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CTV News
14-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Does Friday the 13th give you the creeps?
Friday the 13th is believed by many folks to be unlucky. But where does that belief come from? It's Friday the 13th, and for many Canadians, that means being just a little on edge - avoiding black cats, skipping cracks in the sidewalks, or maybe even staying away from ladders. Whether you see it as just another day or a reason to be extra careful, Friday the 13th has earned a reputation as one of the most superstitious dates on the calendar. So, why all the fuss? The fear of the number 13 - called triskaidekaphobia - has deep roots. In many Western cultures, the number is seen as unlucky, so much so many hotels don't even have a 13th floor. Over the years, the day's spooky reputation has been fuelled by pop culture. The 1980 horror movie Friday the 13th, along with its many sequels, helped cement the idea that something bad might happen when the date rolls around. Jean-Francois Martel, author and host of the Weird Studies podcast, told CTV News in a Friday interview the date is linked to religious symbolism. 'It comes from the story of the bible, as we all know, Christ was crucified on a Friday,' he said. 'The number 13 is seen as unlucky for a bunch of reasons, one of them is that at the Last Supper... there were 13 guests, and in a lot of fairy tales you'll find that if there are 13 guests at a dinner it's always a bad thing, it's like one too many.' Still, there's no scientific proof the day is more dangerous than any other. For those who fear the date, take comfort in knowing that in 2025, there is only one Friday the 13th - today. However, next year, the ominous date falls on the calendar three times: in February, March and November.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
It's Friday the 13th, what can possibly go wrong?
It is Friday the 13th, a day considered by some to be the unluckiest day of the year. Its arrival surely brings with it an element of relief for those who experience friggatriskaidekaphobia, also known as fear of Friday the 13th, as this is the first and only one in 2025. Sometimes there can be as many as three in a year. Hotels are known to skip 13 when numbering rooms or floors, while some airlines don't feature a 13th row owing to superstition surrounding the number 13. But are there any grounds for the dread the date imposes every time it rolls around? Well, some historic events support the theory. Here are five: At Jesus's last supper there were 13 people around the table: 12 disciples and him. Allegedly, Judas Iscariot was the 13th person to arrive. Then, in the early hours of Friday morning, he betrayed Jesus by kissing him on the cheek and calling him Master to identify him to the large crowd, before he was arrested and crucified on what is known as Good Friday to Christians. On Friday the 13th in 1307, King Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of Catholic crusaders known as the Knights Templar. The knights were charged with moral and financial corruption and heresy for worshipping false idols. After being tortured into making false confessions, many of the men were imprisoned or burned at the stake. In Norse mythology, a banquet was held for 12 gods in Valhalla, which Loki, the god of mischief, gatecrashed, making him the 13th person at the feast. Mayhem ensued when Loki tricked the blind god, Hod, into killing his own brother Balder, the god of happiness and joy. On December 13th, 1916, during the first World War, avalanches killed thousands of Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers based in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. As a result, the day became known as White Friday. On Friday, October 13th in 1972, a plane carrying 45 passengers and crew crashed into the Andes Mountains in Argentina. On board were 19 members of the Uruguayan Old Christians rugby union team, with families, supporters and friends. Eighteen people died and the remaining 27 who lived resorted to eating the dead passengers to survive. An avalanche killed eight more people some weeks later. The 16 survivors were not rescued until December. The film, Alive, retelling the story of their survival was made in 1993. How does the rest of the world feel about Friday the 13th? In Spanish-speaking countries, people feel superstitious about Tuesday the 13th; in Italy, Friday the 17th is seen as a day of misfortune. Are there some who consider it lucky? For many, it is just another day. In fact pop artist Taylor Swift celebrates the number 13 and considers it to be lucky, having been born on December 13th, 1989, and turned 13 on Friday the 13th. Swift's first album went gold in 13 weeks and her first number one song had a 13-second introduction. READ MORE She is known for writing the number 13 on the back of her hand before her live shows – an action that many Swifties copied when she performed the global Eras Tour last year. [ A buried jar of honey, a sheaf of straw set on fire and witch windows: House-building superstitions from around the world Opens in new window ] Wishing you all an uneventful Friday the 13th – and for those of you who suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia, don't worry, there won't be another until February 2026.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Friday 13th: Why is it believed to be unlucky?
