Friday the 13th

So which is the worse, the Friday part or the 13 part?


I'm referring to the legend of the unlucky on Friday the 13th. It is an apparently recent superstition, as these things go, having its origins in the 19th century, when somebody linked up unlucky 13 and unfortunate Friday.

Friday is definitely the weaker in terms of negative vibes. This may be that it's worn out, as we have one every week, a Friday that is.

BTW, my dog when I was a little kid was a cocker spaniel named Friday. There is no connection, just sayin'.



So Friday has been negative connotations, e.g. the day of the crucifixtion, the day of the arrest of the Templars, the day of the stock market crash. Friday has a lot of things going for it, too. It's Stop For a Drink After Work Day, Start the Weekend Day, First Day of the Baseball Homestand Day, Day to Call In Sick and Have a Long Weekend Day, Get Out Early and Head for the Lake Day, and some others which I invite you to submit.


Thirteen, on the other hand, has some issues, generally stemming from the fact that 13 isn't 12. Twelve is "completeness": 12 months, 12 hours, 12 Days of Christmas, 12 Signs of the Zodiac, 1212 is when this missive posts each day, 12 apostles and some other 12 stuff that's good and wholesome and remind me, please, of what I've missed.

So, 13 is shunned because it's irregular. Clearly a case of number discrimination. 13 is a prime number, too, always a troublesome thing, and the multiplication tables that kids don't learn anymore stop at 12, so there's another anti 13 bias. Builders often skip numbering the 13th floor, furthering the superstition. The Munsters lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.


The fear of 13 is triskaidekaphobia.

There is one verified Friday the 13th problem. Writing up a bunch of facts, and having no punchline or big finish.

That is all.