The number 23

1. As you're undoubtedly aware, footballing deity David Beckham has ditched his hallowed number 7 Manchester United shirt for a white 23.

2. David was reportedly ecstatic to be able to choose his new number because it is the same as that of his ultimate sporting hero, basketball legend Michael Jordan.

3. If you're of a cynical turn of mind, however, you may put the choice down to the fact that Real Madrid hope Becks replica shirts - with added Jordan appeal - will start to fly off the shelves in the US.

4. Or is there a deeper, more significant reason why David was destined to bear the number 23? Count the letters in the following three phrases:
David and Victoria Beckham
Brooklyn and Romeo Beckham
Manchester Utd Real Madrid

5. Spooky, huh?

6. In fact, the number 23 does appear to crop up in a surprising number of places. Many people say the number 23 occurs in significant places in their own lives - and in the natural world.

7. For instance, human gametes (ova and sperm) each contain 23 chromosomes, which pair up to make the DNA for a new person.

8. Darkly, the American phrase 23 skidoo derives from Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities, in which unfortunate hero Sydney Carlton's head is the 23rd that day to be snicked off into the guillotine basket.

9. Interestingly, in terms of Becks' move from Manchester United, the 23rd hexagram in the oriental divination method of I-Ching means "break apart". And in telegraphers' code, 23 means "break the line". And, even more sinisterly, if you divide two by three you get roughly 0.666.

10. So did Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi yesterday liken a German MEP to an actor playing a Nazi officer, simply because he is a tactless buffoon? Or were the forces of a more malign influence at work? The truth is out there ...