Strictly speaking, I don't think this is etymology, but whatever

[indigozeal]

...why is number four in [Japan]......why is it bad luck? I mean, if it's bad luck, why don't they just change the name of it? As I understand it, they do the thing that the Western lands sometimes do with the thirteenth floor of a building, where they don't name it "thirteen" because it's unlucky. But four is a low number, so you'd have to do that with a lot of buildings, wouldn't you. So why don't you just change the name of it?

I mean, just because, you know, a long time ago, when someone was handing out number names, they figured it would be cool if number four sounded like "death," it doesn't mean they have to keep it that way. They could--they can just change it, if they don't like it.

And if they don't have a problem with that, I would ask - why don't they have a problem with it? I mean, when I was back in nursery school learning my numbers, if I had found out that the progression of numbers went "one, two, three, murder, five, six, seven," I would have a problem with that. I would question that. I would wonder why the murdereth number was called that.

Oh, by the way, here's Jorg.
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