Very superstitious, writing's on the blog.

Do you believe in things you don't understand?  Triskaidekaphobia for example?  Otherwise known as a phobia of the number 13.  Well, triskaidekaphobes beware!  Look away!  The 13 most mundane posts from my inbox are coming at you right now for today's Carnival of the Mundane, Friday October 13th, 2006.

1.  Kapgar may be takin' what they're givin' but now that he's over the flu I'm sure he won't be one of the  people contributing to the $800 or $900 million dollars lost in business each Friday the 13th because some people will not travel or go to work.

2.  All months whose first day falls on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th.  All bloggers will blog about blogging at some point on their blog.

3.  Fear of Friday the 13th (specifically paraskavedekatriaphobia) afflicts approximately 17 to 21 million people in the United States.  On the other hand, Philly Transplant's little kerosene heater only affects him.  Hopefully.

4.  I may run out of fun facts about Friday the 13th, but let's face it, what's really important is that you never run out of coffee.  (Now that would be scary!)

5.  In Spanish-speaking countries, it's Tuesday the 13th.  They have a saying: "En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques" (on Tuesday, neither get married nor start a journey).  Mad Kane says, "Wife will attend ball game; Husband will attend opera."

6.  There will be three Friday the 13ths in 2009, 2015 and 2026, but it only took one monarch butterfly to inspire Hueina Su.

7.  Black Sabbath's first album came out Friday the 13th, February 1970.  The 13th Lemony Snicket book comes out today.  Oh, and Jefferson Smith finally got a mobile headset, declaring "Go Hands Free or Die!"

8.  The number 12 is considered by many (like numerologists) to be a solid, "complete" number.  There are 12 months in a year, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, and 12 numbers on a clock.  Even when it's marking time at its own pace.

9.  The number 13 then, is a victim of its own unlucky position after the number 12.  Whereas the Reformed Cynic was fortunate to get great customer service at Shaw's Prudential.

10.  Many high-rises don't have a 13th floor.  Airports skip the 13th gate. Hospitals and hotels don't have a room 13.  Yet these places exist in their 13-ness, even if they aren't labeled as such.  On the 14th floor, at the 14th gate, in room 14... does it feel like a party when the guests have just departed and you wonder if maybe, it just never happened? 

11.  Certain socialites in France were called the quatorziens (fourteeners) and made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from having an unlucky number of guests.  Sure, but did they protect donut shop owners from the evils of infomercials???

12.  So some people are anxious on Friday the 13th.  Psychologist Richard Wiseman says, "They need to realize that they have the ability to create much of their own good and bad luck."  Mimi from Pocket Change, however, just needs a vacuum that sucks.

13.  Fear of Friday the 13th can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  It can be as inevitable as tears in the school parking lot before Mom drives away.  So on this Friday the 13th, stay positive, and have a happy Friday!

Thanks to everyone who submitted.  Friday the 13th facts from Wikipedia and National Geographic News.

Comments

[kapgar]

And you wound up with 13 posts on Friday the 13th. Nice!

Good job, BTW.

[Liz]

Hi Kapgar,

I have to admit I exercised my editorial prerogative and choose the 13 "most mundane" posts from my inbox. Otherwise, we'd definitely have to cue the "Twilight Zone" music!

And thank you. :)

[kapgar]

Proud to be the cream of the mundane crop!

[Erin]

thanks to your post, I made a new VM friend today! yay you!

[reformedcynic]

Thanks for including my post about Customer Service! I know it was hum-drum, but still important to me.

[Sparky]

Thanks for including my icicle self

[Neil]

You were so brave to host the carnival on such a SCARY day!