SUPERSTITIONS

THE NUMBER 13

      It is bad luck to fall out of a thirteenth story window on Friday. 
                                   ~ American Proverb ~

Why is number 13 considered unlucky?  There are two popular explanations:

 1.     Norse mythology suggests that 13 became unlucky when the evil God, Loki, showed up – uninvited - to a party with 12 gods.  Trouble ensued, which resulted in the death of the God of goodness, Balder. 

2.  Many people also believe the number to be unlucky because there were 13 people at the Last Supper.  One of those 13 people being Judas, whose betrayal of Jesus, led to his crucifixion.

Superstitious fear of this number is perpetuated in popular culture by movies such as Friday the 13th and The Thirteen Floor.  But it doesn't just happen in the alternate reality of the movies, it happens in the real world too.  Some hotels and buildings don't acknowledge that they have a 13th floor and many airlines skip the 13th row on their planes.

The following quotes from spokespeople at Continental Airlines and AirTran, taken from the USAToday.com article, Check your travel superstitions, or carry them on?, refer to this phenomena.

"Apparently someone a long time ago (we don't know when) thought we shouldn't have a row 13," says Martin DeLeon, a spokesperson for Continental Airlines.  "We have let the row numbering system persist, especially since we don't want to go through the expense of renumbering rows on about 600 aircraft."

"Most people wouldn't want to sit there," says Judy Graham-Weaver, a spokesperson for AirTran.  "Whether we believe in the superstition or not if it's the perception of the community we need to go by that."

Apollo 13

Have you ever heard the phrase "Houston, we have a problem"?  it comes from the Apollo 13 mission.  When an explosion shut-down electricity and oxygen, Commander James Lovell radioed in the message, "Houston, we've had a problem".  It's commonly misquoted, but it doesn't change the fact that this mission was doomed.  Thankfully, the crew was able to return to Earth safely.  In 1995, Ron Howard directed the film, Apollo 13, starring Tom Hanks as Commander Lovell.

Fear of this number is so debilitating to some people, that it has actually become a medically recognized anxiety disorder.

                According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:       

                                           Triskaidekaphobia
                                        is the abnormal fear of the number 13.

Friday the 13th

Talk about the perfect storm...  As far as days of the week go, Friday is commonly considered the unluckiest.  It was on this day that Eve purportedly offered Adam the forbidden apple.  Jesus was crucified on a Friday.  And as a legend has it, Friday is the day of the week that witches traditionally meet with the Devil.  Combine that with the already forbidding number 13 and you have a recipe for disaster!

But a number can't be unlucky.  Or can it?  Jack the Ripper, Theodore Bundy, Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer all have 13 letters in their name.  Coincidence or not, you be the judge...

Lucky 13?

Believe it or not, some folks find the number 13 lucky.  One of the most well-known of these people is former Miami Dolphins quarterback, Dan Marino.  He has worn the number 13 since he was a small child.  According to an article in Sports Illustrated for Kids, Dan's father, who was his Little League coach, insisted that he wear the number 13 jersey because he couldn't get any of the other children to do it.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  He wore the number 13 during his college football days and while he was playing for the Miami Dolphins.