Friday the 13th

[Shemtov]

I don't beleive in it.....but for those paraskavedekatriaphobes on the hype.......
Today is going to be a bad day.

 

[The Spawn]

Next month as well.

 

[JStorm]

I don't beleive in it.....but for those paraskavedekatriaphobes on the hype.......
Today is going to be a bad day.

That's as bad as going into a bathroom and spinning seven times then chanting "Bloody Mary."


Jason believes in it. In fact, it is his birthday.

Bad day, for you, pal.

 

[Master Chief]

my day's already great, I smoked 2 spliffs. :heart:

 

[Majic Walrus]

Next month as well.

And November as well. This year sucks.

 

[SLVRSR4]

I only measure in years. It is currently year one of King Obama.

 

[Morg]

*walks under ladder* *breaks mirror* *let a black cat cross his path*

Nothing happen to me

 

[Prison Mike]

13 Facts About Friday the 13th
LiveScience Staff

LiveScience.com livescience Staff

livescience.com
Thu Feb 12, 10:30 pm ET

If you fear Friday the 13th, then batten down the hatches. This week's unlucky day is the first of three this year.

The next Friday the 13th comes in March, followed by Nov. 13. Such a triple whammy comes around only every 11 years, said Thomas Fernsler, a math specialist at the University of Delaware who has studied the number 13 for more than 20 years.


By the numbers


Here are 13 more facts about the infamous day, courtesy of Fernsler and some of our own research:


1. The British Navy built a ship named Friday the 13th. On its maiden voyage, the vessel left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again.


2. The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970. The sum of the date's digits (4-11-70) is 13 (as in 4+1+1+7+0 = 13). And the explosion that crippled the spacecraft occurred on April 13 (not a Friday). The crew did make it back to Earth safely, however.


3. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor.


4. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.


5. Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Despite being a superb quarterback (some call him one of the best ever), he got to the Super Bowl just once, in 1985, and was trounced 38-16 by the San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana (who wore No. 16 and won all four Super Bowls he played in).


6. Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.


7. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.


8. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.


9. Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.


10. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12."


11. Woodrow Wilson considered 13 his lucky number, though his experience didn't support such faith. He arrived in Normandy, France on Friday, Dec. 13, 1918, for peace talks, only to return with a treaty he couldn't get Congress to sign. (The ship's crew wanted to dock the next day due to superstitions, Fernsler said.) He toured the United States to rally support for the treaty, and while traveling, suffered a near-fatal stroke.


12. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.


13. The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch. So far there's been no evidence tying these long-ago design decisions to the present economic situation.


Origins of Friday the 13th

Where's all this superstition come from? Nobody knows for sure. But it may date back to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune.

Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.

"You can trace it all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number,'" says Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and author of "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved" (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything around them, Livio said.

In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology, scientists say.

"People are subconsciously drawn towards specific numbers because they know that they need the experiences, attributes or lessons, associated with them, that are contained within their potential," says professional numerologist Sonia Ducie. "Numerology can 'make sense' of an individual's life (health, career, relationships, situations and issues) by recognizing which number cycle they are in, and by giving them clarity."

Mathematicians dismiss numerology as having no scientific merit, however.

"I don't endorse this at all," Livio said, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology for a story prior to the date 06/06/06. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said.

News and Information about Superstitions
The Most Popular Myths in Science
Urban Legends Debunked
Original Story: 13 Facts About Friday the 13th
LiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090213/sc_livescience/13factsaboutfridaythe13th

 

[Captain Planet!]

Meh, nothing's happened to me yet.

 

[Eggyman]

I picked out a shirt online and then went to the shop to buy it after work finished. It wasn't in stock.

Friday the 13th suckeths.

 

[Spider-Who?]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090213/sc_livescience/13factsaboutfridaythe13th

suprised they didnt mention the mass slaying of the Templar Knights. That occured on friday the 13th.

 

[Troy_Parker]

I fell down the stairs this morning, but that happens everyday...so meh t:

 

[Alex The Great]

I Got a **** load of English Homework!

 

[Spider-Man Luvr28]

Today's my niece's b-day haha. She turned 1. Other than that, nothing's happened to any of us.

 

[Immortalfire]

"It comes after 12." ~ Tom Hanks in Apollo 13

 

[Captain Planet!]

And before 14!


Say kids, Math sure is fun!

 

[Immortalfire]

And before 14!


Say kids, Math sure is fun!

Not for me it wasn't. The only 100 score I got in math was writing off the 1 times tables

 

[DDS]

I actually had a REALLY unlucky day yesterday, the 12th. Still making a list of all the **** that happend.

 

[Troy_Parker]

I watched Forrest Gump today in history class aswell...t:

 

[Captain Planet!]

Nothing happened. You all are just a bunch of chicken *****es.

 

[visix]

livescience is awesome!
today was okay nothing much happened
tomorrow is gonna be a lame day tho.
all those annoy couples making kissy faces at each other and matching sweaters.
the best thing about v-day is the chocolate sale afterwards

 

[Chris Wallace]

Very superstitious
Writing's on the wall...

 

[Majic Walrus]

Yesterday was quite possibly the "luckiest" day I've ever had.