Friday the 13th, considered as one of the unluckiest days of the year is again. This is the second time that this fearsome event has struck this year. The first was in January.

If you are worried about what will happen this time, guess what? You are not the only one. Some psychologists have even come up with a word — paraskavedekatriaphobia, or fear of Friday 13th.

One of the opinions is to stay in bed all the time during that day. This is to avoid any potential bad luck that may come your way. Alternatively, you can also ignore the superstitious chatter and embrace it.

So let’s take your mind off panic…we are going to present you some fun facts about how to take advantage of that unlucky day.

Why is this particular day unlucky?

Why people choose this day, in particular, to fear for their lives?

Biblical origins:

• The superstition is thought to have come during the Middle Ages, and may also have biblical origins;
• According to the claiming of some historians, this was the day on which Eve bit the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. It was also the day when the great flood begin;
• There were 13 people in the New Testament who were present for the last supper of Jesus on Maundy Thursday, the day before the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday.

From the Knights Templar to Dan Brown:

• On October 13th, Friday, 1307 Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar;
• In his novel named “Da Vinci Code,” Dan Brown cites the 14th-century execution of Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay. This took place on Friday the 13th. He also cursed the Pope and the King of France. It was actually the thing that spread misfortune down the ages;
• Another possible thing is that the publication in 1907 of Thomas W. Lawson’s popular novel “Friday, the Thirteenth” played a part in disseminating the superstition. In this novel, a stockbroker takes advantage of the superstition, in order to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th.

Here are some bad things that happened on Friday the 13^th:

• New Yorker Daz Baxter, in 1976, was apparently so afraid of this day that he decided the safest place to stay was his bed. His apartment block collapsed on the same day;
• In 2009, the £13.5 million SAW ride at Thorpe Park had its opening premiere. It was shut down only because of computer programming fault. Funny, right?
• In 2010, lightning struck a 13-year-old Suffolk boy on this date, at 13:13. It was definitely unlucky for him;
• In the period of the early 90’s, a retired bus conductor named Bob Renphrey also vowed to stay in his bed on this superstitious day. This Welshman has crushed four cars, fallen into a river and he has also been made redundant on previous Fridays with the same date.

Friday the 13^th events during the history:

• In September, on Friday the 13th, 1940, the Buckingham Palace was hit by five German bombs. The chapel of the palace was destroyed;
• In October, on Friday the 13th, 1972, a Chilean Airforce plane has disappeared in the Andes. Sixteen passengers showed up two months later. They were forced to eat dead passengers in order to survive;
• In September, on Friday the 13th, 1996, the rapper Tupac Shakur pass away six days after he had been shot several times;
• In January, on Friday the 13th, 2012, the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground of the western coast of Italy;
• On the evening of Friday the 13th, November 2015… Paris …

A game with numbers:

• For many years, the number 13 has been considered unlucky. Even before Christ (and his 12 apostles). The number 12 is historically considered as the number of completeness. But its older cousin, which is the number 13, has always been seen as an outlier;
• There are 12 months of the year, 12 Gods of Olympus, 12 hours of the clock, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles of Jesus, as well as 12 Descendants of Muhammad Imams, among many of the incidences of the pattern seen historically;
• In a lot of Western countries, some tall buildings do not have the 13^th floor;
• Houses, often don’t have the number 13. Many hotels that include the Carlton in London, also miss out the 13^th floor.

Why Friday the 13^th creates bargains — and how to take advantage of it?

It seems like no one wants to get married on Friday the 13^th — so that’s cheaper. Here are some bargains for you:

Flying on Friday 13^th

The cost of air travel does indeed fall on the spooky date which comes round once or twice in the year — with the savings attributed to a collective fear of flying on the so-called “unluckiest day of the year”.

Buying or selling a home

The Number of property transactions declines on Friday the 13^th. One research made by FindaProperty.com found that between 2005 and 2012, there were around 43% fewer transactions on Friday the13th compared to some other Fridays in the month.

The worst day was on May 13^th in 2011, when there were around 51% fewer transactions.

Property bargains are also more likely to relate to houses or flats that are numbered with 13. Houses with the number 13 are not that common. The property website Zoopla has found only 28% of streets who have that number.

Weddings

Booking a wedding on this date could clip significant amounts of the average cost.

For those who are not concerned about chandeliers crashing down or the chance of a jilting, some wedding venues offer the couples 13% discount if they get married on this date.

Is this date also bad for business?

Lauren Davidson explains that in October, 1989 on this same date, the day which is now often referred to as Black Friday the failed $6.75 billion buyout deal for United Airlines’ parent company sent global markets plunging, knocking for about 7% and 6% respectively of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, which have also reached record highs just days earlier. Is this a coincidence, or just something else at play?

Is this day really that bad?

It may be the day of which everyone fears, but what about the good things that have happened on this day? Here are some of them:

• First nudist colony founded in the UK: When the North Devon Club in Metherell opened on Friday 13 June in 1930, Britons were allowed to let it all hang out.
• Hollywood also arrived: The Hollywood sign that originally reads Hollywoodland was actually unveiled on Friday the 13^th, in July 1923. The sign was actually built to advertise a housing development, but since then it has become one of the world’s biggest tourist attraction.

Inspired by: Telegraph

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