Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Did any notice what my last post was dated? It was Friday the 13th! What a perfect day to start a blog eh? Anyhow, I'm not the superstitious type and don't believe in such stuff. But, it did make me look into the whole hullabaloo behind Friday the 13th.

It turns out that paraskevidekatriaphobia is the official term for the fear of Friday the 13th. It also turned out to be the longest word I know. There's no scientific backing to the supposed bad luck on the day. However, the omen exists because people fear the day because, simply, they are aware of the bad luck attached to it.

Apparently, the fear originates from two seperate fears., both with biblical roots. One, the fear of Friday and the other the fear of 13. Friday was considered unlucky because apparently Adam and Eve ate the evil apple on a Friday, the Great Flood (Noah's) began on Friday and most importantly, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. 13 is unlucky, because at the Last Supper, Judas (the fellow who betrayed Jesus) was the 13th member to arrive.

A rather scary example of bad luck on the day is that of HMS Friday (a British naval ship). The navy selected the crew on a Friday, launched the ship on a Friday and even selected a man named James Friday as the ship's captain. Then, one Friday morning, the ship set off on its maiden voyage... and disappeared forever. A similar example is the completely true story of the Apollo 13 flight.

Please note that other origins exist, but I'm just lazy to type that all out (Hmm, so nice to have a blog of my own).

Click here for more info from Howstuffworks.com