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If you have a fear of Friday the 13th it falls only once this year and you are lucky as it was yesterday. But get ready for next year as it will be in three months, February, March and November.
Some people believe that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. Those are the people that usually see the number 13 as an unlucky number.
Many of us have grown up being told that we need to avoid black cats, not walk under ladders and not step on the cracks in a sidewalk.
According to myfox Detroit paraskavedekatriaphobia might trace back to Friday the 13th, 1307 when French King Philip IV rounded up hundreds of monks and tortured them into admitting a variety of heresies.
Some people have such a fear of the day that experts estimate that more than 9% of those in the U.S., which could be 25 million people will change their normal routines to avoid what they see as a possible danger.
These irrational fears do take a financial toll. According to economists this phobia may cost
hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity.
However the Dutch Center for Insurance Statistics recently conducted a study that showed there are fewer accidents and fewer reports of fire and theft when the 13th happens to fall on a Friday than when it falls on other Fridays.
Alex Hoen a statistician
told Verzekerd, an insurance magazine
,"I find it hard to believe that it is because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home, but statistically speaking, driving is a little bit safer on Friday 13th."
Some not so good things did happen on a Friday the 13th,
On July 13,1951 a flood in Kansas killed 24 people, destroyed over 2 million acres and caused $760 million in damage.
On July 13,1987 there was an F4 tornado that ripped through Edmonton, Alberta, that killed 27 people and injured at least 300.
Some other things to think about that involve the number 13,
A traditional hangman's noose has 13 twists of the rope and 13 steps to the gallows.
There are many buildings don't count their 13th floors. You'll see on their elevators that the numbers skip from 12 to 14.
In San Francisco, there isn't a 13th Avenue instead Funston Avenue is between 12th and 14th Avenues.
In Formula 1 racing, there isn't a car with the number 13. The number has been removed after two drivers were killed in crashes, both driving cars numbered 13.
So hopefully as you left your house yesterday you knocked on wood and hoped for the best.
