Happy Friday the 13th

Each year there’s one day that strikes fear into the hearts of many — the unlucky Friday the 13th. These days are rare, but this year we have three of them. The first one was last month, and the next one will happen in November. This “triple-threat” only happens once every 11 years. It’s a great time to watch a scary movie and have some fun. It’s also the one day you can wake up your kids wearing a hockey mask and get away with it…not that I’m recommending you do that (but it would be funny).

There are many theories about why Friday the 13th is a bad day, but no one knows the true origin of the superstition. Some theories link it to significant events in Christian history that may have occurred on a Friday, such as the crucifixion or Eve giving the apple to Adam. Other theories link the il-fortune of the number 13 to the Last Supper because it’s suggested that Judas was the 13th guest to sit at the table. And we all know how badly that story ended. Judas betrayed Jesus and killed himself — bad fortune, indeed.

Regardless of the origins, most people now view Friday the 13th as a day where Murphy’s Law reigns supreme. If anything bad happens, you can simply blame it on the bad fortune associated with the day. I don’t take it too seriously, but some people do. According to Smithsonian Magazine “fear of the #13 costs Americans a billion dollars per year in absenteeism, train and plane cancellations, and reduced commerce on the 13th of the month.” Wow!

Here are five other fun facts about Friday the 13th from LiveScience…enjoy!

1. Fear of Friday the 13th — one of the most popular myths in science — is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.

3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. “It was bad luck,” Twain later told the friend. “They only had food for 12.” Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number — 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.