If you called into work sick on Friday, and hid under the covers all day, chances are you suffer from a rare disease that is recognized by the medical community.
Likewise, folks who were in Las Vegas this past Friday, may have lolled by the pool soaking up rays instead of venturing into a Casino to gamble.
No wonder!
The calendar read Friday the 13th, after all.
Individuals who fear that day suffer from triskaidekaphobia (from Greek tris meaning "3," kai meaning "and," and deka meaning "10").
Although I am pretty superstiitious - I don't walk under ladders, for instance - I have no qualms strolling about on Friday 13th.
That isn't to say that the paranoia of some is not unfounded or to be ignored as a silly notion.
Indeed - from a practical standpoint - there may be a lot of substance to some fears.
For instance, it may not be wise to walk under a ladder for obvious reasons:
An open can of paint or worker's tool may fall down out-of-the-blue - just because - sh** happens!
Pass a knife to a friend and you might cut them - hence the superstition - so, don't do it!
The fear of number 13 is a powerful one - so much so - that architects have designed buildings without a 13th floor for decades without batting-an-eye or feeling foolish about the practice.
Likewise, elevators are rarely ever numbered or programmed to stop at the 13th level.
Are the builders being irrational?
Not when you consider what went down in the feature films - Friday the 13th - or the screamer Hallowe'en!
There is a common myth that the earliest reference to thirteen being unlucky or evil is from the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (circa 1780 BCE), where the thirteenth law has been omitted.
Some Christians teach that Judas (the disciple who betrayed Jesus) was the 13th individual to sit at the table at the Last Supper.
And, history confirms what kind of day Christ was faced with, after that.
A word of advice?
Walk quietly with a big stick when the ominous occasion rolls around again.
Better safe, than sorry!
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