Friday the 13th: the superstitions and the skeptics
If the thought of merely leaving the house this Friday the 13th has you spooked, you're not alone. The Stress Management Centre and Phobia Institute, based in Asheville, N.C., estimates that $800 million to $900 million US is lost every time the 13th of the month falls on a Friday, as people avoid doing business or flying.
The official names for fear of Friday the 13th are friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia. Sufferers can have symptoms as severe as panic attacks.
Stuart Vyse, professor of psychology at Connecticut College, said the superstition that associates Friday the 13th with bad luck is one of the most widespread in Western culture.
An article on the National Geographic website reports that between 17 million and 21 million people in the U.S. suffer from some degree of fear related to the day.
"It has a number of features that keep it alive," Vyse said. "If you grow up in the West, you can't avoid knowing it."
Part of what makes the superstition so pervasive is that having the 13th day of a month fall on a Friday now and then is unavoidable.
"You can go years without seeing a black cat or never walk under a ladder," Vyse said. "You can't avoid this one."
Despite the superstitions, the Insurance Bureau of Canada said there are no statistics showing an increased risk to drivers. In fact, it might be just the opposite.
"While we have no stats to support it … some insurers have said auto claims drop in some places, because so many people are afraid to leave their homes," said Steve Kee, director of media relations for the bureau in an email to CBCNews.ca
Origins Friday the 13ths of noteHere's a look at some significant things that have happened on a Friday the 13th.
Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926, in Biran, Cuba. Celebrity twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen were born on Friday, June 13, 1986. Rapper Tupac Shakur died on Friday, Sept.Motorcycle Insurance California Iv - News
Motorcycle riders and fans descend on the town of Port Dover, Ont., every Friday the 13th for what has become a long-standing tradition. Beginning in 1981 with 25 friends meeting at a local hotel for drinks, the event now features beer tents,
The bike had a custom California plate "IV-GVEN" when it was taken, Gordon said. "I always leave in the key in at my place, which is fenced," Gordon said Tuesday. "That night I thought a friend of mine was coming over to ride and I left the key in,
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•Gary E. Helper, of Los Lunas, who was vice president of the Shadow Riders Motorcycle Club and a member of NNMRO, COC and the US Defenders, and who served in the US Marine Corps from 1964 to 1970 and received the National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service
Cherry Valley Veteran Seeks Stolen Yamaha Royal Star: 'One-of-a ...
A U.S. Navy veteran and Cherry Valley resident recently lost his red, white and blue pride-and-joy and he wants it back.
Patrick Gordon, 51, says his 1997 custom-painted Yamaha Royal Star was stolen a week ago, from outside a home in Beaumont where he was house-sitting.
The bike had a custom California plate "IV-GVEN" when it was taken, Gordon said.
"I always leave in the key in at my place, which is fenced," Gordon said Tuesday. "That night I thought a friend of mine was coming over to ride and I left the key in, then I went to sleep."
The next morning the motorcycle was gone, Gordon said.
The key slot for the Royal Star's ignition is under the seat on the right hand side, Gordon said.
Gordon said he was house-sitting at a home in the 200 block of West 10th Street, between Elm and Wellwood avenues in Beaumont.
"I'd been watching the place since before Christmas," Gordon said. "The people went out of town and they asked me to sit with their dogs and stuff, and I'd been parking my bike out front, right outside of the windows in the driveway.
"They had come home and I spent another night there, and the morning of the third the guy comes and says 'Hey we got a problem . . . Your bike's gone."
A Beaumont police report shows Gordon called police at 6:48 a.m. Jan. 3, and the theft occurred possibly between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. that day.
Gordon said he purchased the Yamaha for $3,500 in March 2010. He said he found it on eBay.
"It was owned by a Navy commander from San Diego, and he wanted the bike to go to another vet," Gordon said. "I'm a vet, it's a red-white-and-blue flag paint job, very patriotic, and he gave it to me for a really good price."
Gordon said he served in the Navy from 1981 to 1985.
"It's one-of-a-kind, the color, the paint job is done by Colormania, a custom outfit in San Diego," Gordon said. "This bike was supposed to be a Yamaha exclusive. It traveled around, you know to the bike shows and stuff when it first come out. . . .