Friday the 13th means nothing, or does it?

[Angel Tarragon]

If you're reading this you may want to put it down, crawl back into bed, pull the covers over your head and stay there until Saturday.

By now, you've probably figured out it's Friday the 13th, and anything bad that can happen is sure to happen today.

For instance, you could step off the curb and realize a black cat just crossed your path, or you could look up and realize you inadvertently walked beneath a ladder, or you could accidentally open an umbrella indoors.

The potential is frightening.

If you're superstitious, there's not much you can do about it now.

If you're not superstitious, however, you have nothing to worry about. This is just another day with all the potential of any other day, and like any other day, it could be the best day of your life (if you're an optimist) or it could be the worst day of your life (if you're a pessimist) or it could just be another meaningless, pointless day of random existence (if you're a nihilist).

Me? I'm not superstitious. I've always believed that if you don't believe in a superstition, it has no power over you...

Um, wait a minute. I've just realized that logic in itself may be superstitious.

What if there is something to this whole unlucky 13 thing, anyway?

After all, many tall buildings don't put in a 13th floor; they go straight from the 12th floor to the 14th, and many cities don't have a 13th Street.

Self doubt in the nonsuperstitious mind can be a superstitiously scary thing.

Maybe I should perform an anti-superstitious ritual to mitigate any effects of surreptitiously believing in superstition.

I could do something like repeating "I do not believe in superstitions" three times while opening and closing an umbrella indoors, or I could try walking backward underneath a ladder, or I could spit on a black cat.

Doing such superstitiously reckless activities would certainly prove I don't believe in superstitions, but if my belief is wrong, I could be unleashing all kind of havoc into my life.

Better to just play it safe.

Since staying in bed all day isn't an option for me today, I'm just not going to take any chances.

First off, I'm not going to make any major life decisions today, and I'm going to do as few potentially dangerous things as possible.

Maybe you should do the same.

Meanwhile, I'm going to continue to tell myself I don't believe in superstitions and maybe that will ward off any ill effects.

Usually, I'm happy to proclaim TGIF, but this week, I'll have to settle for TGIS.

 

[jonesy]

After all, many tall buildings don't put in a 13th floor; they go straight from the 12th floor to the 14th, and many cities don't have a 13th Street.

In the US of A maybe. Here the mere suggestion of something like that would receive very strange looks indeed. Friday the 13th is just another day.

 

[Xath]

So the wierd thing is, when I first tried to open this page, nothing appeared below the title...

I had to refresh to see the posts.

 

[Henry]

It means that at least one channel somewhere on TV is going to SUCK with 14 billion "Friday the 13th" reruns.

 

[Richards]

I was born on a Friday the 13th.

Johnathan

 

[Vamprey]

I was born on a Friday the 13th.

Johnathan

As was I. At noon no less, dead smack in the middle

 

[Hand of Evil]

It's FRYDAY! If is was MOANDAY the 13th I would be depressed.

 

[KidCthulhu]

Hey, my train broke down on the way to work this morning. Doesn't that count for anything?

 

[griff_goodbeard]

It's FRYDAY! If is was MOANDAY the 13th I would be depressed.

Seconded!

 

[Angcuru]

Friday the 13th is the day that Kind Philip le Belle of France ordered the imprisoment (and in many cases, the subsequent execution) of every member of the Knights Templar on fabricated charges of blasphemy, heresy, etc. He was indebted to them, and in order the avoid the debt he simply got rid of them. As the Knights Templar were revered as devout defenders of the faith, and the populace is gullible, this was seen as an evil omen, and from then on the day was considered cursed.

To this day, people associate Friday the 13th with bad luck and general unlucky happenings. When bad things do happen on this day, they immediately associate the occurance with this common superstition, lending popular credibility to it. As many people have a great fear of the day, they become anxious/nervous when it arrives, increasing the likelyhood that an unfortunate happenstance will occur. This sudden and dramatic increase in negative thoughts and emotions is often somatisized, resulting in slight illness. When it does, it is of course blamed on Friday the 13th.

Studies back up the common idea that accidents are more common on Friday the 13th. This is to be expected. If everyone has hightened anxiety on a particular day, that day will experience more automobile accidents, trippings into mud puddles, etc.

It's a myth based upon a historical event. Nothing more, nothing less.