Friday 13

13 January! A Friday! Bad luck or just superstition?  Since many years, people fear this day. Interesting features to know about Friday 13…

Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday. The fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name: “triskaidekaphobia.” In 2017, there happen to be two Friday the 13ths – January 13 and October 13.

Biblical origins

The superstition around this day is thought to have come about during the Middle Ages, and may have Biblical origins. Some historians have claimed it was the day on which Eve bit the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, the great flood began and the builders of the Tower of Babel. In the New Testament there were 13 people present for Jesus’s last supper on Maundy Thursday, the day before Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday.

Other historical events 

On Friday October 13th 1307 Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar. In his novel Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown cites the 14th century execution of Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay, which took place on Friday the 13th. He cursed the Pope and the King of France, and this spread misfortune down the ages. It is also possible that the publication in 1907 of Thomas W. Lawson’s popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth played a part in disseminating the superstition. In the novel, an unscrupulous stockbroker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th.

Bad things that have happened on Friday 13 

• In 1976, New Yorker Daz Baxter was apparently so afraid of Friday the 13th he decided the safest place to stay was his bed. However, Mr Baxter was killed when the floor of his apartment block collapsed that day.
• In 2009, the £13.5 million SAW ride at Thorpe Park had its opening première, only to be shut down due to a computer programming fault. Spooky.
• In 2010, lightning struck a 13-year-old Suffolk boy on Friday 13th at 13:13. Definitely unlucky for him.
• During the early 1990s retired bus conductor Bob Renphrey also vowed to stay in bed on the superstitious day after some seriously bad luck. The Welshman has crashed fours cars, fallen into a river and been made redundant on previous Friday the 13ths.

Social impact

According to the Stress Management Centre and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day, making it the most feared day and date in history. Some people are so paralysed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. “It’s been estimated that [US]$800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day”. Despite this, representatives for both Delta Air Lines and now-defunct Continental Airlines have stated that their airlines do not suffer from any noticeable drop in travel on those Fridays. In Finland, a consortium of governmental and non-governmental organisations led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health promotes the National Accident Day, which always falls on a Friday the 13th.

Things you don’t know

• Many hospitals don’t have a room number with 13 in it as well as a 13th floor. The same thing goes for tall buildings. Normally the 13th floor is skipped. Some airlines omit Gate 13.
• A 13th guest at a table is considered unlucky, and in Paris sometimes a fourteenth is hired to be a professional 14th guest and balance out the luck.
• Hollywood has capitalised on the Friday the 13th superstitions. Four out of 12 movies released were done so on Friday the 13th.
• Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1956.
• If a month starts with a Sunday, it will have a Friday the 13th.
• In Italy it’s not Friday the 13th that is considered unlucky, it’s Friday the 17th. And in Greek and Hispanic cultures, it’s Tuesday the 13th which is considered unlucky.
• On Friday April 13, 2029, the asteroid 99942 will make its closest encounter with the Earth!