Friday the 13th

I just noticed from my calendar that today is actually Friday 13th, the dreaded bad-luck day. 8O Cue eerie music.

I have always wondered who created this superstition about Friday 13th associated with evil and bad luck so I went to do a little digging on the Net.

Apparently, according to Wikipedia, Friday 13th is not necessarily connected to 'bad' luck but to both good and bad. There is no real proof or evidence that the 13th-dated Friday brings about catastrophe and accidents, and this phenomenon was actually spread through folklore and stories than written physical documents. To quote Wikipedia, The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in an 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini:

[Rossini] was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; and if it be true that, like so many other Italians, he regarded Friday as an unlucky day, and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that on Friday, the 13th of November, he died.

You see, some cultures perceive 13 as a bad luck number and some view Friday as a bad luck day, so add the two together and you have double the amount of bad luck should you venture out on this ill-fated day. Thus the existence of Friday the 13th. I wonder if there's a bad luck month and year as well. Imagine the horror. :twisted:

Wikipedia even quoted a few research on accidents occurring on the day...with conflicting results. You can read more on the subject matter here.

Personally, I believe that bad luck will happen to me, if it's fated to happen, regardless what day or date it is so it's no point for me to hide myself under my bed for the entire day. But.....be careful anyway if you're going out. ;)