I’m not triskadekaphobic, because I’m not in any way superstitious. In fact, I got my job at the Great Big Research Company (Seffrican division) on Friday 13th, August 1979 and I never looked back.
I knew one otherwise ordinary guy who was so afraid of the number thirteen, and Friday 13th in particular, that he would take the day off work and stay in bed, drinking only water all day. Other than laziness, the only reason I would stay in bed in Friday 13th was if Nigella Lawson was in it.
And so would anyone else not a homosexualist.
I never understood superstitions, by the way. I know that some of them are rooted in past customs — e.g. not spilling salt (because salt was really expensive back in the day) — but getting all worked up about a black cat crossing your path? Give me a break.
People in Roman times would pay a soothsayer to tell them whether it was safe to travel by having the soothsayer “read” an animal’s entrails (which had to be fresh — no PETA back then, obviously). What people don’t know is that our Dr. Fauci can trace his lineage all the way back to Roman soothsayer Gaius Faucissimus in 87 B.C., so he’s still in the family business of making money off ignorant people.
Don’t get me started, because where superstition is front and center, can religion be far behind?
I’ll just leave the topic alone, but here’s another pic of Nigella recumbent.
Friday the 13th was bad for the Knights Templar. Everybody else, not so much.
Friday the 13th has special meaning for Freemasons. It marks the extreme tragedy of the Trials of the Knights Templar which started with their arrest in Friday 13 October 1307, which was perpetrated by Philip IV of France and his counselors with aims to acquire the wealth of the Templars.
It was bad for Philip and his pet Pope also. They never found the money.
Anyone thought of having a soothsayer predict the future by reading Fauci’s entrails?
The answer would be: Things will be much better.
Winner.
Superstitions – like uneasiness at Friday sailings – are just an enactment of the perception that there are things that watch and listen.. They seldom act but they do file regular reports.
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My Dad was mildly superstitious, I think it came partly from being a merchant seaman and partly being half-Irish. When you’re out in the middle of an ocean you tend not to tempt Providence. He avoided the little things, like three-on-a-match or measuring hands.
Some superstitions make sense, if you walk under a ladder that someone’s working on, you deserve to have a wet paint brush (or worse) hit you in the head. The black cat was based on their understanding of the world, that it was a witch’s familiar. If witches were real, and they had black cats as servants, you’d stay clear of them too. (FWIW, I had a black cat who was the absolute greatest cat, he thought he was a dog).
Friday the 13th? Meh.
Mark D
I don’t consider myself superstitious in the least, though some would say that my being a semi-faithful Protestant means I believe in silly superstitions. If so, well, I’m in good company.
Since it’s the 13th, allow me to point out that this is the 60th anniversary of the beginning of construction on the Berlin wall. This world is still a screwed up place, but at least that abomination is gone. It lasted just a few years longer than my parents’ marriage, which started the very same day. Happy Anniversary, Mom!
My birthday is on the 13th (of January), so it occasionally falls on a Friday. Can’t say there’s been much untoward in my life that I can trace to having had a birthday on a Friday that year…last one was in 2017, next is in 2023.
(FWIW, I was born on a Thursday, so I have that going for me…which is nice.)
I’ve always told people that it’s bad luck to be superstitious. That amuses some, and confuses the rest.
Back when I was policing I ended up as badge number 13 in our department and had oh so much fun with that.