London, Nov 19: Number 13 really does seem to be unlucky when it comes to the lottery, for it has appeared fewer times than any other ball in the UK’s National Lottery.

As it turns out, 13 has come up only 146 times, eight fewer than any other ball, ever since the lottery was launched in 1994. Not appearing in 49 consecutive draws between July and December 1997, the doomed numbered ball is followed by 6, 9 and 11.

38, proven to be the Lotto's luckiest ball, came up 217 times followed by 25 and 31. But Camelot, which runs the lottery and carried out the research, stresses that past performances mean nothing and the odds against hitting the jackpot are always 13,983,816 to one, reports the Daily Mail.

So, if anyone is planning to pick these numbers to try their luck, he is certainly playing Russian roulette.

The number 13 traces its unlucky nature through many cultures and has an ancient association with the devil, compounded by the fact that Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th person to sit at the table during the Last Supper.

In a Tarot deck the 13th card of the Major Arcana is Death. Another hypothesis about the origin of Friday the 13th as an unlucky day is attributed to this being the day that the Knights Templers were slaughtered in collaboration between King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V finishing with the burning at the stake of Jacques De Molay.

Though defying history Camelot claimed that the number 13 has marked some positive milestones in the lottery's history.

In the 13 years since the first draw on November 19, 1994, around 13 new millionaires have been created every month. A 13-strong syndicate of Littlehampton taxi drivers has won two major prizes, a £546,480 share of a jackpot in February this year and £144,222 from matching five main numbers and the bonus ball back in 2002. (ANI)