Friday, June 13, 2008

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

So…today is Friday the 13th. The only one of 2008. According to this year’s Farmers Almanac (I love this book), in the 14 possible calendar configurations: 6 have one Friday the 13th, 6 have two and 2 have three. There is always at least 1 but never more than 3. There will be 3 in 2009.

In the movie, Faces of Death, a group of drunken college students go to the roof of a tall building with a lot of liquor, a video camera (with another at ground level) and a bungee cord. They are all laughing and drinking as one of their own straps on the cord and leaps.

*Plop*

They get all serious. I guess they forgot that most tall buildings don’t have a 13th floor. Their friend remembered, albeit too late.

While Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, Friggatriskaidekaphobia Is the fear of Friday the 13th.

The Atlanta Braves have banned the number 13 throughout their Major and Minor League systems. In Formula One and many other racing categories, no vehicle carries the number 13. Of course, the NFL Miami Dolphin’s quarterback Dan Marino embraced it as his number.

Then there were the Friday the 13th movies. I didn’t really care for the movies too much as they got really silly really quick. I preferred Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger. There was even a Friday the 13th television show. Yes there was a short-lived tv show, which had nothing to do with the movies. I actually preferred it to the movies. Two cousins, assisted by…a family friend if I remember right, have to retrieve cursed antiques sold by their uncle before they wreak havoc throughout the world.

I know a few people who were born on Friday the 13th. Aside from the third eye in their foreheads, they’re completely normal. I’m just kidding!! Margaret Thatcher, Fidel Castro, Steve Buscemi, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, heck even the Olsen twins were born on Friday the 13th.

One of the cool local events occurs at the Winchester Mystery House. If you google it, you’ll get the whole story. Long story short: Sarah Winchester was haunted by ghosts and the only way to keep them at bay was to keep building onto her house, which she did until the day she died. Now, at the house, you see her fascination with the number 13, you see walls that lead up to the ceiling, going nowhere. You see windows that open up into the wall. All kinds of stuff. AND…every year on Halloween and on every Friday the 13th, they hold flashlight tours. Creepy, scary, fun.

Have a good day.


...woah...I just realised...this is my 13th post on this blog. Didn't even plan it that way. Should I stay in bed or go buy a Lotto ticket?

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