Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. I’ve been around for a long, long year. Stole many a man’s soul to waste.
All italicized quotes from Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones.
666 has been known as the devil’s number, but no number in history has been vilified and condemned as much as unlucky 13. NASA’s recent suggestion that the non-science of astrology should add a 13th constellation got me thinking again about the reasons for 13’s unpopularity, at least in much of Western culture. (Source 1)
But as I researched 13, I found that the Devil’s Dozen isn’t so unpopular anymore. Don’t believe the hype.
After centuries of superstition, perhaps reason is winning the battle in how society views the number 13. And what’s so wrong with a coven of witches, anyway?
Thirteenth of a Dozen: The Rise of Triskaidekaphobia
Pleased to meet you. Hope you guess my name. But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game.
Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of 13. Most of the time, it isn’t a phobia of clinical proportions, though some people actively go out of their way to avoid 13. Friday the 13th is a notable example, being widely considered an unlucky day. Many buildings have been constructed without a 13th floor. Well, there is a 13th floor (or else the buildings would collapse), but the numbering on floors and elevators conveniently skips from 12 to 14 sometimes.
The fear is broader than any one person. It comes from society’s irrational aversion to a number that some have linked to evil or misfortune.
Where did the aversion to 13 begin and how did it become entrenched? No one can be sure, but the following influences have played major roles in the rise of triskaidekaphobia.
Okay, I promise I won’t write that word again.
Detail from Moulins Cathedral, France, Public Domain.
Judas, the 13th Guest
And I was around when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain. Made damn sure Pilate washed his hands and sealed his fate.
Regardless of your religious beliefs or aversion to them, Christianity has had a big impact on the world. In Western society, many notions of right and wrong can be traced to the Bible or to church interpretations of its teachings.
There is a widely held belief that 13’s unpopularity has its source in the Bible. At the very least, it has influenced attitudes towards the number. (2)
12 is a nice, clean number. Jesus Christ had 12 disciples, plus Judas Iscariot, the 13th. “One of you will betray me,” Jesus reportedly said. Sure enough, after that fateful Last Supper, Judas sold him out to the Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.
Loki, the Uninvited 13th Guest
I watched in glee while your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the gods they made.
There is a similar story in Norse mythology. It involves Loki, a well-known trickster, who had a troubled history with the gods. Sometimes, he was friendly, and at other times, dangerous. Loki was known as a shapeshifter also, sometimes appearing as an animal. On this particular occasion, he showed up to a party unannounced and it caused some serious trouble.
“The origin appears to be the idea that 13 at a table is an unlucky number,” said psychologist Stuart Vyse, author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition. Quoted in a Washington Times article, Mr. Vyse explained the Norse myth: “There is a story about 12 benevolent gods having a good time and Loki crashed the party, making thirteen." (2)
In the melee that followed, one of the good gods wound up dead. Apparently, it was all Loki’s fault. Blame the number 13.
The Mayan Calendar
The Mayan calendar ended with the 13th Baktun or age. In 2012, there was much consternation over the fact that the world was ending. It did not. Perhaps this calendar did not measure the time until the apocalypse; it simply ran through its cycles. There were very few references to the 13 baktuns in Mayan inscriptions; they only referred to it historically and not in terms of apocalyptic endings. (3)
(3.1)
Friday the Thirteenth
Fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia. Write this one down, please. We’ll have a quiz later!
Just kidding; I will not speak the word again.
Statistically speaking, Friday is more likely to fall on the 13th day of the month than on any other day. The way our years, months and days are set up, we get a lot of Friday the 13ths. In a 400 year period, which is exactly how long it takes to repeat the exact same exact calendar pattern, there are 688 Friday the 13ths. (4)
This is bad news for those who won’t get out of bad that day or ride in an airplane because they fear something bad will happen to them. The fear of Friday the 13th also has a negative impact on the economy, though one could argue that those who do not like it simply are shifting their buying power to other days. According to Dr. Donald Dossey at the Phobia Institute, Friday the 13th has an annual economic impact of about $800-900 million on the economy. (5)
Other Possible Reasons (EDIT)
A couple of community members also have mentioned the Knights Templar date of the 13th. There literally are a dozen other possible key dates in history that fell on a 13th. And all of the Columbus stuff, too. Who knows what the reasons for 13's unpopularity really were? This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. Thanks for the comments!
