13

[[File:13 white, red rounded rectangle.svg|right|thumb|165px|Nothing to be scared of.]]
{{Folklore}}
'''13''' is, depending on your culture, either a terribly "[[luck|unlucky]]" and ominous number or a happily lucky good-tidings number. As a result, there are many [[superstition]]s about it. There's even a word for the fear of 13: ''Triskaidekaphobia''. Try saying that thirteen times in a row (or, well, even once).

==Origin==
The origin of the superstition is unknown. Thirteen is an unlucky number in some but not all systems of [[numerology]] and number woo.<ref>[http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th_2.htm Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky]</ref>

[[Tradition]] holds that [[Judas Iscariot]] was the thirteenth person to sit down at the [[Last Supper]] ([[Jesus|Jesus Christ]] and his twelve disciples), after which Jesus would be betrayed. [[Norse mythology#Loki|Loki]] was the thirteenth Norse god at the feast where he killed Baldr. The reasons why these (un)worthies were symbolically placed thirteenth, though, is lost in the mists of time.

==Impacts of triskaidekaphobia==
*
The unpopularity of 13 goes back a long way: the {{wpl|Code of Hammurabi||,}} the earliest known code of laws, has no thirteenth law but goes up to 65.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/ham/ham05.htm Laws 1-65 of the Code].</ref>
 Hammurabi's triskaidekaphobia is a myth! The laws were not numerated, and you can easily verify that the versions perpetuating the myth have a law missing; e.g. Compare the scared-texts.com text with that at [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Code_of_Hammurabi_(Harper_translation) Wikisource]).
*In nineteenth-century Europe, it was commonly believed to be very bad luck to have a dinner party or other occasion with exactly thirteen people.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=MXc0AQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA185&ots=rN4Ce6WLpr&dq=dinner%20party%20for%2013%20unlucky%20europe&pg=PA185#v=onepage&q=dinner%20party%20for%2013%20unlucky%20europe&f=false Scared Stiff: Everything You Need to Know About 50 Famous Phobias]</ref> Even FDR was afraid to have such a party.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-franklin-ruehl-phd/friday-the-13th-facts_b_1198259.html 13 Intriguing Friday the 13th Factoids!]</ref>
*[[#Friday the 13th|Friday the 13th]]
*There are buildings that don't have a designated thirteenth floor (floor numbers jump from 12 to 14).
*In [[Ireland]], the Government felt obliged to alter car registration numbers in anticipation of faltering sales in 2013.<ref>[http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/unlucky-for-some-217929.html Unlucky for some?]</ref>

==Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>==
'''Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>''' is considered an unlucky day (but as is common with [[superstition]]s, there are also some who consider the day [[luck]]y).<ref>http://gypsymagicspells.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/lucky-friday-13th.html#Label1</ref> Furthermore, it is commonly held to be 
a lucrative series of increasingly shite films
 ''the'' most unlucky date. The particular badness of Friday the 13<sup>th</sup> is attributed to 13 people believed to be present at the [[Last Supper]] and the day of Jesus' [[crucifixion]] (a Friday, according to the [[gospels]]).

While there is no evidence that bad things happen more often on the date, people who buy into the superstition may [[Nocebo effect|experience "bad luck" due to their fears affecting them]],<ref group=note>See also our article on [[self-fulfilling prophecy]].</ref> or they may feel they've experienced more bad luck on that day due to [[confirmation bias]].

A person who is afraid of the date suffers from "friggatriskaidekaphobia" (from the Greek word for "thirteen" and "Frigga's Day", Frigga being a Scandanavian goddess worshipped on the sixth day of the week).<ref>[http://www.skepdic.com/friggatriskaidekaphobia.html friggatriskaidekaphobia], [[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]</ref> Another term, "paraskavedekatriaphobia", was coined by Dr. Donald Dossey, who claimed that if you could pronounce the word, you would be cured of the irrational fear.<ref>[http://www.skepdic.com/paraskevidekatriaphobia.html paraskevidekatriaphobia], [[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]</ref> And possibly have a sprained tongue. Yes, it's a fear so nice, they named it twice.

It is also the title of a horror movie franchise, starring a whacked-out guy in a 70s goalie mask running around killing everyone.

===Origins===
There is no written evidence for a Friday the 13<sup>th</sup> superstition before the 18<sup>th</sup> century, so the origins are disputable. [[Woo]]meisters, believing that [[Appeal to tradition|age equates to validity]], have traced the superstition's origins via [[Oral sex|oral]] {{wpl|Oral tradition|tradition}} to, amongst other things, [[Norse mythology]].

A modern reinforcement of the superstition is from three fiction writers that trumpeted the fact that the [[Knights Templar]] were rounded up, prior to persecution, [[torture]], and execution, on Friday, October 13, 1307. This, of course, was jumped upon by [[Dan Brown]] in his "arse gravy"<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A15891122 description by Steven Fry on QI]</ref> novel, ''The Da Vinci Code''. The other two works of fiction were ''Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of [[Freemasonry]]'' by John J. Robinson and ''The Accursed Kings'' (''Les Rois Maudits'') series by Maurice Druon.

Whichever, it's still [[bullshit|bollocks]].

==See also==
*[[Leap year#Superstition|Superstitions around February 29th]]

===People who hate 13===
*Triskaidekaphobics

===People who like 13===
*Superstitious [[Italy|Italians]]
*[[2012 apocalypse#The Mayan calendars|Mayans]]
*[[Wicca]]ns
*The Skaven
*People born on the 13<sup>th</sup>
*{{wpl|The 13th Floor Elevators}}

==External links==
*[http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2015/feb/13/friday-13th-unlucky-why-science-psychology Friday the 13th: why is it ‘unlucky’?]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Numbers]]
[[Category:Woo]]
[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:Superstition]]

Categories: Numbers, Woo, Folklore, Superstition