The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-16
FRIDAY THE LuckIEsr DAY.

painstaking and laborious statistlcian. is
not the unluckiest but actually the luck
lest day of the week
Taking all the great calamities which
! befall humanity. the painstaking gathere-
OF facts has discovered that the general
average gives the title of -'luckiest day
To Friday and that OF unlackiest day TO
Monday.
The moral is plain. Beware OF Monday.
In one line alone il has been found that
Friday deserves its present title. In rail
road accidents Friday heads the list. So
i Is wise, L you be superstitious. to avoid
beginning journey on Friday
The thirteen superstition was knock
cd IN the head long ago. and it was to be
supposed that an iconoclastc age would
take punch at the Friday dread be-
fore long.
Sir William Churchill was one OF the
first to discard the superstition.
Friday is my luczy day. he wrote Il
was born, chriStened. married and knight
ed on that day, and all my best accidents
have befallen me on a Friday
1t has not been necessary for a person
to admit being superstitious TO acknowI-
edge a preference for beginning certain
things on any other day than Friday.
This feeling is Unborn in nearly all nation
alities except the Scandinavian
Sir Williom Churchills experiences
general rule against Friday undertakings.
but the conclusions OF the statistician
may have more weight
First he takes the record of ASA sSina-
tions. In these he discovers that Sunday
is pre-eminenuy the conspicuous day.
Wednesday comes next, counting at
tempts which did not succeed as well as
attempts which did. Saturday is third.
and Monday fourth. Tuesday, Thursday
md rid
There is a possibility that the person
having in mind such an attack chooses
any other day than Friday in the belief
that the day Will prove unlucky for him.
An examination of the records Of such
attacks in the last 80 years has disclosed
the fact that the wouId-be murderer looks
on Friday as an unlucky day for his at
tempt. That might be construed to prove
either side of the argument, but il is fair
TO accept the statistician's conclusion in
Friday as the lucky day.
As a side issue he has discovered some
thing which might be used TO bolster IN
the thirteen superstition" OF all the
assassinationS, attempted or accomplish
ed, during the last century and a half.
8 1-3 per cent have fallen on the 18th of
the month. \ proper proportion would
have been about 1-3 per cent.
Three famous men. among others. he
finds were assassinated on Friday-Abra-
ham Lincoln. William Mckinley, and
Nasr-ed- Deem, Shah OF Persia. Three at
tempts were made 70 kill Alexander II,
of Russia, on Mondays. two TO kill Bis
marck on Mondays and three to kill Louis
PHILIPPE on Tuesdays.
The sailor has right TO consider Fri
day his luckiest day if exemption from
ship-wTeck be considered. II has been
a pet superstition of the sea that Friday
is the unlucky day for sailing. This is
found to be extraordinary, as the number
of shipwrecks occurring on that day of
the week is the smallest.
To secure this conclusion the statistician
examined the records Of the disasters to
British vessels from 1885 TO the present
day. He found that "a per cent happened
on Thursday 16 per cent on Saturday
and Sunday, IA per cent on Monday and
Wednesday, y per cent on Tuesday. and
only per cent on Friday.
BY examining the reports of railroad
disasters from 1898 up to date it was dis
covered that the nervous person who
fears to begin a journey on Friday can
point to some substantiatiOn for the
fears. It wasfn this item alone that the
day kept up its reputation.
Wednesday is the best day 70 begin a
journey Saturday. Sunday. and Monday
are close rivals to Friday. while Tuesday.
Thursday and Wednesday have small rec
ords.
The greatest danger from fire has been
on Monday. Wednesday and Saturday
are next, and Thursday shows the small
est fire loss. Sunday, Tuesday and Fri
day are about on equal footing. Friday
having a shade the worst of it. A sum
mary shows the following:
The worst day for murders-Sunday.
The worst day for fires-Monday.
The worst day for shipwrecks-Thurs-
day.
The worst day for railroad wrecks-Fri-
day.
The worst day for Enthusiastically.
His conclusions, as stated by himself,
are as follows:
BY taking an average Of these results
we find that Tuesday is the luckiest day.
with Friday close behind; Wednesday and
Thursday run a dead head for the third
position: Sunday comes In easily NTH
Monday some distance behind. and Sat
urday last. But if the percentages OBJ
tanned from the actual figures used In
preparing the dia grams. we find that 10 %
per cent of the disasters took place on a
Friday 10 5-G per cent on a Tuesday, Il -
per cent on a Thursday, 49, per cent on
a Wednesday. 161z per cent on both Satur-
day and Sunday. and Is % per cent on
Monday.
1T IS recorded that this favors the
theory that Columbus started on his Voy-
age Of discovery on n Friday. first sight
ed land on a Friday; started on HIS return
journey on Friday, and arrived at Palos
on a Friday; ne reached Hispaniola IN his
second expedition on a Friday. and dis
covered the continent Of America on
Friday. Bunker Hill was fought on
Friday, the motion made by John Adams
that the United States are and ought 70
be independent was made ou O. Friday.
Saratoga was surrendered on q Friday.
the treason OF Arnold exposed on a Fri
day and the collier Merrirnac was sunk
in Santiago harh0r - Lieutenant Hobson
on a Friday Chicago Tribune.