Friday, May 13, 2005

Happy Friday the 13th... Triskaidekaphobes

Muahahaha- it's a good day to watch scary movies!
From Word of the Day: Triskaidekaphobia is a fairly new word (first found in print
in 1911) formed from Greek treiskaideka, triskaideka,
"thirteen" (treis, "three" + kai, "and" + deka, "ten") +
phobos, "fear." The adjective form is triskaidekaphobic. One
who fears the number 13 is a triskaidekaphobe or
triskaidekaphobic.

There are many [2]theories about the origin of
triskaidekaphobia. In medieval Christian countries the number
13 came to be considered unlucky because there were 13 persons
at the Last Supper of Christ. Fridays are also unlucky,
because the Crucifixion was on a Friday. Hence a Friday
falling on the thirteenth day would be regarded as especially
unlucky.
Some famous triskaidekaphobes1:
* Napoleon
* Herbert Hoover
* Mark Twain
* Richard Wagner
* Franklin Roosevelt

1. Source: "It's just bad luck that the 13th is so often a
Friday," [3]Daily Telegraph, September 8, 1996

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