Who's Afraid of Friday the 13th?
The idea that Friday the 13th is unlucky is one of the most common superstitions in America. What do you believe?
Are you even a tiny bit nervous about today?
The superstition that Friday the 13th is unlucky is the most common superstition that Americans have, according to several polls.
Take our Patch Poll to determine what you're superstitious about and then tell us in the comments boxes your experiences on Friday the 13th
Donald Dossey of the Stress Management and Phobia Institute in North Carolina told National Geographic magazine that 17 to 21 million people in America are very superstititous about the number 13. In fact, mental health experts have named a phobia about it - triskaidekaphobia.
These folks can have symptoms ranging from mild anxiety to full-blown panic attacks. Some won't leave their homes today.
Friday the 13th embodies two ancient beliefs in many different cultures: that Friday is an unlucky day and 13 is an unlucky number.
This year, the calendar has three Fridays that fall on the thirteenth of the month: Jan. 13, April 13 and July 13, according to USAToday.
We may like to think we're not superstitious, but most of us believe in things we can't prove and some of us think it can't hurt to have a healthy respect for superstitions.
Deb Belt
10:48 am on Friday, April 13, 2012
I avoid ladders and knock on wood. Why tempt fate?
Anne Carothers-Kay
11:03 am on Friday, April 13, 2012
I refuse to forward chain emails, but I always have a nagging doubt about it. I don't know who St. Joseph is, but I'd bury a statue of him, Buddha, or Superman if it helped sell a house in a slow market.
Anne Carothers-Kay
11:32 am on Friday, April 13, 2012
So, I don't think I'm superstitious but I wouldn't schedule surgery on Friday the 13th. What about you? What won't you do on Friday the 13th?
Erv Server
2:59 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012
I'm afraid of other drivers on Friday the 13th ....and every other day
Stephen Schmidt
1:45 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012
I have a personal tradition where I knock on the the window panel of airplanes in affection as they safely land. This isn't so much a superstition, I just feel I need to thank the plane for bearing me through the skies at supersonic speeds and not shattering into a thousand pieces.
Beth Dalbey
3:17 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012
Erv, exactly. I don't like that I'm sharing the road with uptight, anxiety filled drivers who are convinced something bad is going to happen to them before they get home. These people scare me.