The sixth day of the week and the number 13 both have foreboding reputations said to date from ancient times and their inevitable conjunction from one to three times a year portends more misfortune than some credulous minds can bear.
Some sources say it may be the most widespread superstition in the United States. 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.
Just how many Americans at the turn of the millennium still suffer from this condition?
According to Dr. Donald Dossey, a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of phobias, the figure may be as high as 21 million. If he’s right, eight percent of Americans are still in the grips of a very old superstition.
Exactly how old is difficult to say, because determining the origins of superstitions is an imprecise science, at best. In fact, it’s mostly guesswork.
I have a good friend who is a MIT graduate that’s really good with math. I’ll run it by him today and see what he can come up with. If he can figure out why Highway 1 slows down by Home Depot for no real reason, he can surely figure this one out 
So, what are your plans for today, Friday the 13th? Dun Dun DUN!!!
[Insert lightening and thunder sounds here.]
As for what I’ll be doing today, I’m going to be working on my super secret project that has a working delivery date of Monday October 16, 2006.
I’ll also be avoiding the random Zombies walking around town.
- Rob Zombie’s Remake Of Halloween | April 13, 2007
- Happy 5th Birthday, Google | September 8, 2003
- African Americans on Currency | March 5, 2007
- Verizon Wireless Subscribers Send 10 Billion SMSs In June | July 24, 2007
- Picture of the Day | December 15, 2002
I was told earlier today that this is the 700th anniversary of the first Friday the Thirteenth, and it dates back to the round up of the Knights Templar (now if only I could who did it and why; I think it was the Inquisition).
I expected to celebrate the thirteenth today by staying home alone from school, working on my computer, and listening to loud music.
Instead a huge thunderstorm started dropping hailstones the size of fishtank gravel on my house and the power went out for five hours, the blackout eating the first draft of this comment.
An inauspicious Friday the Thirteenth indeed.
Well, pish tosh. We had a great grill-out in the evening, the day went nicely.
Hi Luke. 700th anniversary? That’s some peace of trivia. I’ll also do a little more research on it and let you know what I find out.
Huge thunderstorm with hailstones… yeah, that sounds like something spooky knocking on the door
TechZ, you needed something good to happen on Friday the 13th because of the unlucky week you’ve been having.
Glad to read you had a nice grill-out. What were you grilling up? or do I dare ask?