Bad Luck of Friday the 13^th May Be In Your Head
 

Every year has one to three Friday the 13ths. Friday, May 13, 2005, is the only Friday the 13th this year. Fear of the number 13 is known as triskaidekaphobia.

It’s estimated that somewhere between $800 million and $900 million is lost on any given Friday the 13th, because people are afraid to fly and do business like they do normally, according to Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, United States.

People who are afraid of Friday the 13th are possibly people who consider themselves to be unlucky in the first place and they are probably superstitious, said Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire. In a survey of 2,068 people, Wiseman found that one-quarter of respondents believed that the number 13 was bad luck. He also found that the people who believed in this bad luck tend to be more anxious on Friday the 13th and so it may be their own expectations and anxiety that bring on the “bad luck.”

Here are a few facts about the history of the idea that the number 13 is unlucky:

•  There was a Norse myth about 12 gods in heaven having a dinner party. A 13th guest walked in, the god Loki, and shot the god of joy, Balder. When Balder died the whole world became dark.

•  Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest at The Last Supper.

•  Witches in ancient Rome supposedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th attendee was the devil.

•  More than 80 percent of high rises lack a 13th floor.
 
•  Most airports skip a 13th gate.

•  Hotels and hospitals often do not have rooms numbered 13.

As for the Friday part of the bad luck, it seems that this belief rose from the idea that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, that Eve tempted Adam on a Friday and that Abel was slain by Cain on Friday.

— Adapted from National Geographic