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You wouldn't think that people would let superstition put them off moving to 13 Smith Terrace, or even 666 Bloggs Boulevard. Many first-time buyers would consider it a lucky omen to be able to get a foot on the property ladder at all. But with a reported one in 10 people afflicted by <b>triskaidekaphobia</b> (the fear of the number 13), it seems that there is more than bricks and mortar at play when it comes to moving house.
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disabled gif for munku & others prone to seizures.
<b>The Most Widespread Superstition</b>
The sixth day of the week and the number 13 both have foreboding reputations said to date from ancient times; their inevitable conjunction from one to three times a year portends more misfortune than some credulous minds can bear. Folklorists say it's probably the most widespread superstition in the United States — some people won't go to work on Friday the 13th; some won't eat in restaurants; many wouldn't think of setting a wedding on the date.
<img src="http://www.orangeguru.net/weblog/archives/jason_celebrates_his_13.gif">
what does "mom" have to do with this? *shrug*
<b>Friday, an Unlucky Day.</b>
Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Additionally, some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and that the Great Flood began on a Friday. In the past, many Christians would never begin any new project or trip on a Friday, fearing they would be doomed from the start.
<img src="http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/friday-thirteenth-supper.jpg">
Sailors were particularly superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out on a Friday. According to unverified legend, the British Navy commissioned a ship in the 1800s called H.M.S. Friday, in order to quell the superstition. 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, entirely factual story is the harrowing flight of <a href="http://people.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=friday-thirteenth.htm&url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html" target="_blank">Apollo 13.</a>
<img src="http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13patch_bg.gif">
In Spain, Friday is held to be an unlucky day. So is it esteemed by Buddhists and Brahmins. The old Romans called it nefastus, from the utter overthrow of their army at Gallia Narbonensis. And in England the proverb is that a Friday moon brings foul weather.
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<img src="http://www.udel.edu/PR/UpDate/01/3/FDR.GIF">