Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@AOL.COM>]

Freaking Out over Friday the 13th? Skeptics Say Relax!

Paranormal Skeptics Joe Nickell and Paul Kurtz Tempt the Fates on Friday the 13th

AMHERST, N.Y. (January 13, 2006)-Friday the 13th is always a stressful day for friggatriskaidekaphobes-people with an overwhelming fear of Friday the 13th. (The term has its origins in Nordic mythology-the goddess Frigga is the namesake of the sixth day of the week-and ancient Greek-triskaideka means "thirteen.")  According to a 1996 Gallup poll, 9 percent of Americans, (about 26.5 million people) say they are superstitious about the number  13.

The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), publisher of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, has been examining superstitions for 25 years. CSICOP's resident friggatriskaidekaphobiologists have plenty to say about the origins of this fear of all Fridays numbered thirteen. By easing fears of the unknown, or by raising alertness in certain situations, superstitions can provide the illusion of knowledge and control.

How did thirteen get such a bad reputation? To understand, one needs to know the history of twelve, says CSICOP Senior Research Fellow Joe Nickell. "The number twelve has traditionally represented completeness in mythologies and religions around the world," says Nickell. "There are twelve months of the year, twelve chief gods of Olympus, twelve signs of the zodiac, and twelve apostles of Jesus. Thirteen exists just one digit beyond twelve, and is symbolic of the first departure from divine completeness or the initial step towards evil."

Friday has an equally bad history, Nickell points out. According to some traditions, Eve gave the apple to Adam on Friday, the great flood began on a Friday, the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday, execution day was Friday in ancient Rome, and Good Friday exists because it is the reported day of Jesus' crucifixion. An English schoolboy allegedly proved mathematically that thirteen, when examined over a 400-year period, falls on Friday more than any day of the year. (He was thirteen years old at the time, of course.)

Yet the number 13 has a lesser-known role as a lucky number: At the birth of our nation, thirteen colonies formed the original United States of America, a baker's dozen is considered a fortunate bargain, and if you are Jewish, age thirteen is your lucky time for a bar or bat mitzvah.

Skeptical Inquirer is the official journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), a nonprofit scientific and educational organization founded in 1976 by Paul Kurtz, Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan and other prominent academics, scientists, and writers. CSICOP encourages the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view. Learn more about CSICOP and S.I. at www.csicop.org.