We’ve seen 01-01-01 (January 1st, 2001), 02-02-02, 03-03-03, etc.—right up to 12-12-12, which is Wednesday. It marks the end of a repetitive sequence which won’t happen again until January 1st, 2101—01-01-01—88 years from now.

Superstitions about numbers make us take extra precautions. Some of us avoid the 13th row of an airplane, the 13th floor of a hotel or even refuse to have a dinner party with 13 guests. But the number 12 is an auspicious number—there are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 Tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of Jesus. Some believe that if you dream of the number 12, a solution to a nagging problem will soon appear. Yet there is also a superstition that washing your hair on the 12th day of the month will bring misfortune. And the ancient Mayan calendar predicts 12-12-12 (or maybe 12-21-12) will be the end of the world as we know it!

So whatever you do on 12-12-12, it won’t hurt to wear a lucky charm like this enameled gold and pearl four-leaf clover pin that sold for $527 at a Leslie Hindman auction in Chicago. We’re pretty sure the world won’t end but....