As we celebrate our 5th birthday, it is a great time to reflect on our origins. What better place to start than our name? 

Who is a 23rdian?

While our private Facebook page is named ‘The 23rdians’, this also refers to a group of people who subscribe to the mystical power of 23 and see it in multiple combinations throughout daily life.

Have you ever wondered why 23W? Most people understand the ‘W’ as we are a women’s only community, and our tagline is Wellness, Wisdom and Wonder… but where did the 23 come from?

Initially, we thought it cleaver that ‘W’ is the 23rd letter of the alphabet, and this could then represent our mission statement of the 3 W’s.

But it goes deeper than this…. I actually really liked it as a number but did not know why it was so familiar. So I did some research, and there are many fascinating facts about the number, which I thought was pretty cool!

1. The letter W It has two points down and three points up.
2. Have you watched The Last Dance? There are so many successful sporting stars that have worn this number and, not just Michael Jordan. David Beckham, Shane Warne and Buddy Franklin, to name a few.
3. The ancient Chinese believed 23 conveyed sexuality – evens for feminine and odds for masculine. They considered prime numbers to be the most masculine, conferring special status on 23 which is made up of two consecutive prime numbers and the only even prime number – two.
4. Each parent contributes 23 chromosomes to the start of human life. 23 is in our DNA!
5. 23 is one of the most commonly cited prime numbers – a number that can only be divided by itself and one. Twenty three is the lowest prime that consists of consecutive digits.
6. Significant moments in history are linked to 23… not all are good… The Hiroshima bomb was dropped at 8.15am – 8+15= 23, the terrorist attacks on America on September the 11th 2001 has crazy links to this number. The figures in the date (9+11+2+0+0+1) add up to 23. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford Upon Avon on 23 April 1564. He died 52 years later on his birthday, 23 April 1616 and Kurt Cobain, the god of grunge, was born in 1967 and died in 1994 – 1+9+6+7= 23, 1+9+9+4 = 23.
7. The first morse code transmission, ‘What hath God wrought?’ was from the Bible passage Numbers 23:23. In telegraphers code 23 means ‘break the line’.

So there you have it, ladies. Being part of 23W makes us all that little bit lucky. Another fact: in the same week it opened, I put $20 bucks on number 23 in the 2018 Melbourne Cup. I rarely bet for ethical reasons and this horse had terrible odds. Needless to say I was a very happy punter at the end of the day.