Friyay the 13th

And, Mega is up to $1.3 billion 🙂

Here are a few interesting facts about Friday the 13^th!

1. The fear of Friday the 13^th is called, “friggatriskaidekaphobia” – “Frigga” was the name of the Norse goddess for whom ‘Friday’ is named and “triskaidekaphobia” meaning the fear of the number 13 (also known as “paraskavedekatriaphobia”).
2. A theory, recently proclaimed as historical fact in the novel, The Da Vinci Code, is that on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307, officers of King Philip IV of France raided hundreds of homes of the Knights Templar, imprisoning them on charges of illegal activities. Though the charges weren’t proven, more than a hundred died from terrible torture.
3. For a month to have a Friday the 13th, the month must begin on a Sunday.
4. It was on October 13, 1989 (a Friday) that the US stock exchange suffered one of its most major crashes. The day has since then gone down in history as ‘Black Friday’.
5. The Alfred Hitchcock Connection – This genius filmmaker has made some of the best suspense films in the history of Hollywood — And it just so happens he was born on August 13, 1899, which was a Friday!
6. Every year has at least one and at most three Friday the 13ths.
7. The longest period that can occur without a Friday the 13^th is fourteen months.
8. “Based on records of buildings with Otis brand elevators, as many as 85% of the high risers in the world do not have a 13^th floor” – Dilip Rangnekar, Otis Elevator Company
9. In Spanish-speaking countries, instead of Friday, Tuesday the 13^th, also called martes trece is considered a day of bad luck.
10. In Italian pop-culture, Friday the 17^th is considered a day of bad luck.
11. Pagans actually find 13 a lucky number because it parallels the number of full moons in a year.
12. According to findings from the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina, it is estimated that 17 to 21 million people in the US are affected by the fear of Friday the 13^th (making it the most feared day in history).
13. According to the British Medical Journal there is a significant increase in traffic-related accidents when the date is Friday the 13
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Rando fact, my basketball uniform number was 13 when I played in high school.

“Like many superstitions that have evolved over time and across cultures, it is difficult to pinpoint the precise origins of Friday 13th. What we do know, though, is that both Friday and the number 13 have been regarded as unlucky in certain cultures throughout history. In his book “Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things,” Charles Panati traces the concept of the cursed back to Norse mythology, when Loki, the god of mischief, gate-crashed a banquet in Valhalla, bringing the number of gods in attendance to 13. Deceived by Loki, the blind god Hodr was tricked into shooting his brother Balder, the god of light, joy and goodness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow, killing him instantly.

From Scandinavia, Panati explains, the superstition then spread south throughout Europe, becoming well established along the Mediterranean by the start of the Christian era. It was here that the unsettling power of the numerals was cemented through the story of the Last Supper, which was attended by Jesus Christ and his disciples on Maundy Thursday. The 13th and most infamous guest to arrive, Judas Iscariot, was the disciple who betrayed Jesus, leading to his crucifixion on Good Friday.”
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