Editing 23 enigma (section)

==In popular culture==
Music and art duo [[The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu]] (later known as The KLF and the [[K Foundation]]) named themselves after the fictional conspiratorial group "The Justified Ancients of Mummu" from ''Illuminatus!'';<ref>{{LibraryOfMu|mu-id=479|first=Ian|last=Cranna|title=1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?) review|work=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004150537/http://www.libraryofmu.net/display-resource.php?id=479|archive-date=4 October 2016}}</ref> the number 23 is a recurring theme in the duo's work.<ref name="drownedinsound">{{Cite web|url=http://drownedinsound.com/news/4151283-the-ice-kream-van-kometh--the-justified-ancients-of-mu-mu-return|title=The Ice Kream Van Kometh: The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu Return|date=24 August 2017|access-date=26 February 2020|first=Max|last=Pilley|work=[[Drowned in Sound]]|archive-date=26 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226003707/http://drownedinsound.com/news/4151283-the-ice-kream-van-kometh--the-justified-ancients-of-mu-mu-return|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/aug/23/klf-bill-drummond-jimmy-cauty-2023-book|title=The return of the KLF: pop's greatest provocateurs take on a post-truth world|access-date=October 23, 2017|date=23 August 2017|first=Hannah|last=Ellis-Petersen|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Perhaps most infamously, as the K Foundation they performed a performance art piece, ''[[K Foundation Burn a Million Quid]]'' on 23 August 1994<ref>{{LibraryOfMu|tl=news|mu-id=387|last=Reid, Jim|title=Money to burn|work=[[The Observer]]|date=25 September 1994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916120338/http://www.libraryofmu.net/display-resource.php?id=387 |archive-date=16 September 2016 }}</ref> and subsequently agreed not to publicly discuss the burning for a period of 23 years.<ref>{{LibraryOfMu|tl=news|mu-id=519 |title=Cape Wrath |author=[[K Foundation]] |date=8 December 1995 |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916113827/http://www.libraryofmu.net/display-resource.php?id=519 |archive-date=16 September 2016|type=advertisement}}</ref> 23 years to the day after the burning they returned to launch a novel and discuss why they had burnt the money.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41022272|title=The KLF: Pop's saboteurs return after 23 years|date=23 August 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref>

The 2007 film ''[[The Number 23]]'', starring [[Jim Carrey]], is the story of a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23 while reading a book of the same title that seems to be about his life.<ref name="latimes">{{cite news |last1=Ordora |first1=Michael |title=Quite a jazzy little number |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119856979/quite-a-jazzy-little-number/ |access-date=28 February 2023 |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=14 January 2007 |page=E10}}</ref>

[[Industrial music]] group [[Throbbing Gristle]] recounted in great detail the meeting of Burroughs and Captain Clark and the significance of the number 23 in the ballad "The Old Man Smiled".<ref name="Benecke 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Benecke |first1=Mark |year=2011 |title=The Numerology of 23 |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=49–53 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry }}</ref> Their 1980 album ''[[Heathen Earth]]'', where this song appears, also features the number 23 on the cover.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ford |first=Simon |title=Wreckers of Civilisation : The Story of COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle |publisher=Black Dog Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-1901033601 |pages=10.5}}</ref>

The plot of [[tactical shooter]] [[video game]] ''[[Sniper Ghost Warrior 3]]'' revolves around stopping a shadowy organization called ''The 23 Society'' looking to gain power and influence.