How Stuff Works on Friday the 13th Matt 13 Jan 2006

29 comments Latest by kaLo

How Friday the 13th Works examines the folklore behind today and why it scares people.

29 comments so far (Jump to latest)

Gayle 13 Jan 06

Quote: The number 13 could also have been considered pagan because there are 13 months in the pagan lunar calendar. The lunar calendar also corresponds to the human menstrual cycle, connecting the number to femininity.

Femininity being, of course, EVIL.

Aaaaaaargh.

Ara Pehlivanian 13 Jan 06

I laugh at Friday the 13th. Hah hah!

Rob Wilmshurst 13 Jan 06

Here at work we had four birthdays today. That’s four evil/unlucky people in the same room at the same time.

and nothing happened ;)

Anonymous Coward 13 Jan 06

I laugh at Friday the 13th. Hah hah!…..Ow.

well 13 Jan 06

hey guys, how’s the vaporware coming?

Ara Pehlivanian 13 Jan 06

Anonymous Coward: funny…. ;-)

Eric Anderson 13 Jan 06

I always heard that bad luck was associated with Friday the 13th because that is when the Knights Templar were wiped out by the King of France.

Interesting enough, when I looked for a URL reference for this post I found http://www.ronaldbrucemeyer.com/rants/1013a-almanac.htm which states that this is not the case nor are several other theories (some of which were in the posted article). This article states that prior to the 1800 there is almost no reference to Friday the 13th being unlucky so it must have been something more recent.

Who knows what is true. :)

jacob harvey 13 Jan 06

Yeah my old roommate was born on the 13th, Not of January, but his birthday occasionally falls on a Friday.

I totally agree with the last couple paragraphs about searching out bad luck on those days. I had a terrible morning a couple weeks ago. If it were today I’m sure everyone at work would be pointing it out.

Noah Winecoff 13 Jan 06

Friday the 13th means cheap beer at Bob and Arnie’s. Oklahoma IS good for something.

Simon Warrick 13 Jan 06

I used to run a Friday 13th club. Only men were allowed.

To be a member you had to take a holiday on Friday 13th.

We met at the pub next to my house for a big fry up breakfast, then following a suitable time of rest headed off on a 10 mile walk to another pub (for lunch) across the numerous ancient paths around here (Wiltshire, UK).

Those still able to walk following a big meal and several beers then made the journey back across the fields to the pub we started in. Where more beer was consumed.

Nothing ever went wrong, but sadly we don’t do it anymore as I think we’ve all got too old to do the walk!

Brandon 13 Jan 06

I’m not a supersticious person at all. I don’t believe in luck, superstitions, or predestination. I think there are things in this world we have control over - and we should do what we can to influence them. Then there are things for which we have no control over. There isn’t any sense in worrying or complaining about the things for which we have no control over - it only wastes time.

And the more you believe in that crap the more it enables you to just blame your poor circumstances on something “outside” rather than in yourself, where the blame often lies. I’d rather evaluate a situation and see where I might have made a poor decision, and act accordingly. Often, no one was at fault - it was just an unfortunate situation.

Still, there is no luck, and no reason for superstitions.

Brad the Dad 13 Jan 06

On Good Friday, Jesus held the last supper totalling 13 attendees. This joins the rest of the possible roots in Friday the 13th

Justin 13 Jan 06

Snopes has a much better write up:

http://www.snopes.com/luck/friday13.asp

You’ll see that Friday as a bad luck day only started to be referenced aroudn the 1700s. So much for early Christian and/or pagan roots!

13 does seem to hold though.

Alex Griffioen 13 Jan 06

Nice. Loving the flamez0rz, too.

indi 13 Jan 06

ironically enough, the 13 falls more frequently on a friday than on any other day of the week … well, slightly more frequently :-)

Mr. Vorhees 13 Jan 06

Tsch tsch tsch.

Tim Almond 14 Jan 06

Simon,

Is that the True Heart or the Royal Oak?

PS I can tell you more about a few organic producers nearby if you contact me.

Simon Warrick 14 Jan 06

Small world Tim - I live next to the True Heart. You must have followed my link…

I’ll drop you a line off line from here…

ak 14 Jan 06

It’s all cultural - in Latin culture, it’s martes 13 (Tuesday the 13th) that carries the same connotations as Friday the 13th in Western culture. So the number’s bad, just must be that Tuesdays suck in Latin America and Spain!

Simon 17 Jan 06

I had a rubbish meeting last Friday which lasted for two depressing hours. I think there’s something in it after all… or it could have been the single magpie jumping around in the car park that morning…

Jason fan 19 Jun 06

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Jason fan 19 Jun 06

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Jason fan 19 Jun 06

I think that Jason Voorhees is the GREATEST horror movie carachter ever!!!!!!! And Freddy whatever-the-hell-his-name-is can burn in the firey depths of hell….. Jason Voorhees rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason fan 19 Jun 06

I think that Jason Voorhees is the GREATEST horror movie carachter ever!!!!!!! And Freddy whatever-the-hell-his-name-is can burn in the firey depths of hell….. Jason Voorhees rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason fan 19 Jun 06

I think that Jason Voorhees is the GREATEST horror movie carachter ever!!!!!!! And Freddy whatever-the-heck-his-name-is can burn in the firey depths of hell….. Jason Voorhees rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason fan 19 Jun 06

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kaLo 29 Jun 06

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