Cover page of "The Economist"

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Today is Friday the 13th

The name "Friday" came from a Norse deity worshipped on the sixth day, known either as Frigg (goddess of marriage and fertility), or Freya (goddess of sex and fertility), or both, the two figures having become intertwined in the handing-down of myths over time (the etymology of "Friday" has been given both ways). Frigg/Freya corresponded to Venus, the goddess of love of the Romans, who named the sixth day of the week in her honor "dies Veneris."

Triskaidekaphobics -Fear of 13

Paraskevidekatriaphobia - fear of Friday the 13th

It is said:

• The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894).
• 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names).
  There are 13 witches in a coven.
• Judas, the 13th apostle at the Last Supper with Jesus, later betrayed him to the Romans, setting the stage for a Friday morning crucifixion.
• The ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission left the launching pad at 13:13 hours and was aborted on April 13
• Some cities skip 13th Ave. Some buildings skip from the 12th to the 14th floor, which, of course, means that the 14th floor is actually the 13th floor.
• Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery
• the number of hospital admissions due to accidents was significantly higher than on "normal" Fridays.
• the end of the knight Templars took place on a Friday the 13th October , 1307, (Knights Templar, the legendary order of "warrior monks" formed during the Christian Crusades to combat Islam)

Source: Chia Kwong Min