For centuries, the number 13 has been shrouded in a cloak of superstition, often associated with bad luck, chaos, and the bizarre. When I was single, I never kissed more than 12 girls on a day. Well, actually I seldom kissed one girl on a day, but it wasn't because of the fear of 13. This fear, known as triskaidekaphobia, reaches its peak when the 13th day of a month falls on a Friday. While statistically, it's just another date, history is peppered with events—some devastating, some simply strange—that lend credence to the eerie mystique of the 13th, suggesting that perhaps, just perhaps, this date carries a unique, unsettling energy.
One of the most frequently cited historical events that fuels the superstition of Friday the 13th is the arrest of the Knights Templar. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France, heavily in debt to the powerful military order, ordered the mass arrest of the Templars. Hundreds were seized, tortured, and later executed on trumped-up charges of heresy. This sudden, dramatic downfall of one of the medieval world's most influential groups cemented the day's reputation as a time of betrayal and catastrophe, an association that has haunted calendars ever since.
Fast forward to the modern era, and the 13th has continued to deliver its fair share of shock. The date is forever scarred by the devastating Andes plane crash of October 13, 1972. Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, carrying a rugby team, crashed into the remote, icy mountains. After the initial search was called off, the survivors endured a harrowing 72 days in the extreme cold, eventually being forced to resort to cannibalism to stay alive. It is a terrifying story of human will and desperation, and its connection to the infamous date only amplifies the sense of dread.
The wildness of the date isn't always marked by tragedy; sometimes it's just spectacularly unlucky. The financial world received a nasty shock on Friday, October 13, 1989, when the stock market experienced a sudden "mini-crash." The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by nearly 7% in a day, an event so significant it was dubbed "Black Friday" on Wall Street. The cause was attributed to a failed buyout deal, but for many investors, the timing felt suspiciously aligned with the date's supposed curse, offering a financial twist to the long-standing folklore.
Even the natural world seems to occasionally align with the 13th's reputation for mayhem. In Australia, the disastrous "Black Friday" bushfires of January 13, 1939, remain a stark reminder. After years of drought, extreme heat, and high winds, vast swathes of Victoria were consumed by fire. The fires were one of the worst natural disasters in the state's history, destroying homes, taking lives, and scorching almost two million hectares of land. The sheer scale and devastation occurring on that specific date made the tragedy an indelible part of Australian history.
So, is the 13th truly cursed, or is it merely a powerful psychological amplifier, turning ordinary misfortune into legendary calamity? Perhaps it is a combination of both. While logic dictates that a day on the calendar holds no inherent danger, the compelling string of bizarre, catastrophic, and memorable events that have occurred on the 13th ensures that this date will continue to fascinate, frighten, and fuel our collective superstitions for generations to come.
Aye an' let us not forget that to dis here day some high rise building across dis here country (even being as it is currently) don't 'ave 13th floors, altho its just the 14th floor renamed as, well '14' and not '13.' I have an old, very old friend in Des Moines who lives on the 13th floor in his building. Knowing his penchant for confusion at his age I've inquired of him frequently, if indeed he lives on the 13th floor, and he's answered profanely in the affirmative, his impatience lost at the frequency of it, the tosser!
ReplyDeleteI skipped the 13th grade completely and went straight to the 14th, confusing the authorities.
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