A Day for Triskaidekaphobia

My nerdiness on display -

Do you avoid walking under ladders? Do you carry a rabbit’s foot on your key chain? If you see a black cat in your path, do you cross the street? While these are common superstitions, today may bring a more specific source of anxiety: triskaidekaphobia—or more simply stated—fear of Friday the 13th.

Lucky for you, it’s occurring only once this year.

Some numbers just can’t catch a break

Before it was ever made into a movie, people have been nervous of Friday the 13th for decades. According to folklorists, the superstition is likely associated with the unlucky number 13.

Historians have traced the number back to the 13 individuals who attended the Last Supper (with Judas being the 13th guest). Going back even further to 1700 B.C., Babylon’s Code of Hammurabi omits the number 13 in its list of laws. The superstition continues today: Many tall buildings still don’t have a 13th floor.

However, the number didn’t become popularly associated with Friday until the 20th century. In 1907, eccentric stockbroker Thomas Lawson published Friday the Thirteenth, a novel that details an evil businessman’s attempt to manipulate the stock market using the superstitious day. Thanks to an aggressive advertising campaign, the book sold nearly 28,000 copies in its first week.

Thank goodness it’s Friday

There is no consensus on whether or not bad things are more likely to happen on this day. In a 2008 report, the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics stated that "fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday than on other Fridays, because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home.”

However, a 1993 study in the British Medical Journal compared the ratio of traffic accidents between Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th and found a significant increase in traffic-related accidents on the 13th.

Regardless of superstitious fears, you may want to focus on this simple fact: it is finally the weekend. Go out and enjoy yourself. But if you happen to run into a machete-wielding maniac wearing a hockey mask, just walk the other way. Seriously.

Happy Camper,
Jakey