Chris Peel <munkie@cloud9ine.com> writes

Mr Beckham will be playing in the number 23 shirt for Real Madrid...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/football/3037824.stm http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=12130&pt=s WEDNESDAY 02/07/2003 14:29:16 SOCCER: Beckham's mystical shirt The number 23 is seen by many to have a mystical significance, with writers and rock acts among those who have been fascinated by it. Now David Beckham has joined the many for whom the figure looms large, as he pulls on the 23 shirt for Real Madrid. Although it probably occurs no more readily than any other, fans of vigintitriplicity are convinced that there is a bizarre synchronicity. Dozens of websites are devoted to compiling facts and figures about the number 23 and detailing those whose lives have been ruled by it, although with many they appear to be clutching at straws. Late author William Burroughs was among those who was struck by spooky numeric coincidences, and kept a scrapbook of his findings. He was reputedly alerted to its power when a Captain Clark told him he had operated a ferry from Spain to Morocco without incident for 23 years. Hours later it sank, killing him. Listening to the radio later that day Burroughs heard a radio broadcast carrying a news report of a flight 23 which had crashed between Miami and New York, operated by a Captain Clark. Author Robert Anton Wilson used the supposed occult significance of 23 in his famed Illuminatus trilogy of books, apparently inspired after interviewing Burroughs. Wilson`s books in turn influenced the now defunct chart act KLF throughout much of their career. The chart-topping duo - Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty - were once known as Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, a name lifted from the novels and which contains 23 letters. A US police car used in the video for number one single Doctorin` The Tardis had 23 painted on the roof, and their final performance lasted 23 minutes. They incinerated £1 million on a remote Scottish island on August 23, 1994. Cult act Psychic TV were obsessed by the number. At one stage in their career the band, led by Genesis P Orridge, released 23 live albums, each on the 23rd day of 23 consecutive months. They had been influenced in turn by the occultist Aleister Crowley who had been convinced of the power of 23. Here are some of the notable 23s spotted by Internet theorists: :: Each parent contributes 23 chromosomes to start a new human life. :: Julius Caesar was thought to have been stabbed 23 times. :: Basketball legend Michael Jordan famously wore the number 23 on his shirt. :: William Shakespeare was born and died on April 23. :: The cell in which Princess Leia was held in the original Star Wars movie was AA23. Director George Lucas`s first film, THX 1138, included a police robot numbered 23. :: William Burroughs` last TV appearance was in the video for U2`s Last Night on Earth video. The letter U is the 21st in the alphabet and adding the 2 gives 23. :: In The Beatles film Yellow Submarine, The Butterfly Stomper, who destroys all things of beauty, wears a shirt with the number 23. :: Nirvana star Kurt Cobain was born in 1967 and died in 1994 .1+9+6+723 and 1+9+9+423. :: The German movie 23 explored an obsession with the number, based on a real-life story. :: The Latin alphabet has 23 letters. :: In the disaster movie Airport, the bomber has seat 23. :: Sesame Street`s Bert is a member of the national association of W lovers, the 23rd letter of the alphabet.