Today is Friday The 13th!!

I LOVE this creepy day but supposedly some people have a paralyzing fear of it, to each his own. I mean lots of buildings don't have a 13th floor in this country (which is dumb because if there are 13+ floors there is a damn 13th floor wether it's called that or not!). Information is plentiful, diverse and ALL OVER THE PLACE about the origins of this day. Most agree it is an ancient mix of the most unlucky number (13) and unlucky day (Friday). There is one in March too, what a year! I can't remember correctly but you aren't supposed to break a mirror, walk under a ladder, open an umbrella indoors or pass a black cat on Friday the 13th, does anyone know what other things you shouldn't do on this ominous day?

Here is What National Geographic Says about it:

Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History
John Roach
for National Geographic News


This Friday some people will be so paralyzed with fear they simply won't get out of bed. Others will steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. It's Friday the 13th, and they're freaked out.

"It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.

Among other services, Dossey's organization counsels clients on how to overcome fear of Friday the 13th, a phobia that he estimates afflicts 17 to 21 million people in the United States.

Symptoms range from mild anxiety to full-blown panic attacks. The latter may cause people to reshuffle schedules or miss an entire day's work.

When it comes to bad luck of any kind, Richard Wiseman—a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, England—found that people who consider themselves unlucky are more likely to believe in superstitions associated with bad luck.

"Their beliefs and behavior are likely to be part of a much bigger worldview," he said. "They will believe that luck is a magical force and that it can ruin their lives."

Wiseman found that one quarter of the 2,068 people questioned in a 2003 survey associate the number 13 with bad luck. People with such feelings, he found, are more likely to be anxious on days like Friday the 13th and thus more prone to have accidents. In other words, being afraid of Friday the 13th could be their undoing.

Ominous Number

So how did Friday the 13th become such an unlucky day?

Dossey, also a folklore historian and author of Holiday Folklore, Phobias and Fun, said fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities ultimately combined to make one super unlucky day.

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