Friday the Thirteen
Are you a paraskevidekatriaphobic?
Paraskevidekatriaphobia is an irrational fear of Friday the Thirteenth.
You will look very smart if you toss out this word around the water cooler today at work. However, if you stumble over this word's many many syllables, people will think you splashed vodka in your coffee. The latter could result in some unlucky circumstances.
Thirteen has been considered an unlucky number for forever. Some strange superstitions surrounding the number 13 include:
If 13 people sit around a dinner table together, all will die within a year.
Hmmm. This could come in handy the next time I'm throwing a dinner party. As in when I really don't want to invite a specific someone, I'll say, "I'd love to have you come to my fancy schmancy dinner party that everyone is SoCal is all hyped up about attending. But, unfortunately, I suffer from triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13). And you'd be my 13th guest. And we'd all die. So, as a favor to you and your loved ones, don't even think about showing up at my dinner party.
Don't give your baby a name with 13 letters or he/she'll have the devil's luck.
If only the parents of these people had known: Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo. I have just done a quick count. Phew. None of my children has a name of 13 letters.
Friday has been considered unlucky for forever. (Not in my life, though. I've pretty much always looked forward to Friday. Since, you know, it's the start of the weekend, a good evening to take advantage of happy hour or order pizza for dinner because you're sick to death of cooking which you've been doing all week long.)
Here are some superstitions about Friday:
If you change the sheets on your bed on Friday, you'll have nightmares.
This totally explains why my children won't change their bed on Fridays. And here I thought it had to do with chore avoidance.
If your ship sets sail on Friday, it'll have bad luck.
I'm driving to Malibu later today. Driving. Good. I'm safe from the bad luck thing.
Sorrow will enter your life if you clip your nails on Friday.
You have probably never heard of this superstition. Because information about it has been suppressed by manicurists. But now you know. So, if you insist on getting your nails done on a Friday, well, you're just asking for trouble.
To complicate matters, Greece, Romania and Spain believe Tuesday the 13th is unlucky. For Italians, it's Friday the 17th. This information could come in handy when looking for airline deals.
So, how about it? Anyone out there brave enough to share a superstition.
From: http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th.htm,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triskaidekaphobia,http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Friday_the_13th
Posts
I never knew any of that! But I have to agree that by Friday I'm sick to death of cooking. Or in my case, "fixing" meals. :-)
ReplyDeleteAHHHH if I don't count my sons middle name he has 13 letters... From now on I count his middle name! LOL
ReplyDeleteSee I think my sons inherently knew about the "clip nails on Friday" thing. Although they interpreted it as "clip nails any day ending in Y and sorrow will enter your life", or maybe just screams of protest will enter moms ears!
I think the number 13 is pretty! I quite like it having lived in two homes with the number 13 on the door, including this one! I have never found it unlucky. Doesn't the myth stem from the fact that there were 13 at the table at The Last Supper? That kinda makes sense of the dinner party thing but nails and bedsheets - I'm thinking a few convenient excuses got thought up along the way!!
ReplyDeleteWhat cool "facts"!
ReplyDeleteFunny - I did not even realizze it it Friday the 13th! With working at 4am and doing the evening news from the evening before, I am always a day off!!!
happy Friday 13th!
my fear isn't of friday the 13th per se. it's more of the #s 13 or 33. not fear exactly, so much as a general dislike. :) like if i'm in the car and the clock says it's 8:13 or 8:33 or something, i won't get out of the car until it changes, or put the car in drive until it changes. i'm odd.
ReplyDeletehappy friday!
Wow! Very intersting. And kinda freaky about those serial killers, so it MUST be true, right? Do we include middle names? My oldest son has 13 letters if I leave out his middle name!!!! Could explain a lot actually.
ReplyDeleteThat's close...if I use my middle name and married last name I miss it by one. Thank goodness. The son is in the clear with or without the middle name but the husband has 13 without the middle name. Yikes! What should I do. I think I will move in with you. LOL. Have a good day. XO
ReplyDelete-YPN
We were married on April Fools Day, and we were 13 people at the wedding including our guests (we got married in Costa Rica). So far, we've not been dogged with bad luck...crossing fingers?!
