23

What’s The Deal With This Number?

If you want an intro to the 23 Enigma (the phenomenon, not the Jim Carrey movie), there’s always Wikipedia. This is just the current incarnation of an ongoing document I’ve maintained online since 1998 of instances/observations I personally thought interesting enough to write down since becoming aware of it. I’ve attempted to refrain from repeating the ones that normally make the rounds (even though that’s an interesting read in and of itself). Still, I’m probably gonna go back and edit this soon to make it less baffling (it’s been a hidden page on the old Why I’m Not An Artist page for years because of how disorganized it’s gotten).

• 138=23*6 or 23*(2*3)or 69*2. 1+1+3+8=13
• 69+54+23=146; 54=(2*3)*(3^2); 146=2*73
• In the Hebrew Calendar, 9/11 falls on the 23rd day of Elul, the month of repentance.
• 1994 is likely to be the last year any of us will have lived through where all four digits add up to 23 (the next one being 2399, good luck!). The previous year (1985) was 9 years earlier, as was the one before that and so on back to 1949, where the pattern collapses. If you add 9 to 1994, you get 2003. In 1994 (1=9+9+4=23), a 23 year old Alice Johnson won a Toyota vehicle by kissing it for 32 hours, 23 minutes straight. She loosened 4 teeth in the process.
• The comet Hale-Bopp was discovered on July 23, 1995, and it’s closest approach to Earth was on March 23, 1997.
• In news footage from after the Rodney King verdict, a Korean shopkeeper during the L.A riots can be clearly seen shooting at looters from the roof of a building in front of a large sign proclaiming the number 23 and nothing else.
  The design of the American flag has changed 23 times since the Declaration of Independance.
• There are 23 visible charachters on all U.S. coins.
• In a group of no more or less than 23 randomly chosen people, there is an exact 50% chance that 2 people have the same birthday. According to Noam Chomsky, 23% of corporations own more than 50% of national media.
• In Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’, when Batman takes Vicky Vale to the Batcave, revealing the Joker’s poison, the computer screen in the background lists the first component’s amount as ’23cc’.
• In the movie ‘Charly’ the operating room is Room 23.
• The primary television station on the show “Max Headroom” was Network 23.
• In the Simpsons episode where Homer goes to Heaven, Earth is on Channel 23.
• The Simpsons celebrated their 138th (23*2*3) episode, as opposed to their, say, 100th….
• In THX1138, the main police robot was #23. In Star Wars, George Lucas’ next movie, Princess Leia was held in cell AA23. Luke Sky Walker is in Red 5 (2+3) in the attack of the Death Star. Red 2 and Red 3 start bombing runs at 23 degrees.
• In the movie ‘Strange Days’, the charachter Nero’s weapon is a Glock 23. The bad guy takes the hostage and is himself killed in room 2023.
• There were two simultaneous variations on the movie poster for ‘Yellow Submarine’, the 1st had the apple on the left side, advertising ’11 songs’ on the soundtrack, the second with the apple in the center advertising ’12 songs’ on the soundtrack… In reality there were FIFTEEN songs on the soundtrack, but 11 and 12 do add up to… Plus, what was the number on the Butterfly Stomper’s chest?
• There are 23 songs on the soundtrack to Goodfellas.
• When cEVIN Key from Skinny Puppy was injured on the set of “Doom Generation”, he required 23 stitches in his knee and 8 (2 to the 3rd power) stitches in his head…
• The Reader’s Digest Story ‘No Wife No Horse No Moustache’ (later a Robert Anton Wilson staple catchphrase) was illustrated on the 50s sitcom ‘TV Reader’s Digest’ Series 2 episode 23.
• If you were to put “Alice In Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” together into one volume, it would have 23 chapters…
• In the Kurt Vonnegut novel ‘Sirens Of Titan’: Boaz, the backstabber was 23 years old; there were 23 generals; and 23 Martians were hanged
• The Praetor from Jim Shepard’s “Lights Out At The Reptile House” first gained political recognition at age 23.
• In each book of Philip K. Dick’s “VALIS” trilogy, VALIS is first mentioned on the 23rd page.
• Two friends from Yale, Britt Hadden and Henry Luce, founded Time Magazine in 1923.
• Joshua 10:13 (10+13=23) involves the sun standing still.
• Daniel 8:14 mentions a cleansing period of 2300 days…
• Psalm 23 is probably the most widely known and recognizable chapter of all the Psalms, is probably the best known whole chapter in The Bible, and has been interpreted more than any other chapter in The Bible.
• U is the 21st letter of the alphabet, so U+2=23.
• When Phil Specter had his infamous mental breakdown, he retreated to his 23-room mansion…
• The band KLF were particularly fond of the number 23. The name ‘Kopyrite Liberation Front’ has 23 letters. Their alter ego, the ‘Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu” also has 23 letters. At a particularly infamous performance of theirs on Oct.23, 1990, the KLF performed a 23-minute version of their hit “What Time Is Love” and then proceeded to hand out the club’s equipment to the audience. On Aug.23rd,1994, the KLF (then just known as K-F) burned a million British pounds, and then took the ashes to a 23-yr old brickmaker to be fashioned into a brick. They later disbanded the KLF in all forms, to supposedly return in 23 years…
• The video for the Eminem song “Without Me” has 23 scenes in it, and the number 23 shows up on the CD that song is a single from. In the Marilyn Manson video for ‘Beautiful People’ the number 23 is the first thing the camera focuses on.
• When Joan Jett tried to put out her first album, she recieved 23 rejection letters from record companies…
• Latin pop star Selena was 23 when she died. Her murderer was sentenced on October 23..
• When Seattle police viewed Kurt Cobain’s body, 23 Polaroids were taken…
