AUDIO: FRIDAY THE 13TH TRIVIA
Just exactly why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky is hard for historians and sociologists to determine. But both Friday and the number 13 have skeletons in their closets that contribute to the superstition.
* From a religious standpoint, legend has it that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the apple, on a Friday, and later died on a Friday. Tradition also holds that the Great Flood began on a Friday; God tongue-tied the builders of the Tower of Babel on a Friday; and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday. In Rome, Friday was execution day. The number 13 is the number of parties at the Last Supper, with the 13th guest at the table being the traitor, Judas. Christians consider Friday as the day on which Christ was crucified by the Romans.
* The Scandinavian belief that the number 13 signified bad luck sprang from their mythological 12 demigods, who were joined by a 13th demigod, Loki, an evil cruel one, who brought upon humans great misfortune.
* A Viking legend says that twelve gods were invited to a banquet at Valhalla. Loki, the Evil One, god of mischief, had been excluded from the guest list but chose to crash the party, bringing the total to 13. True to form, Loki raised hell by inciting Hod, the blind god of winter, to attack Balder the Good, who happened to be a favorite of the gods. Hod took a spear of mistletoe offered by Loki (mistletoe being the only thing Balder was vulnerable to) and hurled it at Balder, killing him instantly. All of Valhalla grieved. The Norse supposedly concluded that 13 people at a dinner party is just plain bad luck.
* One hundred years ago, the British government sought to debunk the widespread superstition among sailors that sailing on Friday was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned, to be named “H.M.S. Friday.” They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected the crew on a Friday and put her in command of Captain Jim Friday. Finally, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage – on a Friday – and was never seen or heard from again.
* A study published in the British Medical Journal in 1993 is entitled “Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?” Its authors compared the ratios of traffic volume to vehicular accidents on two different days, Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th, over a period of years. Surprisingly, they found that while fewer people drove on Friday the 13th, hospital admissions due to accidents was significantly higher than on normal Fridays. Their conclusion: “Friday 13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent. Staying at home is recommended.”
* According to Dr. Donald Dossey, a therapist specializing in the treatment of phobias, as many as 21 million Americans fear Friday the 13th. Some people won’t go to work on Friday the 13th. Some won’t eat in restaurants. Many wouldn’t think of setting a wedding on the date.
* It is said …
– If 13 people sit down to dinner together, all will die within the year.
– The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary.
– Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue.
– Many buildings don’t have a 13th floor.
– If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil’s luck. Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo (The Boston Strangler) all have 13 letters in their names.
* It is said …
– Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams.
– Don’t start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune.
– If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow.
– Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck.
CLIP: Our classic song parody, “Happy Friday the 13” (to Neil Sedaka’s “Happy Birthday Sweet 16”)