13 Rising
Attitudes towards thirteen have been changing. Or maybe they never were as bad as all the hype. Whatever happened in the past, there is less superstition today than ever before. Most people are more likely to smile than cry when a black cat crosses their path. Similarly, most people are not deterred by a flight on the 13th day of a month or of living or staying on the 13th floor of a building.
Lucky 13?
Tell me baby, what’s my name? Tell me sweetie, what’s my name?
Source: Pixabay
Would you believe that 13 is a lucky number in some lotteries? Though the odds of any number being selected should be the same, there are more instances of certain numbers being selected than others. The image below shows the numbers chosen in the popular Powerball lottery in the United States in any draw since 2012.
It shows number 13 appearing in the Top 10 on two different lists.
(6)
The moral of the story? If you win the lottery playing number 13, it won’t seem so unlucky any more.
13 is Lucky in Many Cultures and Traditions
Tell me baby, what’s my name. I tell you one time, you’re to blame.
In Judaism, 13 is very common number and there is nothing unlucky about it. 13 is the year of one’s coming-of-age ceremony known as the bar mitzvah or bat bitzvah. From that age, young people gain responsibility for following the commandments. By the way, Judaism has 13 principles of faith and Abraham originally entered into 13 covenants with God in the Old Testament. So if the Bible is a source of negativity toward the number 13, it is most definitely from the New Testament portion and not the old. (7)
In Chinese culture, the number 13 has never been unlucky. While other numbers like 8 and 7 may bring more good fortune, 13 is pretty good, too. When the numbers are associated with similar sounding words in both Mandarin and Cantonese, the one and three have a lucky ring to them. The one means that something is certain or definite, while the number three can be associated with the character for life, living, or birth. (8)
So in Chinese culture, there is a lot to like about 13.
And let’s not forget mooncakes. 13 is the typical number of mooncakes, a baker’s dozen. Why? Because there are closer to 13 lunar cycles than 12 in a given year.
Baker’s Dozen
So if you meet me, have some courtesy, have some sympathy, and some taste.
Now for the tasty part. Buy a dozen baked items and you’ll get one for free. That’s known as a baker’s dozen. Long ago, during lean times, bakers were known to cheat people, and so the Baker’s Dozen arose as a way to make sure there were at least 12 baked items (or so the legend goes).
(8.1)
Today, most places that sell cookies donuts, muffins, or pastries will honor the Baker’s Dozen and throw in that extra item. Strangely enough, the people who do not get out of bed on Friday the 13th do not appear to be refusing an extra muffin. It’s funny how selective our pseudoscientific minds can be.
Only 13?
Just as every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints. As heads is tails just call me Lucifer. Cause I’m in need of some restraint.
A few years ago, USA Today published the results of a Gallup poll of Americans, asking if they would feel uncomfortable if they were assigned to a hotel room on the 13th floor of a building.
Most people (87% of them) didn’t mind at all. Those who would feel uncomfortable were a small minority of the population: only 13%. (9)
Woo woo. Woo woo. Woo woo.
Sources:
Thumbnail cat photo: Pixabay (public domain)
(1) http://www.sciencealert.com/stop-freaking-out-nasa-did-not-just-change-your-zodiac-sign
(2) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/31/fear-of-13-traced-to-judas-myths/
(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number)
(3.1) Creative Commons via Flickr.com. Courtesy of Art Jonak.
(4) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-henes/friday-13th_b_1418812.html
(5) http://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/trends/friday-the-13th-costs-small-businesses-nearly-1-billion/
(6) http://bgr.com/2016/01/13/powerball-jackpot-frequent-numbers/
(7) https://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=226
(8) http://chineseonthego.com/culture/numbers.html
(8.1) Creative Commons via Flickr.com. Courtesy of Elaine Ross Baylon
(9) https://www.orbitz.com/blog/2015/02/friday-13th-truth-behind-hotels-missing-13th-floors/
(10) Woo woo, Woo woo, Woo woo
I saved $200 by flying on friday the 13th.
Wow! Seriously? I will bear that in mind, next time I need to travel :-)
Cg
Next one is in January 2017.
