In countless buildings around the world, especially in the West, you’ll notice something strange when you ride the elevator—the 13th floor is missing. Due to long-standing superstitions surrounding the number 13 and its association with bad luck, many architects and developers choose to avoid labeling that floor altogether. Instead, they skip straight from 12 to 14, or repurpose the 13th floor for mechanical systems or maintenance access, making it effectively “invisible” to the public. While the floor itself is structurally present, it vanishes in name only—an odd but persistent example of how human fears and cultural beliefs can subtly shape the built environment around us.
A Nigerian fisherman unknowingly caught a rare blue marlin—worth millions—but shared it with his village instead.
