Friday the 13th: Who is having a worse day than you?
Why is Friday 13th unlucky? It’s got a lot to do with a fear of the number 13 and the demise of the Knights Templar
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Triskaidekaphobia: ‘Extreme superstition regarding the number thirteen.’
If you’ve got a fear of the number 13 and are of a superstitious nature, then you might be cursing your luck right now.
2015 has a grand total of three Friday the 13ths, finally proving the old saying that bad things come in threes.
We take a look at some people who have had the worst luck when Fridays and the number 13 meet.
Adam and Eve
Don't do it guys! Photo: Playmobil
Christianity yields some clues as to why Friday is perceived as unlucky. Cain is believed to have killed his brother Abel on a Friday, perhaps even Friday 13th.
Some biblical scholars believe that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on a Friday.
The Knights Templar
Artwork of a Templar knight Photo: Getty
The Da Vinci Code popularised the link between the Friday the 13th superstition and the decline of the religious order the Knights Templar.
On Friday 13 in October 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay to be arrested along with thousands of other Templars.
The Labour party
Conervative leader Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was born on Friday 13th October 1923. Let’s hope the Labour Party aren’t a superstitious bunch.
Rossini
Gioachino Rossini, photographed by Étienne Carjat, 1865
Italian composer Gioachino Rossini died on a Friday 13. In Italy, both the number 13 and Fridays are considered bad luck.
Washerwomen
It is said that as Christ was walking to Calvary a woman washing outside her house dismissively waved a wet garment in his face, leading him to curse her and all those who washed on that day in future.
Stockbrokers
The 1989 crash was one of the worst Wall Street had ever seen
The stock exchange suffered a serious crash on ‘Black Friday’ in 1989.
Wall Street was left stunned as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 190.58 points.
IBM
A virus hit IBM computers in Britain in 1989 (Photo: Alamy)
The ‘Friday the 13th’ virus struck IBM computers in Britain back in 1989. The virus slowed them down and wiped out irretrievable data.
Flight 666 passengers
Finnair Photo: Alamy
Back in 2013, Finnair passengers found themselves on Flight 666 to HEL on Friday the 13th.
Thankfully, they made it to Helsinki without bumping into Beelzebub.
Daz Baxter
In 1976, New Yorker Daz Baxter was apparently so afraid of Friday the 13th he decided the safest place to stay was his bed.
However, Mr Baxter was killed when the floor of his apartment block collapsed that day.
Bob Renphrey
Retired bus conductor Bob Renphrey also vowed to stay in bed on the superstitious day after some seriously bad luck, the Mirror reports.
The Welshman has crashed fours cars, fallen into a river and been made redundant on previous Friday the 13ths.
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