This article was in our paper this morning, about FDR, Henry Ford and others who had a Friday the 13th phobia: http://wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=1810896
On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 9:50 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > I thought it would be fun to talk a little about Friday the 13th in class > today so I downloaded some info primarily from wikipedia, for today. I > thought I might as well as share it with the list. I especially liked the > last two paragraphs because I always wonder about the statistics that show a > change in behavior related to specific dates like the number of accidents > over a holiday weekend. OK, so 38 people died in accidents in my state, but > how many die on any other Friday night through Tuesday morning time frame? > This is a nice exposition that takes account of base rates. (note: I did > simplify it a bit for class, there are more stats on wikipedia) > --------------------------------------------------------- > > Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on Friday, > which superstition holds to be a day of good or bad luck. > > The superstition is rarely found before the 20th century, when it became > extremely common. > > Fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, derived from the > Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (13), > and phobía (φοβία) (fear). Triskaidekaphobia derives from the Greek words > "tris", 'three', "kai", 'and', and "deka", 'ten'. The word was derived in > 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953. > > In numerology, the number 12 is considered the number of completeness, > i.e., 12 months of the year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 hours of the clock, > 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles of Jesus, 12 gods of Olympus, etc.; 13 was > considered irregular, violating this completeness. > > There is also a superstition, deriving from the Last Supper or a Norse > myth, that having 13 people seated at a table will result in the death of > one of the diners. > > Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's > The Canterbury Tales, and many others have regarded Friday as an unlucky day > to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been > associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s > (but good luck for shopping on the day after Thanksgiving!). It has also > been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, > according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a > Friday. > > The Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics has found that "fewer accidents > and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a > Friday maybe because people are more careful. Statistically, driving is > slightly safer on Friday 13th, at least in The Netherlands, the average > figure falling when the 13th fell on a Friday. > > However, a 1993 study in the British Medical Journal comparing traffic > accidents between Friday 6th and Friday 13th found a significant increase in > traffic-related accidents on Fridays the 13th. BUT there are more accidents > on Fridays than average weekdays (irrespective of the date) probably because > of alcohol consumption. Therefore it is less relevant for this purpose to > compare Friday 13th with, say, Tuesday 13th. > > > Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > University of San Diego > 5998 Alcala Park > San Diego, CA 92110 > 619-260-4006 > [email protected] > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