ReplyDeleteHeidi
If only his parents had named him Jack Ripper instead of Jack the Ripper everything would've turned out so differently :P Thanks for the laugh
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, my son did get supersitious about the #13--don't know WHERE it started. Then his wonderful 3rd grade teacher told him that Roald Dahl's birthday was on the 13th. Never been a bad day since. :) And today (F the 13th) is the last day of school, so...
ReplyDeleteMe--I think I'm only superstitious about not thinking that a good thing is going to happen--feels like it might jinx things. That's probably just more pessimism than superstition, though?
What fun facts. And I've found the #31 to be lucky -- just 13 in reverse. ;)
ReplyDeletetoo funny! nope , not me...some of my best days have occurred on friday the 13th....although my luckiest number is 34...shame there isn't a month with 34 days...
ReplyDeleteMy wife has 13 letter in her married name. That explains few things.
ReplyDeletePhhew..had to wait for the person above me to comment...I didn't want to be the "13th" comment.
ReplyDelete:) No just kidding.
I found out it was F the 13 when I took my son to the DMV to take his "behind the wheel" test. He passed so I guess the bad luck doesn't affect him. Maybe because he has 11 letters in his name?
Thank Goodness!
Spiders. Yuck! I can't stand them. When one crawls on me my heart races and I feel flush. Nothing scares me more than spiders.
ReplyDeleteI had to do a quick count of my family's names too and luckily we're all at 14 or 12.
ReplyDeleteFriday the 13th doesn't bother me, but...I will admit to avoiding stepping on cracks. Always have. I'm not sure if that's superstition or mental illness :)
ReplyDeleteFunny you should post about this (well, maybe not because it was Friday the 13th). I rarely notice this Friday the 13th thing but did yesterday - my son was writing his MCAT exam for medical school and I glanced at the calendar and muttered,"Oh, no!" First time it ever mattered to me.
ReplyDeleteThis was very intersting and funny. I quicky counted my girls names thou. I decided to add their middle names in the count, to alter the one that did add up to 13.
ReplyDeleteI am with you, any Friday is a good day. It is Pizza night here too!
Have a fun weekend and thanks for the warnings!
XOXO
My first and last name have 13 letters in it..... but of course, throwing in my middle name can throw that off...except....I hardly ever use my middle name.
ReplyDeleteOMG I'm doomed. I'm doomed I tell you, doomed!! Augh!.....
I'm going to go eat some worms.
How's this:
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 13 in 1979 we flew to Bermuda over the Bermuda Triangle on Friday the 13th. . . and I am still here to tell the story:)
My son was married on a Friday 13th and he seems very happy!
ReplyDeleteHe loves horror movies but is a very peaceful person.Just counted he has 12 letter in his name .......whew!
But my daughter has 13.
Will use her middle name.
Thanks for the interesting trivia.
sorry I haven't visited for ages.
All best wishes
OMG - I just realized my son's first and last names have 13 letters!
ReplyDeleteCan I count the middle name...?
Uh oh. I think I clipped my nails on Friday. Or was it yesterday? Now I'm nervous. Great trivia, though! I love fun facts like these.
ReplyDeleteI think I have a phobia of having to spell that phobia.
ReplyDeleteI've always kinda liked Friday the 13th. But then I have a black cat and walk under ladders. I'm just dangerous that way. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm... My maiden name had 13 letters.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that nail clipping on Friday one was started by manicurists who wanted a early start to the weekend?
My nephew was born on Friday the 13th (by scheduled c-section, what does that tell you about my SIL?), and I never had homework on Friday the 13th. It's always been rather lucky for both me and my husband. We even celebrate with good food and a movie.
My Dad’s birthday is April 13. When it falls on a Friday he KNOWS he's in for a bad year. Not a happy occasion, at all... ;)
ReplyDelete