Things to Know About Friday the 13th

One of the reasons the number 13 is considered unlucky is because of the number 12. The number 12 symbolizes completeness everywhere: 12 months in a years, 12 hours on a clocks, a dozen is 12...you get the idea. So naturally the number that follows a complete number (12) like 13 may disturb some people.

Being afraid of Friday the 13th is actually a medical condition, with a real medical term for it - friggatriskaidekaphobia, yes I'm serious, and unfortunately, some 17 to 21 million people suffer from this phobia of Friday the 13th.

There are so many people that fear doing any kind of important business on Friday the 13th that every time one of these comes around approximately $800 to $900 million is lost in the economy.

Every year there will be at least one Friday the 13, but there can be up to 3 per year. In 2012 there will be 3 Friday the 13ths, the last time there were 3 in a year was 1998 and before that was 1984. Usually there is a Friday the 13th about every 212 days.

So it's pretty well known that most buildings don't have a 13th floor, but what a lot of people don't know is most airplanes lack the 13th row, and some hotels even go so far as to not have a room number 13.

You might be surprised to find more people to be superstitious than you think, even public figures and celebrities have fears and superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th. But what I found most fascinating was when I discovered that even former presidents have issues with Friday the 13th...come on! For some reason that just doesn't seem right. For example, Henry Ford absolutely refused to do any business on Friday the 13th in fear that it was bad luck, and rumor has it, Franklin Delano Roosevelt not only refused to travel on Friday the 13th, but on the 13th day of every month. Crazy right?!