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Health & Fitness

Fearing No. 13 is Just a Silly Superstition … Right?

Superstitions are things from the days of old, we certainly know better now, right?

In today’s age it’s silly to believe in superstitions. So what if this Friday is the 13th? There’s nothing to fear from the number 13! Well, you keep telling yourself that, but just for the heck of it let’s take a moment to look around at our modern world of disbelief.

For those who didn’t know, the clinical term for fearing the number 13 is called Triskaidekaphobia. Although it’s often associated with Friday the 13th, it is actually a separate phobia -- the fear of Friday the 13th being Paraskevidekatriaphobia. The unluckiness of 13 is one of the oldest superstitions, and can be traced back to the Ancient Babylonians who believed the 13th item was a bad omen. This caused quite a fuss with modern Astrology when a “new” zodiac sign was introduced. As it turns out, the sign of Ophiuchus wasn’t new at all; the Babylonians had 13 constellations, but tossed out the last one so that they would only have 12.

But all of this was a long time ago, we certainly know better now, right? Well...

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With summer coming up many of us are planning to travel, and while you are, keep an eye out for the elusive number 13. Most hotels and cruise ships skip over room 13. Some airliners, like Continental, omit row 13 from their seating charts. And if you’re passing through Bradley Airport in Hartford, or New York’s LaGuardia or Kennedy Airports you might notice something missing on the terminal gate maps.

It’s not just the travel industry that is apparently not ready to take chances when it comes to 13. A few Real Estate agents I spoke with said that they either have seen, or have heard, many situations where the number 13 is avoided. In some cases even to the point of changing house numbers (like adding a letter to make it 12A).

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For all our sports fans out there, if you could have walked through the stables at the Kentucky Derby last weekend you would have noticed a lack of a 13th stall. If team sports are more your thing you would be hard-pressed to find a #13 jersey. And although there is a No. 13 car in NASCAR, it doesn’t seem like they are having a very lucky season.

Even though we like to go around believing our way of thinking has advanced so much from those days gone by when superstitions caused people to quiver if a black cat walked into the room, it’s quite evident that some things don’t change that fast. So, whether there’s anything to Triskaidekaphobia or not, clearly many people aren’t quite ready to push their luck (pun intended, of course).

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Don’t know much about superstitions? Come drop by the SGRA Library & Research Center (284 Racebrook Road, Orange) on Friday the 13th from 7 to 10 p.m. to join us for our Triskaidekaphobia Superstition Party. There will be games (with prizes), food, and a multimedia presentation called “Superstitions In America” presented by our staff at 8. You can visit our website at www.sgra.org or give us a call at 203-247-0310 for more information.

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Would It Surprise You To Know...

More people call in sick to work on Friday the 13th than any other day?

The Empire State Building does have a 13th Floor, but it's owners say that it has been very hard to find tenants who will rent offices on it, so has remained nearly empty.

Universal, Warner Brothers, and Fox film studios do not have a No. 13 Soundstage.

Broadway theaters don't have a 13th row or a 13th seat.

Many famous people, including American Presidents, made sure not to host an event with only 13 guest. In some places, you can even hire yourself out as a guest to places that want to avoid having 13 attendees.

A ship the H.M.S Friday set sail on Friday the 13th and was never heard from again!

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