60 replies to this topic

[karlo]

Do you think that Friday the 13th is really bad luck? I mean, does bad luck really comes near you?

[BuffaloHelp]

karlo, on May 13 2005, 02:31 AM, said:

Do you think that Friday the 13th is really bad luck? I mean, does bad luck really comes near you?

Good question. I think the fact that at some point Americans developed a fear for the number 13. Now, I'm not sure if it is older than that (perhaps from England) but the fear of 13 (tridecaphobia) goes long way. Plus, it's rare to see Fridays with the number 13. So started rumors how it's odd and unwise to do anything on the day that comes so rarely.
Some other cultures that I am aware of developed the fear of the number 4. The pronunciation of number 4 resembles the word "death." Another culture is afraid of the number 1. I'm thinking that's why most elevator's first floor button is labeled with "L" instead of "1". LOL. Who knows...

[shigajet]

As for me, Friday the 13th bringing bad luck is merely a superstition, just as 7 is considered to be a "lucky" number. It's true that in many in countries in Asia fear the number 4. I know that in Japan, this is certainly the case. BuffaloHELP was spot on with hi post: 4 (four) has two pronunciations in Japanese - one is yon, the other is shi (This is the one that means "death").

[icemarle]

Shinde! (just kidding shigajet) I don't know why, but after seeing your post, I had a sudden urge to say something Japanese.
Translation: (Die!)

Anyway, I've been through Friday the 13th a few times, and it's an ordinary day. I know so many people who haven't had anything happen to them on that day considered as bad luck. In fact, it's merely a coincidence if people have bad luck on that day.

[Invisible]

I don't think Friday the 13th brings bad luck, some people do but they also fear a black cat and stuff and I had a black cat and I was not unlucky at al .
It is somthing people made up and started to accapt as a fact, and it is for others the number 4. I think you can come up with many other things that bring bad luck.

[sonyguy]

Well, unfortunately last year on Friday 13th August, I lost a friend, he died in a bicycle accident
So yeh, I am a bit sceptical about it...
I'm not that much of a superstitious person, but after last year, I have started believe that Friday 13th is an unlucky day, although nothing has happened to me today, so far...

[electriic ink]

Friday the 13th does not bring bad luck. Doesn't it depend who you are?

[scenario]

You hate your neighbour and someone vandalises her property. To your neighbour this is bad luck but to you it is good because you have a grudge against her.

[/scenario]

Bad luck depends on who you are.

[Neutrality]

No, I don't believe that "Friday the 13th" is bad luck. That's bogus. I've never had bad luck on a "Friday the 13th" that couldn't be uncoincidental, nor has anyone I know. Actually, the "Friday the 13th" superstition comes from several events that could have occurred on this particular day. The first one I believe has to do with Jesus Christ dying on a "Friday the 13th". I doubt this one is true, but it's possible.

The other one has to do with the Crusades [ or the Knights of the Templar if you will ]. I think it was in 1200s, but it is said that on a "Friday the 13th" that the Knights of the Templar, and their last Grandmaster Jacques De Molay, were either captured on this day, or executed on this day. I've heard other stories that may also have a superstitious attachment to this day, but these are the ones I remember.

[rvovk]

Friday 13th actually happened in the past. There was some battle and army was devastated badly with no live ones. There are lot of rumours about friday 13th.
The number 13 also has been associated with death in other cultures. The ancient Egyptians, for example, believed life unfolded in 12 stages, and the 13th stage was death. The Egyptians considered death a part of their ultimate journey and looked forward to the spiritual transformation, thus 13 was not an unlucky number in their culture, but like so many others, the tradition warped through time and cultures, eventually associating the number 13 with a more negative and fearful interpretation of death, Emery writes.
When Friday 13th comes I am just more careful, cause I am not a triskaidekaphobe (a person with an irrational fear of Friday the 13th, also called a paraskevidekatriaphobe or just mildly suspicious)

[snlildude87]

BuffaloHELP, on May 13 2005, 04:17 AM, said:

the fear of 13  (tridecaphobia)

*cough* "triskaidekaphobia" *cough*

I don't think it Friday the 13th brings bad luck because it's sort of like the placebo. If you give someone a useless pill, they'll think that they're feeling better. It's all in the subconscience. I don't know...I guess that if you don't know about Friday the 13th, then you won't do anything really stupid that will result in "bad luck."