It's impossible to have a year without at least one Friday 13th - sorry, friggatriskaidekaphobians (those who have a fear of Friday the 13th).
Luckily for us, today is the only day this year in which we'll have to avoid black cats, walking under ladders and opening umbrellas indoors.
According to the website www.livescience.com, fear of the day became more widespread following the success of the Friday the 13th series of horror movies in the 1980s, but the origins go further back than that. Some speculate that it goes as far backs as Jesus, who was crucified on a Friday, and had 13 people at the last supper.
“Another popular theory links the superstition to the demise of the Knights Templar, a monastic military order whose members were arrested en masse by France’s King Philip IV on Friday, October 13, 1307,” says the website, history.com.
“Popular culture further denigrated Friday the 13th as early as 1907, when Thomas Lawson wrote a book about a broker who tries to bring down Wall Street on that day.”
And 13 also comes after 12, a number often associated with completeness and perfection.
“Whole, perfect and harmonious, as seen in the 12 apostles, 12 Olympic Gods, 12 animals in the Chinese horoscope and 12 months in the Gregorian calendar,” says www.livescience.com, “Thirteen — by default — is awkward, ungainly and odd.”
Some other things you should know about Friday 13th:
-There were three Friday the 13ths in 2015 (February, March and November).
-Friday the 13th can only happen in months that begin on a Sunday.
-Many tall buildings and hotels omit the 13th floor, going right from 12 to 14.
-In 2010, lightning struck a 13-year-old boy in Suffolk, England, on Friday 13th at 13:13.
-There have been 12 Friday the 13th movies, the last of which appeared in 2009.
-Confirmation bias is believed to play a part in perpetuating the negative views of Friday the 13th — if something bad happens to you on that day, it's likely to confirm your view that the day is bad luck.
Are you superstitious? Let us know in the comments below.