Does seeing Friday 13th in the calendar fill you with dread? It's a long-standing superstition in western culture that the day is unlucky and some people think bad things could happen when it comes around. No one really knows where this superstition came from but both the number 13 and Friday have a long history of bringing bad the combination of the two that makes the day the most on to find out more! 'Unlucky' 13 Some people think the reason why the number 13 is thought to be bad luck comes from the Bible. Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the thirteenth guest to sit down to the Last Norse mythology, a dinner party of the gods was ruined by the thirteenth guest called Loki, who caused the world to be plunged into today, it's considered unlucky to have 13 people sitting at a dinner table, and some people pop a teddy bear in a seat to make up the number of guests up to 14!Because of the superstitions around the number 13, some hotels will have no room 13, while a lot of buildings with multiple floors will skip number 13, jumping straight from 12 to airlines also choose to skip a row 13 in their planes too. 'Unlucky' Friday For hundreds of years Friday has been considered the unluckiest day of the are some stories in the Bible where bad things happen on a Friday, like the day the Great Flood began and some people believe it's the day Adam and Eve committed the first sin. In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written back in the 1300s, he says "and on a Friday fell all this mischance".In Britain, Friday was once known as Hangman's Day because it was usually when people who had been condemned to death would be Good Friday - the day of Jesus Christ's crucifixion - is thought to be the only Friday that bucks the trend, hence its thought setting sail on a Friday was unlucky but would sometimes begin a long voyage on Good Friday because of its holy connections. Fear of Friday 13th? The combination of Friday and the number 13 as a day of particularly bad luck seems to be a relatively recent tradition - perhaps only about 100 years was first written about in an article in a French literary magazine in 1834 where it states: "It is always Fridays and the number 13 that bring bad luck!"A French play from the same year has a character which says: "I was born on a Friday, December 13th, 1813 from which come all of my misfortunes."There's even a special word for the fear of Friday 13th - luck trying to pronounce that word!There's at least one Friday 13th every year, with some years seeing as many as three. In 2025, there is only one: Friday 13th June. Is Friday 13th unlucky around the world? In Islam, Fridays are thought to be the holiest day of the week. In Judaism, Friday evening marks the starts of the Shabbat - the Jewish day of rest - while the number 13 is also generally considered lucky. People in Spain and Greece consider Tuesday the 13th to be unlucky while in Italy it's Friday the in Japan and China, the 4th of April is thought to be are your Friday 13th superstitions? Let us know in the comments.
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Pato O'Ward looking to change his Indianapolis 500 thirst for victory by finding a cow to milk
INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward understands winners drink milk at the Indianapolis 500. He just doesn't want a small oversight to cause him any more race day consternation. So during Thursday's media day, O'Ward said he plans to participate in a superstition that he hopes will end the tough spills he's endured in his first five Indy 500 starts.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Pato O'Ward looking to change his Indianapolis 500 thirst for victory by finding a cow to milk
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward understands winners drink milk at the Indianapolis 500. He just doesn't want a small oversight to cause him any more race day consternation. So during Thursday's media day, O'Ward said he plans to participate in a superstition that he hopes will end the tough spills he's endured in his first five Indy 500 starts. Pole winner Robert Shwartzman recounted how after last weekend's qualifying, he took part in the rookie tradition of milking a cow — and the role it's believed to play in who quenches their thirst in victory lane. 'The woman, she came to me and said, 'The people who didn't milk the cow, they never won the Indy 500,' and they were like (did not finish). It's bad luck,' Shwartzman said. 'Whoever milks the cow. Alexander Rossi did it. He won the 500. You have to milk the cow.' Shwartzman described his personal experience with a 'very calm, cute' cow named Indy. O'Ward never got his chance to squeeze an udder because his rookie start came in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the race was run in August with no fans and the milking tradition was put on hold. Since then, he's finished sixth, fourth, second, 24th and second. Two-time race winner Takuma Sato claimed he never took part in the tradition, but that didn't seem to impress O'Ward, who eventually asked: 'Are they always ready to just...?' Finally, after Shwartzman suggested O'Ward wait until next year to make it right, O'Ward said he wasn't content to have yet another race day spoiled. He wanted to milk a cow immediately. The Indiana Dairy Association was quick to offer help. 'We know some farmers who know some cows who can make that happen,' the group posted on X. Playing hooky Ryan Hunter-Reay brought a special guest to the dais Thursday — his oldest son, Ryden. The soon-to-be-sixth-grader wore a baseball cap, shorts and, of course, No. 23 socks to honor his dad, the 2014 Indy 500 winner. Spending race week in Indianapolis was only part of the treat for Ryden Hunter-Reay. He also got to miss his last week of school. 'I think it's better (here),' he said when asked about his absence from class. And who does he think will win Sunday's race? 'My dad,' he said. Feeling better Colton Herta canceled his local Community Day appearance Wednesday because he was under the weather. By Thursday, he was feeling well enough to show up for his media day interview. While Herta seems to be on the mend or Sunday's race, he would feel much better with a higher starting spot. He qualified 29th Saturday, just 4 1/2 hours after crashing on his first qualifying attempt. He'll start 27th because of the penalties assessed to two Team Penske cars. At least he's comfortable in the backup car his team scrambled to set up Saturday. 'It's just like being in the other car, they patched everything pretty perfectly, which for me has never happened before, so it was a surprise,' Herta said. 'It filled me with a lot of confidence, made it easier to get back to work.' Drive for five Helio Castroneves is the fourth and most recent member of Indy's four-time winners club. His quest to become the race's first five-time champion has been overshadowed by Kyle Larson's second attempt at running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and by the Team Penske scandal. The longtime Penske driver who now drives for Meyer Shank Racing will start 22nd after moving up two spots on the starting grid because of the penalties assessed to his two ex-teammates. It's the third-lowest starting position of his 25 career Indy starts after he qualified 28th in 2020 and 27th in 2022. The 50-year-old Brazilian also is completing his own double this season by competing in the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 in the same year. 'This place has been good to me, this place is amazing and I'm trying to get something special, to rewrite history,' Castroneves said. 'So we're going to have hard work to do, but I feel like we're going to be up front very soon.' ___ AP auto racing:
