Simon says : never walk under ladders. You get 7 years bad luck if you break a mirror, and a crow can bring enough tears to fill the Grand Canyon.
But Friday the 13th brings about more fear in people than any of these superstitions put together. It has such an impact upon the psyche of society, that some nerd in a cold dark room somewhere has even created a name for the fear of such a day ; friggatriskaidekaphobia .... try say that five times fast!
But lets take a look at whether Friday the 13th actually is unlucy. After a bit of googling (i will do anything, and I mean anything to avoid studying) I have found that a number of terrible things have taken place on this 'unlucky' day. For example, Hurricane Charley made landfall in Florida on Friday the 13th of August 2004, killing 25 people and causing 7.5 billion dollars in damage behind it.
Similarly, the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 551 crashed on October 13th 1972, killing a quarter of its passangers and leaving survivors stranded 3600 metres above sea level in harsh cold with little or no food.....
Ok so maybe this isnt turning out to be the happiest of entries ..... But there is hope!
According to the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics (which yes, I got from Wikipedia, but shhhhh dont tell the lecturer) less accidents happen on Friday the 13th than any other Friday of the year. Why is this, you ask? Simple really. Due to the fact that its known to be unlucky everyone is extremely conscious of their safety on Friday the 13th, (thank you Clement V and your mass killing of the Knights of the Templar .... google it, or look at 'The DaVinci Code', its too complex to explain here) On this day, people stay in their houses, they drive a little slower, and take an extra look left and right when crossing the road.
So, to all you sufferers friggatris ..... friggatiska..... a fear of Friday the 13th, you can take comfort from the fact that you are more likely to die tragically on every other day of the year than this one ....
Great.
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