the names Franklin Delano Roosevelt, William Jefferson -Clinton and George Herbert Walker Bush -The Oklahoma bombing and the Waco tragedy were both on April 19 (4th month plus 19th day equals 23) -The Air India flight was bombed on June 23, 1985 (one plus nine plus eight plus five equals 23) -Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on Aug. 23. -The Titanic sank the morning of April 15th, 1912 (4 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 9 + 1 + 2 = 23) 230 people died on TWA Flight 800. -Charles Manson was born on November 12th (11 + 12 = 23) -A full turn of the DNA helix occurs every 23 angstroms. -The number of joints in the human arm is 23. -There are 23 vertebrae in the human body. -Alexander the Great was 23 when he cut the Gordian Knot -The Knights Templar had 23 Grand Masters. Devin Hester, whose jersey number is 23, becomes the first person to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown in a Super Bowl ( XLI ).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23_(numerology)

http://www.number23movie.com/