23rd January: 23

Ten things you didn't know about the number 23.

1. Twenty-three is the ninth prime number.
2. It is the atomic number of vanadium, a hard, silvery Grey transition metal which is rarely found in nature.
3. Psalm 23, the one beginning "The Lord is my shepherd" is probably the most often quoted and best known of all the psalms.
4. There is a superstition about the number 23, known as the 23 enigma, which has appeared in various books and films. One of the first references to it comes from William S Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch, who told of someone he once met, a Captain Clark, who told Burroughs he'd been sailing for 23 years and never had an accident. That same day, Clark's ship was involved in an accident, killing Clark and all his crew. On the same day, Burroughs heard on the news about a plane crash - flight 23, piloted by another Captain Clark. The superstition stems from the idea that things happen in multiples of five. 23 comes into it because 2 + 3 = 5. It's also a number said to be sacred to the goddess of discord, Eris.
5. Julius Caesar may have had good reason to believe in this. He was stabbed 23 times.
6. The first American "national fad expression" according to some is "23 skidoo". The word skidoo may be derived from the word "skedaddle" and the expression means to leave, fast, while the going is good.
7. If you collect 23 or more random people together, there is a 50% or greater probability that two of them will have the same birthday. This is known as "the birthday paradox".
8. Normal human sex cells have 23 chromosomes. Other cells have twice that number, 46, arranged in pairs.
9. On the cover of The Beatles' album Yellow Submarine, the number 23 is displayed on the chest of one of the Blue Meanies.
10. Chicago Bulls Basketball player Michael Jordan's jersey number is 23.

New!

Secrets and Skies

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

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