Friggatriskaidekaphobia
By: Nate Potter
Updated: January 13, 2012
If you're superstitious, you're probably extra jittery, because it's Friday the 13th. Well, this year you'd better get used to it.
Friggatriskaidekaphobia: That's the fear of Friday the 13th. Frigg was the norse goddess for whom friday is named. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13.
In 2012, we'll see three Friday the 13ths, the most possible in a calendar year. And they are all 13 weeks apart: January 13th, April 13th and July 13th.
"The superstition about friday being an unlucky day is quite old and has been around for a long time," says Connecticut College Psychology Profesor Stuart Vyse. "Somewhere in the 19th Century, 13 got associated with Friday, and you got a double whammy of bad luck."
Thirteen first got its bad rap around 1500 bc. According to norse mythology, 12 gods gathered for a dinner. When the god of mischief, loki crashed the party - making himself the 13th guest - all hell broke loose and the benevolent god baldur ended up dead.
In Da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper", Jesus and his 12 apostles gathered at a table set for 13. According to scripture, Judas Iscariot betrayed jesus, leading to Christ's arrest and eventual crucifixion, which took place on a Friday.
The superstition is all around us. Elevators rarely stop at the 13th floor. Most airport terminals skip gate 13 altogether.
One thing is for sure. Friday the 13th always shows up at the movie theater.
While this day can be a horror to some, others embrace it. Country Music Superstar Taylor Swift is a big fan of the number 13.
"I put it on my hand every single night," Swift told Lesley Stahl in a 60 Minutes interview. She was referring the the number 13. She draws it on her hand, in sharpie and glitter.
"It's good luck," said Swift, calling it her "lucky number". "It's come up so many times in my life. I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th, and my 1st album went Platinum in, like, 13 months."
Or you could just ask Lee Ann and Bob Emanuel.
They've found luck on the the unlucky day.
"I was born on Friday, Janaury 13, 1950," said Lee Ann. "Then we got engaged on Friday, June 13, 1975, and we got married on February 13, 1976."
The day is so special to them that they keep a diary of every Friday the 13th that they've spent together.
For most Friday the 13th is just another day. For others it's a day to dread.
