Page 31 - 200903 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - March 2009

31 Friday the 13th 31 Friday the 13th Friday the 13th Friday the 13th BY APRILL BRANDON BY APRILL BRANDON Happy Friday the 13th, dear readers. Considered one of the unluckiest days of the year, it has even the most sensible people a little wary about crossing paths with a black cat and walking underneath ladders. So in honor of this infamous day, we have collected a random bit of lore surrounding Friday the 13th. 13 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Friday the 13th Napoleon, J. Paul Getty, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were all triskaidekaphobes (afraid of the number 13). Roosevelt was so superstitious of the number that he would ask his secretary to join a luncheon or dinner party if the number of guests equaled 13. The British Navy built a ship named Friday the 13th that sailed on its maiden voyage on Friday the 13th. It was never heard from again. There is a Norse myth about 12 gods Italians omit the number 13 from their The seals on the back of a dollar bill having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. national lottery. include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the On streets in Florence, Italy, the house the eagle's head, 13 arrows in the eagle's claw mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and 13 leaves on the olive branch. for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot and a half. Al Capone was arrested and sentenced Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and Many cities do not have a 13th Street or to jail on Friday the 13th, Tupac Shakur was gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder a 13th Avenue killed in Las Vegas on Friday the 13th and died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth In France, socialites known as the former vice president Hubert Humphrey died on mourned. quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves Friday the 13th. There is a Biblical reference to the available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party Superstitious Parisian diners can hire a unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who from an unlucky fate. quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest. betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who Mark Twain was once the 13th guest at Supper. fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the a dinner party, even though a friend had warned A particularly bad Friday the 13th ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13. him not to go. Twain later told the friend "It was occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the If you have 13 letters in your name, you bad luck. They only had food for 12." 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, According to some interpretations of the revered Knights Templar and began torturing Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Mayan calendar, the end of the world will them, marking the occasion as a day of evil. Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in happen on 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.0.0.0.0, or in In ancient Rome, witches reportedly their names. the Gregorian calendar, Friday, Oct. 13, 4772. gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed There are 13 steps leading to the to be the devil. To protect yourself on gallows, 13 knots in a hangman's noose and 13 Both Friday and the number 13 were To protect yourself on Friday the 13th., here feet which the guillotine blade falls. once closely associated with capital Friday the 13th., here The infamous train and bank robber, punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the are some suggestions Butch Cassidy, was born on Friday, April 13, conventional day for public hangings, and there are some suggestions 1866. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the from The ‘X’ Zone from The ‘X’ Zone 1926. noose. Nation Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 It is traditionally believed that Eve Nation when he played for the Miami Dolphins. He tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. only got to the Super Bowl once and lost. Tradition also has it that the Flood in the Bible, In a 1993 British study, a comparison the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the For those who are in need of some protection was made between the ratios of traffic volume death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday. there are silly rituals and cures galore to protect to number of accidents on two different days Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" them on Friday the 13th. A few of them are: (Friday 6th and Friday 13th). The conclusion? number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs 1.Walk around your house 13 times on Even though traffic volume was less on Friday of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Friday the 13th. 13th, the number of hospitalizations due to Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of 2.Hang your shoes out the window. (My accidents were more. Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association guess is the smell will drive all the evil away!) The sum of the digits of the ill-fated with bad luck has to do with just being a little 3.Sleep with a mirror under your pillow Apollo 13 mission launch date, 4-11-70, beyond completeness. for the first 3 Fridays before Friday the 13th (4+1+1+7+0) equals 13. It was launched from comes. You are suppose to dream of your true pad 39, the third multiple of 13, at 13:13 CST. FRIDAY THE 13TH - how is fear of love on Friday the 13th then also. The explosion occurred on April 13. the number thirteen demonstarted? 4.Walk around the block with your The infamous killers Charles Manson, mouth full of water. If you do not swallow it, Jack the Ripper, Theodore Bundy, John Wayne you will be 100% safe on Friday the 13th. Gacy, Frederick West, Saddam Hussein and More than 80 percent of high-rises lack And finally there’s always 13th century Jeffrey Dahmer all have 13 letters in their name. a 13th floor. age-old Aristotle cure… Many airports skip the 13th gate. 5. Wear and/or eat garlic! [] FRIDAY THE 13TH Airplanes have no 13th aisle. Watch, Listen and Chat with the coolest radio FRIDAY THE 13TH Hospitals and hotels regularly have no TRIVIA room number 13. audience anywhere - The ‘X’ Zone Nation - TRIVIA www.xzonetv.com!