Friday the 13th: Lucky or unlucky?
Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the name given by psychologists to those who are in fear of Friday the 13th.
POLOKWANE – Are you superstitious? Do you believe Friday the 13th is one of the unluckiest days in the year? Chances are, you might be a paraskavedekatriaphobe.
Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the name given by psychologists to those who are in fear of Friday the 13th.
In light of today being Friday the 13th, here are 13 facts about the superstitious day:
1. Today is the second ‘Friday the 13th’ of 2023.
2. In numerology 13 is considered to be an irregular number and is also the number of witches you need to form a coven.
3. In 2010, lightning struck a 13-year-old Suffolk boy on Friday 13th at 13:13. Definitely unlucky for him.
4. During the early 1990s, a retired bus conductor Bob Renphrey, 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.
5. On Friday, April the 13th, 2029, an asteroid will safely pass by earth.
6. Whatever the reason, fear of 13 has spread far and wide: Hotels and hospitals often skip the 13th floor, and even airports quietly omit gate 13 sometimes.
7. The last Friday the 13th movie was released on Friday, 13 October.
8. Whenever a month begins on a Sunday, it’s a guarantee there will be a Friday the 13th.
9. The Hollywood sign – which originally read HOLLYWOODLAND – was unveiled on Friday 13 July, 1923. It was built to advertise a housing development, but has since become one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions.
10. People in Italy actually find the number 13 lucky. In fact, for them the unlucky day is Friday the 17th.
11. It has been said that many people are superstitious about travelling on the day, so you could probably check flight tickets and travel the same day, if you are not superstitious, that is.
12. Celebrities born on Friday the 13th include Taylor Swift, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Steve Buscemi, Max Weinberg and Peter Tork. Tupac Shakur died on Friday, September 13, 1996.
13. After every Friday 13, comes a Saturday 14, which can only mean one thing: the weekend is nearly upon us!
