Jumbangla Desk : On the 13th of the month, after a nice warm and sunny weekend the weather suddenly turned wet, cold and gray. This is certainly unfortunate. News from BBC Bengal

Call it a coincidence? Of course – because it's British weather. However, a poll found that 14 percent of Britons believe the number 13 is inherently unlucky, with another 9 percent unsure.

The ingrained belief that the number 13 is unlucky is so ingrained in our culture that even a practical profession like construction is affected by it, as evidenced by a construction site in Cardiff.

Some commuters noticed on the way that an interior building to be built as part of the Central Key development on the old Brain's Brewery site had the numbers of the unfinished building on each floor - the number 13 was conspicuously missing from the 13th floor.

Even in the 21st century, you may see such thoughts more than you think. Some buildings, including apartment blocks and hotels, omit the number 13 entirely.

In this case, the 13th floor can be named as 12 or instead of apartments and offices, the necessary infrastructure of the building can be installed on that floor.

Other buildings, such as a high-rise hotel building in Cardiff, go directly from 12 to 14. Houses with number 13 are generally cheaper. In the past some councils have banned the use of this number for new residential developments because residents don't want to live there.

Sarah Thomas, of Grangetown, Cardiff, saw one such tower at the Brains site as her office exited Network Rail.

"Not seeing this number piqued my curiosity," he said.

“I thought it was because of superstition, but I googled it to make sure and realized how widespread this is. Several of my friends have said they've been in buildings or lifts where the number 13 is missing – obviously I need to explore some more tall buildings."

Sara claims to be free of superstition, but believes some habits come from common sense, saying: "I don't want to walk under a ladder if possible to avoid the risk of injury."

"I find the history behind superstitions fascinating, because they show us how people associate certain events with their daily activities."

Some high profile skyscrapers in the UK have maintained this superstition.

When London's Canary Wharf was rebuilt and a special Canada Square tower was built in 1990 – then the tallest building in the UK – it opened without the 13th floor and remains the same today.

If you're looking to travel in one of the London Eye's 32 pods, you may be surprised to learn that you can book pod 33 there, replacing the originally missing pod 13.

One of which is associated with Christianity – Jesus Christ's Last Supper, or Last Supper, was attended by 13 people, which occurred just before the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, Judas took the seat as the 13th, and Jesus Christ was arrested for heresy.

Similarly, in Norse mythology, Loki – the god of mischief and trickery – appears as the 13th guest at a feast of the gods and is instigated by one of Odin's sons to kill another.

The fear of 13 – officially known as trischeidekaphobia – is heightened when the number 13 is associated with Friday, the day Jesus Christ died, believed by many to be associated with bad luck.

Professor of Cardiff University, specialist in mythology and folklore. According to Juliet Wood this is perhaps because, surprisingly, it is actually a fairly modern belief and may not have hundreds of years of ancient tradition behind it.

“It is not folklore in the sense that it is not an old tradition. It has nothing to do with having 13 people at the Last Supper,” he said.

Rather, he believes it was largely a creation of the media, popularized in the early 20th century, which eventually became a modern folktale on its own and reinforced by the media itself, including the role of films such as "Friday the Thirteenth". .

But people tend to find stories that fit into the making of a myth and cling to the most famous examples.

"It feels very real, especially because of the connection to The Last Supper, and that's where it stuck," Dr. Wood explains. And the idea of ​​its association with loci is probably more recent.

He adds: "The idea of ​​Norse mythology as a model for culture is actually quite recent."

"It was during the 19th century in Britain that interest in tracing our Germanic heritage was seen and several British scholars translated the Nordic myths for the first time."

“Now of course since the Marvel movies, Loki is a hero. So you can focus on a particular person and that's how it's transferred."

The idea of ​​an unlucky day is actually much older – the Roman 'Edes of March' (March 15th), which was reinforced in Roman belief by the assassination of Julius Caesar on that day, later popularized by Shakespeare's telling of the tragedy.

Dr. Wood said: “We love superstitions. In this highly mechanized and highly uncertain world we love to say 'oh well it's been around for a long time'.

"It seems so counterintuitive to us, but to be able to describe something so outlandish and not so inauspicious as luck gives us a little more comfort and makes us feel less insecure."

Katie Griffin of estate agent Propertymark, who runs her own business in Devon, confirms that the number 13 still plays a factor in building construction.

“I wouldn't say it will affect [house] prices, but sometimes to avoid it, developers will skip number 13 altogether. In the past it's been that you'll see 11, 12, 14, floors done like that," he said.

"I don't particularly see anyone coming in and saying 'I'm superstitious about this and I don't want to be at number 13', rather they might say 'I don't want to be near a church or a cemetery".

“So when you're messing around with it, all of a sudden it's like hey here are these things. It depends on how sensitive you are, because you can skip it and say if you buy number 13, maybe you can get it for a better price.”

Cardiff's Odessa Barthorp believes superstitions are a culture or upbringing, but personally she could happily live on the 13th floor, “I think it probably comes from a time when we didn't know how the world worked and we had to make up some sort of explanation. .”

“It's interesting. But don't live with this thought.”

Carmen Abad, Rousseau in the Vale of Glamorgan, grew up in Southeast Asia, where there are "lots of superstitions" but she doesn't believe in them.

” Personally I wouldn't mind living on the 13th floor. If it is a cheap apartment, I will choose that,” he said.

For future residents of Cardiff Towers – authorities here have confirmed that the 13th floor will have both numbers and apartments which will be rented out when completed.

Will it be cheaper now? Then it will be good luck!