We did hit turbulence that the pilot described as unusually rough, worst he has had to deal with but everything went pretty smooth. It was a pretty big modern plane. I tried to find a second friday-the-13th discount but they where all regularly priced. other variables must have aligned the first time but it still makes for a good story :) keep an eye out though, maybe my second attempt was the anomaly. [insert x-files theme song here]
Hmmm.... you forgot one of the really infamous Friday the 13ths, or perhaps you haven't heard of this one. Like I said 13 is my favorite number, and I actually got married to my second wife on a Friday the 13th. So I tend to be a history buff on it as well. You did share some things I hadn't heard so thanks.
Here is the one I was really familiar with and was where I had heard the negative connotations of Friday the 13th originated from, until I read your work.
At dawn on Friday the 13th, October 1307 there was a concerted arrest of the Knights Templar across multiple countries. It was a concerted effort by the king of France and the Pope. It would lead to many executions, burnings at the stake, etc.
It was coordinated by sealed orders that all were to be opened on that day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar
http://michaelspradlin.com/blog/2013/09/friday-the-13th-and-the-knights-templar/
I guess it helps that I am also a fan of the history of the Knights Templar.
Yes, a couple of you have mentioned the Knights Templar date, which is one of several auspicious 13s in history. Thanks for mentioning it...I couldn't list them all.
Congrats on busting the 13th myth and making it a special day in your life.
We tried to take it to an extreme but events kept us from marrying the day we originally planned to. We were going to marry on Friday, October the 13th, in the year 2000. We thought it was a great day and amusing. We actually started dating on a Friday the 13th as well. :P
Very interesting. Resteemed and tweeted!
I have always loved the number 13 - probably because so many people I know are leery of it.
Hey @donkeypong, you know what would be a fun idea? Having people record themselves trying to say friggatriskaidekaphobia* in one take. LOL
Very cool article, have a look at this Magic the Gathering card called Triskaidekaphobia, see how they managed to repeat 13 in the text and the art.
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Interesting fixations we have, the Chinese have the unlucky number as 4, I think it's the same in Singapore. For them 13 is totally normal.
It's funny how it's the superstition that you grew up with that affects you, for example a rugaru won't affect you because you are not Japanese, but for a Japenese the same could be said with the classic demon.
You never seem to find a universal superstition that defies borders and cultures.
Oh, great post! It's certainly refreshing. :)
just extraordinary, has left me speechless congratulations thank you very much
13 is actually my favorite number. :)
supercalifragilistic...
great! last friday I have made a micro research about Fridays and I want to say that nothing good was happening on that day) there is even a special concept in psychology, the fear of Friday 13 - Paraskevidekatriaphobia
13th Warrior was a good flick too.
I think the Friday the 13th curse harks back to the Knight's Templar and the day the King of France decided that he would outlaw them and confiscate all their property (because he owed them a lot of money and they had become too powerful).
Also kudos for using the the Sympathy for the Devil quotes - it's one of my favourite Rolling Stones songs.
Yes, I saw that one, too. There are dozens more references to the 13th throughout history...who knows? Thanks for mentioning it.
Yes for sure there are probably lots of things that created the legend of not just unlucky 13 but of Friday the 13th being especially unlucky and made it stick - some that are lost to history too.
That is some interesting stuff... Regarding Judas and the 12 disciples... wasn't he part of the original 12? He was replaced after he was killed, but does't that still make 12?
Interesting stuff here though... My mom's birthday falls on Friday the 13th... eek! :)
In the US at least, almost no hotels have a 13th floor. Definitely not here in vegas
Many Hotels I have been to I notice don't have a 13th floor or a #13 room...
@luzcypher here. I've always liked the number 13. It rolls off the tongue so sinfully. Speaking of rolling, The Rolling Stones will be my honored guests when their souls arrive. Except for Keith. He's never going to die.
Soon the rest of the world is going to have to decide what kind of world they're going to leave behind for Keith Richards.
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I haven't met anyone else that saw the similarity between the Mayan Calender and the Oreos hahaha! I posted these the other day connecting a few strange synchronicities or not?
13 is also one of the Fibonacci numbers...
0,1,1,2,3,5,8...13