Friggatriskaidekaphobia

Dum Dum Duuum...Happy Friday the 13th! Hyunmi heard from a woman at health services today that it's actually a lucky day for left-handed people. Fantastic. I was emailed a link to a study that claims there is a heightened risk of hospitalization due to motor vehicle accidents on this day. The authors of the study advise readers to stay at home. It's hard to say based on the abstract online what the cause of these accidents is. It could just be that people are hypersensitive on Friday the 13th.

Wikipedia has some interesting comments on potential origins:
"The origin of the Friday the 13th superstition has been linked to the belief that there were 13 people at The Last Supper of Jesus, who was crucified on Good Friday, but it probably originated in medieval times. It has also been linked to the fact that a lunisolar calendar must have 13 months in some years, while the solar Gregorian calendar and lunar Islamic calendar always have 12 months in a year. Another suggestion is that the belief originated in a Norse myth about twelve gods having a feast in Valhalla. The mischievous Loki gate-crashed the party as an uninvited 13th guest and arranged for Hod, the blind god of darkness, to throw a branch of mistletoe at Balder, the god of joy and gladness. Balder was killed instantly and the Earth was plunged into darkness and mourning as a result. Both the first and last explanations, however, seem more relevant to the superstition linked to having 13 people at the same table during a meal."

I always enjoyed Friday the 13th personally. It tends to break up the monotony a bit.