A BAKER’S DOZEN, 12 or 13?

Just last week, I was super engrossed in a book that took the world by a storm with its horrific storyline, and as I read, I came across a line that surprised me. When a character namely Wendy frightfully climbed the stairs and slowly counting a dozen steps, she mentioned "a baker’s dozen".

A dozen = 12, so I automatically assumed that she took 12 steps. Apparently, a baker’s dozen is not 12, but actually 13!

So today, I discovered the reason why a baker’s dozen is actually 13 instead of 12. Yes I did! This even dated back as ancient Egypt where they have imposed stricter laws regarding baker’s wares. For instance, if a baker is found to be cheating someone, they would have their ear nailed to the door of their bakery. In Babylon, if a baker is found to sell a “light loaf” of bread to someone, the baker would have his hand chopped off! How outrageous!

But surely, bakers realized that it’s not that hard to accidentally cheat someone, the baker decide to give more rather than give less. Specifically in this term of “baker’s dozen”, in England, after the Assize of Bread and Ale Statute was enacted in the 13^th century, it became a common practice that if a vendor or other customer to order a dozen or several dozen loaves of bread from a baker, the baker would give them 13 for every dozen they ordered. This effectively made sure that the baker would never accidently break the law and be subject to severe punishment!

So, today we know that baker’s dozen don’t mean the traditional 12, instead it meant 13. Also, they don’t do it simply of for fun but they do it for a very crucial reason! Hope that was informative and I shall see you guys tomorrow!