Were we born with a lot of success? The question came to mind after we lost count of the number of steps that led to Wat Chom Si, a Buddhist temple perched atop Mount Phou Si, a hill in the center of Luang Prabang. The view of this sleepy town looked lovely during a sunny afternoon, but we were distracted by a lanky backpacker inside the temple.
He was meditating. And then he opened his eyes and asked a female backpacker seated several meters from him. Her birthday. The 16th of the month, she answered. (And we could see that she was quite startled at the question.) He smiled at her. Those who were born on the 16th do not have any specific unlucky lotto numbers. Are they real?
We might be at the right place at the right time when we overheard the short conversation, but we couldn’t get it off our heads. (We forgot to visit the Haw Khan, or the Royal Palace, which was a stone's throw away from Phou Si.) The lanky backpacker also added the 7th of the month, and the 25th, as those who are destined to have a lot of success.
It happened that we bought a lotto ticket several months before our holiday in Laos. Four numbers, namely 7, 16, 25, and 34, were multiples ending in seven. (For those who are confused about this combination, add 1 and 6. And then 2 and 5. 3 + 4.) We added the number 4 and 6 to complete the number of combinations. We guessed the three numbers correctly.
We suspected that these lucky numbers in lotto and unlucky lotto numbers were concocted by desperate gamblers, slot players included, but we couldn’t deny how these numbers impacted every stage of our lives. In other words, we used the same combination, which won us a consolation (cash) prize, for the next lotto draw. And then experimented on the other numbers.
Are even numbers unlucky?
No. But we thought about it otherwise. For some time. A fortune teller in Quiapo told us. And we were desperate (to win). Even numbers are divisible, so we wonder if that’s the reason why odd numbers are more favorable.
Nine or not?
Watching “Midsommar” was a spellbinding experience, as the movie was about a small group of college students who were invited to visit a remote Swedish village. They were about to celebrate a festival that was held every ninety days. A nine-day festival. No inhabitant must live beyond 72. If not, that person must commit suicide. (72 is divisible by 9.)
Ari Aster’s story piqued our curiosity. Did he first think about “Midsommar” after watching “The City of the Dead”? Or is there a small community that sees the number 9 as unlucky? We find it hard to believe, as the number 9 represents transformation. We prefer to be lucky. We see the number 9 as a change for the better.
Beware of the number 4?
We went to Melaka months before that eventful holiday in Luang Prabang. We talked to a friendly local, who was amused after we told her about our interest in superstitions in that part of Malaysia. We could’ve talked about the Dutch influence in this southern metropolis, or the places of interest near the tourist spots, but we attempted to find shared beliefs. Or heritage.
In East Asia, the number 4 represents death. So there are no hotels, or office buildings, with a 4/F. We have doubts, though. We were born on the 25th of the month.
Is number 17 spelled morte in Italian?
Our friend was a volunteer for a NGO in Navotas. (The Head Office is located in Paris.) We met Luigi, the other volunteer from Genoa. We first thought he was snotty until he asked us about spaghetti and superstitions. (According to Luigi, Italians don’t like sliced sausages in spaghetti. But that’s another thing.) We don’t warm up to the number 5, we confessed. We believed there were luckier numbers.
Luigi cited the number 17 as unlucky in his hometown; he pointed out the Roman numeral of the number 17. He arranged the figures. The literal meaning of the rearranged numbers is “My life is over”. It sounded unpleasant. And fatalistic.
We find it hard to believe in this belief because the sum of 1 and 7 is 8. Abundance.
Do you have triskaidekaphobia?
Triskaidekaphobia is the extreme fear of the number 13. Our English mate claimed that the number 13 was the unluckiest ball in the UK National Lottery. It has been drawn a total of 120 times since the first lottery draw in 1994. What was the luckiest ball, we wondered. Lucky ball 38. We haven’t used that number in our previous attempts to win the lotto jackpot. We would try it.
No data supports the above, but we prefer to be lucky. We want to think that the best things are yet to come, and winning the lotto jackpot would be one of those things. Perhaps they become lucky, or unlucky, if certain numbers won’t win us a lotto jackpot. Or a consolation prize. We will use the numbers 4, 6, 7, 16, 25, and 34 on our next attempt to win the lotto jackpot.
Your thoughts? Place your lotto bets now!