It’s Friday the 13th … again: triple the trouble, doubled this year

Written by Cindy Nevitt Friday, April 13, 2012 01:30 am

This is a big year for Friday the 13th. There is always at least one Friday the 13th in a year; there are three of them in 2012. Today is the second Friday the 13th of this year. The first one was on Jan. 13. The next one is July 13.

So we’ve got triple the trouble this year. More, if you count the number of weeks between Jan. 13 and April 13, and from April 13 to July 13. That’s right: There are 13 weeks between Friday the 13ths.

Is it a big deal, or a bunch of big hype?

For the 20 million Americans who fear the date, it’s a big deal. Apparently, among those 20 million are construction workers, ship builders and airport designers, who leave out the 13th floor in buildings, the 13th deck on ships and the 13th gate at airports. Either they buy the bad luck vibe associated with the number, or they can’t count from 12 to 14.

The superstition that Friday the 13th is unlucky dates back to the Crucifixion: Christ died on a Friday following the Last Supper, which was attended by 13 men. Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, is often referred to as the 13th guest at that supper.

According to timeanddate.com, many other unlucky Biblical occurrences occurred on Friday the 13th, including: the Great Flood, which only Noah’s Ark survived; Eve tempting Adam with the apple in the Garden of Eden; and the chaos caused by the speaking of many different languages – probably 13 – at the Tower of Babel.

Friday the 13th may be good for movie plotlines, but it’s bad for the economy. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, N.C., reports that $800 million is lost on every Friday the 13th as risk-averse people refuse to travel or conduct commerce on that date.

In 1907, Boston stockholder Thomas Lawson published “Friday the Thirteenth,” a book about one man’s attempt to crash the stock market on the unluckiest day of the year. Lawson’s book sold 28,000 copies and was made into a silent film in 1916 – not so unlucky for him.

In a case of life imitating art, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 7 percent on Friday, Oct. 13, 1989. At the time, it was the second largest decline in Dow history. Today, that 190-point drop doesn’t even make the stock market’s Top 10.

All over the world, children born on Friday the 13th are considered cursed for life. In Brazil, those born on Friday the 13th in August are considered the unluckiest. I’m not implying anything here when I state that my father-in-law was born on a Friday the 13th in the month of August, mostly because he was born in North America and not South America.

As someone who was born on the 13th – on a Saturday – I’ve never bought into the hoo-hah associated with the number. One of my favorite ages was 13, though it was so long ago, I can’t remember why. When I lived at 13th Street and Haven Avenue, my street address began with the number 13. Worse, in one of my superstitious brothers’ opinions, was the fact that my first mortgage on that property was $666 a month, which he firmly believed to be the sign of devil.

The unluckiest thing to happen to me at that address was Hurricane Gloria in 1985, which left 18 inches of flood water in my newly purchased and painted condo. That, and the racket from seagulls that descended like the flying rodents they are to feast on the spoils the old Mac’s Donuts used to toss out the back door before sunrise.

My next Friday the 13th birthday will occur next year, when two Friday the 13ths appear in 2013: one in September and one in December. And just like this year, the dates will be 13 weeks apart.

Perhaps I’ll commemorate the occasion with a baker’s dozen (13) of something yummy.

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