• On the Negativland song “These guys are from England” (a parody of a U-2(U+2=23)song), Casey Kasem says that the radio station he’s at is “One Three Eight Oh, Fuck!”
• The marquis De Sade was 23 years old when he began his controversial “hobbies”, or at least when he began to go to jail for them…
• The eccentric theologist (and noted Dead Sea Scrolls scholar) John Allegro was born in 1923, also the year John Dillenger was shot.
• Rasputin died on the exact day that he predicted in a letter written 23 days before to the Tsarina of Russia. Incidently, Rasputin’s birthday is Jan 23. Jan 23, 1981 saw the opening of the first official Richard Nixon museum, called ‘A Bit Of History’ in San Clemente, Ca.
• Watson Davis (known as horror TV host SIVAD) passed away on March 23, 2005. Philip K. Dick’s documented suicide attempt was made on March 23, 1972.
• Shakespeare was born and died on April 23, 1565-1616. Cervantes died on April 23, 1616 as well.
• Captain Kidd was hanged on May 23, 1701, despite a plea bargain where he offered to reveal where his treasure was buried. Bonnie and Clide were also killed on May 23.
• 19 year old Lisa Collins tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Tacoma Narrows Bridge On June 23,1989. Instead of achieving fame as the span’s 50th suicide, she actually became the first to survive the plunge.
• On July 23, 1982, during the filming of ‘Twilight Zone-The Movie’ a helicopter was disabled by special effects bombs and crashed, killing actor Vic Morrow and two illegally employed Vietnamese children in a particularly gruesome manner.
• August 23, 1305 is the day William Wallace was executed for treason. Sacco and Vanzetti were also executed on this date. August 23 is the birthday of River Phoenix and Keith Moon, both of which died of drug overdoses, as well as Shaun Ryder from the Happy Mondays (guest vocalist on the Gorillaz ‘Dare’), who surprisingly didn’t, despite several bouts with heroin addiction. Aug 23rd is also the day David “Dwayne” Goettel of Skinny Puppy died of a drug overdose. On August 23, 1993, a $720 million Mars Observer simply ceased operating, just before orbital insertion was to take place.
• Pub manager Richard Connolly, from Douglas, Isle of Man, went to the palace casino on his 23rd birthday (September 23 1992) and at 11:23PM (23:23PM), he placed a bet of 23 pounds on the roulette wheel’s number 23 and won 571 pounds. He would have won far more, but he hedged the bet by splitting it between the numbers on each side. The first woman to ever run for president, Victoria Woodhull was born September 23, 1838.
• Oct 23, 1981 is when the national debt first hit $1 trillion. A month later on November 23, Reagan vetoed a stopgap spending bill, forcing the federal government -for the first time in history- to temporarily shut down. According to Bishop James Ussher, the world began Oct 23, 4004 BC.
• December 23, 1805 is the birth date of Joseph Smith, founder of The Mormons.
• The Duke Of Orleans, regent to Louis XV and a legendary partier, died in 1723 after having sex with his latest mistress who was 30 years younger than him.
• Stalin executed 23 million people for unfaithfulness.
• The Unabomber allegedly hurt or killed 23 people.
• An Englishman named Van Horn is said to have consumed some 35,688 bottles of port wine (4 each day for 23 years) until his death at 61.
• A 23 year old woman, Jennifer Roberts, while on a camping trip in Southeastern Australia, was struck by lightning while reading Stephen King’s “The Dead Zone”, the paperback edition of which featured a picture of a man struck by lightning….
• Dock Ellis was a premier pitcher from 1968-1979, winning 138 games while playing for the Pittsburg Steelers. He is most famous for a no-hitter he played against the San Diego Padres, which he revealed later he played under the influence of LSD.
• Police briskly walked to catch up with a drunk driver who had hijacked a seven mile per hour milk float for his escape. 23 year old Matthew North, the driver, was already serving a probation for drunk-driving a steamroller.
• Charles Burgess Fry set the long jump record on the Iffey Track at Oxford with a jump of 23 feet 6 1/3 inches, a record that remained intact for over 20 years. Legend says he arrived for the jump late, fully dressed, and shortly after a hefty meal and cigar.
• Joe Camel was discontinued as a mascot during his 23rd year of circulation.
• The third week in October is National Deep Scalp Itch Prevention Week in the United States. There was, however, a conflict of interests as October 23 is already National Drainage and Seepage Law Day.
• Only 23 bison escaped the mass exterminationof the 1870s, finding refuge in Yellowstone, America’s first national park. All native-born bison are descended from these 23.
• The 23rd Strong Bad Email is the FIRST time he kicks The Cheat.
• There are 23 Axioms in Euclid’s Geometry.
• The summer solstice of 2623 BC was the beginning date of the Great Pyramids’ construction under Pharoah Khufu.
• AOL Chat Rooms originally allowed only 23 people.
• Telegraph operators code 23 for “stop transmitting”, “clear the line” or “shut up”.
• Nissan- ni=2 san=3
• There are 23 chapters of the Cult Awareness network.
• July 23 was the Sumerian and Egyptian New Years.
• The 13th letter of the alphabet is “M”; the 23rd letter is “W”.
• In the DEA bust of Peter Gatien’s club (documented in the movie Party Monster) 23 people were arrested for distribution of Exstacy.
• When the Yippies ‘liberated’ Disneyland on the 25th anniversary of Hiroshima, 23 of them were arrested.
• When the Luby’s in Kileen was shot up in 1991, 43 people were shot, of which 23 people died. (Incidentally, that same Luby’s closed its doors forever on Sept.11, 2000. )
• In 2003, after 43 years, Mattell announced that Barbie and Ken were no longer married.