It's that day of the month again when certain paranoid people start looking over their shoulders from time to time to make sure everything's alright... It's 13th April today & here I am with a new post on the irrational & exaggerated fear of the number "13"- also scientifically known as Triskaidekaphobia. A specific fear of Friday the 13th is called Paraskavedekatriaphobia or Friggatriskaidekaphobia (he he... quite a mouthful and tongue-twisters , aren't they?)
A well known fact is that many people are superstitious when it comes to the number 13 (often termed as "unlucky thirteen"); the 13th of every month is such a dreaded day for some that they actually call in sick to work rather than take a chance with bad luck. More prevalent in Western culture, the fear of number 13 has caught on in other countries of the world as well with movies like Friday The 13th revolving around the phenomenon popularising the issue.
Though historically speaking, people have been scared of "13" for a long time now. There have been all sorts of rumours and stories about it's origin. One such populist view is that it owes its emergence to Christianity, wherein there were supposed to be 13 guests at "The Last Supper" with Judas being the 13th person there. Moreover, many people believe that Adam & Eve were expelled from Eden on the 13th day since life as we know it began on this planet.
This number has such a hold on people from the US & Europe that a lot of companies have to take this factor into account while designing their strategies. Skyscrapers in a lot of countries have no 13th floor, Hotels sometimes don't have a room numbered 13, Flights of many airlines skip seat no. 13 & jump directly from 12 to 14 etc. Many people do not fly on the 13th, irrespective of the fact if it's a Friday or not, and people feel that weddings, the start of vacations, and major purchases should not be done on the 13th day of any month.
A study has proclaimed that every year companies in the US lose about $800 to $ 900 million due to people avoiding any business transactions on the 13th of the month. An interesting bit of information I came across while surfing the net was that Brussels Airlines had to change its logo after superstitious passengers complained quite strongly about the 13 dots that were used to create the letter "B" in their logo. They actually changed the logo & it now has 14 dots.
Well, talking about myself, I really don't know or can't say if I have Triskaidekaphobia or not. I personally enjoy the unknown of what could possible go wrong on the 13th of any month more than I fear it. Other than some minor incidents in my life, they have proven for the most part harmless. What about you people? Would love to hear your experiences about Friday the 13th or any incident related to the number "13" that may occurred sometime in your life?
PS: I leave you with these interesting tid-bits I came across about the number 13 ...
1) John Mayer had 14 tracks on his album Room for Squares, although the 13th is 0.2 seconds of silence and is not listed on the album cover.
2) Infamous serial killers Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Theodore Bundy all have 13 letters in their names.
3) In Formula 1 racing, there is no car with the number 13. The number has been removed after 2 drivers were killed in crashes - both driving cars numbered 13.
4) You may remember the disaster that befell NASA’s space shuttle, Apollo 13. An explosion in the fuel cells of the service module severely crippled the spacecraft. Did you know that Apollo 13 left our planet on the 13th hour?
5) Numerologists consider the number 12 as being a complete number, as there are 2 cycles of 12 hours in a day, 12 months in a year, 12 signs of both the eastern and western zodiacs etc. To exceed this number by one is to go beyond completeness and perfection.
