If you're afraid of bad things happening on Friday the Thirteenth,
you're not alone. If you think the number 13 is unlucky, you're definitely not
alone.
The number 13 has been
considered unlucky for centuries. The ancient Code of Hammurabi, the law
of the Babylonian empire (1700 BC), did not have a Law No. 13. This
was 3,700 years ago in present-day Iraq and area.
Today in many places,
buildings do not have a thirteenth floor, street addresses do not have the
number 13, and many airlines do not have a thirteenth row.
More than 3,700 years is a
long time for a superstition to last.
Is it real?
Many people say yes, because
many bad things have involved the number 13. Many scary historical events
happened on the thirteenth day of the month. And why take chances?
But of course, numerous bad
things involve other numbers and other dates.
Also, the missing thirteenth
law in the Code of Hammurabi was likely a mistake by a scribe. Poor editing.
And in Chinese culture, the
number 4 is unlucky, since the pronunciation of four is very similar
to the pronunciation of the word death. That superstition spread to
Japan and Korea. As a result, many buildings in East Asia do not have a fourth
floor. But a thirteenth? No problem.
And 13 isn't all bad. Everybody loves a baker's dozen, which means an extra, free doughnut or other product that a bakery often gives its customers when they buy twelve (a dozen).
Why Friday?
No one knows. Many people say
it's because bad things in the Bible happened on Fridays. Some say Eve gave
Adam that fateful apple on a Friday.
In 1907, Thomas William Lawson wrote
a novel called Friday the Thirteenth. It told the story of a New York
City stockbroker who used superstition to cause problems on the stock market
and make a fortune.
In 1980, the horror
movie Friday the 13th came out and thrilled audiences. The movie was
so successful that Friday the 13th movies, comics, and books have
been coming out for forty years. Here's a link to a Twitter account that offers Friday the 13th franchise news.
Here's also some Friday the
Thirteenth vocabulary.
• superstition, n.,
belief in things that are not real.
→ One common superstition is
that breaking a mirror is bad luck.
• superstitious, adj.,
(1) (people) believing in things that are not real. (2) relating to
superstition.
→ Ron's a superstitious
person.
→ Many people have a
superstitious fear of the number 13.
Other ways to say unlucky:
• inauspicious
→ an inauspicious day to get
married.
• unfortunate
→ an unfortunate person,
always.
• out of luck
→ I was out of luck finding
coffee.
• luckless
→ a luckless gambler.
Wishing everyone an uneventful
Friday the Thirteenth, but …
If you do have a bad Friday
the Thirteenth, at least learn the language you need to complain about it.
Complaining makes people feel better. Anywhere.
(C) 2020, by Targets in English. All rights reserved.
