TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA

What!!! ,you may say, is that. Fear of the number 13. Today is the day and fear of today is actually called: paraskevidekatriaphobia. Where does it all begin? Some say it started way back in the time of Christ. Rumor has it that the last person to sit at the table for the last supper, the thirteenth, was actually Judas. His fate did not turn out so well. A large percentage (80-90%) of tall buildings do not have a 13th floor. The floors are renumbered 12a or they skip that floor. In Los Angeles 13th street is called Pico Boulevard. In San Francisco Funston Ave appears where 13 would have been. Most Airports do not have a 13th gate and airplanes rarely have a 13th seat row. The military made the F-12 and F-14 but no F-13. The most famous NASA flight was which one... Apollo 13. Apollo 13 lifted off at 13:13 (or 1:13 for you non 24 hour clock people). In sports Formula 1 has not had a car numbered 13 since 1974. There are some players that will not wear the number. Some do not care, for example Alex Rodriguez has 13 on his back and he has 13 letters in his name. Most race tracks will not start a race with only 13 cars. There is a business back east somewhere called the 14th guest. If you have 13 people invited to your party you can pay them to come so you do not jinx your event. Very interesting, did you take the day off today or sleep in late? It is estimated that 18-21 million people are affected in some way because of this day. Some are so paralyzed they will not even get out of bed. Business marks a 800 to 900 million dollar difference on the Friday the 13th. Airlines show a drop off in today's flight numbers, and on and on. It would be interesting to see what superstitions you have. I found one thing Gillian B James (my wife) has 13 letters in her name....... Oh boy, what do I do.