April 13, 2012

Do you have friggatriskaidekaphobia? I don't. 🙂

Have you ever heard of friggatriskaidekaphobia?

I hadn't; until today.

Sounds nasty, doesn't it?

Friggatriskaidekaphobia is the actual fear of Friday the 13th. Or, maybe you just have triskaidekaphobia, which is the fear of the number 13. Nope? Me neither, but I do think it's interesting that such a phobia exists.

It's been reported that many notable figures suffered from triskaidekaphobia. Winston Churchill, J. Paul Getty, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt all experienced the irrational fear of 13.

Supposedly, Napoleon and Christopher Columbus also suffered from the phobia.

This is already the second Friday the 13th that we've had in 2012 and we're going to have one more in just 13 weeks.  I just realized that anytime a month begins on a Sunday, there will be a Friday the 13th in that month. So, July 13th will be the last Friday the 13th for 2012.

Well, that's the trivia for the day. I choose to consider Friday the 13th a lucky day instead of an unlucky one. I don't need to encourage bad luck; I've had my fair share of that lately.

I hope you have a very happy and lucky Friday the 13th! 🙂

~LilSis

February 13, 2009

Do you have paraskevidekatriaphobia? I don't! Sounds like some really scary disease doesn't it?  This is actually what people have who suffer from a fear of Friday the 13th!  Who'da thunk it?

I've always been curious about how this date came to be known as an unlucky day. Snopes has some interesting facts and some amusing superstitions about Fridays and the number 13. Here are a few that I thought were funny!

This quote is from 1846: “A child born on Friday is doomed to misfortune.” That's harsh! (I'm not superstitious, but I hope I wasn't born on a Friday!)

In 1883, this was said: “If you hear anything new on a Friday, it would add another wrinkle to your face and adds a year to your age.” Wow! Don't let anyone tell you anything on Friday!

Oh, you'll like this one, BigSis! I hope you didn't move into your new place on a Friday. In 1982, someone said “Don't move on a Friday, you won't stay there very long.” Note to self: Don't move on a Friday if you want to stay there a while.

I think if you tell yourself that it's an unlucky day, then inevitably, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.  So, tell yourself that it's a lucky day! Or, in my world, I'm just happy that it's Friday! TGIF!

~LilSis