It ’s Friday the 13th and , for the superstitious amongst us , that ’s probably a cause to delay at home . This day has long been consideredunluckyby many people . There is even a specific phobia associate with this ill date ( the loose to articulate paraskavedekatriaphobia ) .
Across the old age , there have been many distressing event that have pass off on Friday the 13th . Is it coincidence , or is there something more minacious going on ? despoiler : It ’s coincidence , but it ’s still interesting .
Knights Templar
If you were a penis of the Knights Templar in mediaeval France , then you would have had a good rationality to worry about Friday the 13th . On that day in 1307 , King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Templars , an influential and extremely racy spiritual military edict at the time .
Philip , otherwise known as Philip the Fair ( for his respectable aspect , certainly not his character ) want to rid of the order for fiscal purposes . TheFrenchcrown had been in debt to the Templars for some time after borrowing money to help wage wars and incubate other royal costs . By leveraging accusations of heterodoxy and devil worship , Philip was able to justify catch over 600 Templars who were excruciate and eventually executed .
The last leap of Sam Patch
On Friday November 13 , 1829 , spectators gathered at Genesee Falls , New York , to keep an eye on America ’s first daredevil , Sam Patch , perform another death - defying stunt . For over two years , Patch had amazed audiences by bound off incredible heights without incident . In September 1827 , he had successfully leap over the Passaic Falls in Paterson , which he come after by leaping off other waterfalls until he astonish onlookers at Niagara Falls in October 1829 . However , his next exploit was to be his last .
According to eyewitness , when Patch leapt from Genesee Falls ’ Upper Falls , his flight of steps into the atmosphere did not expect right . His diving posture was wrong , and rather than piercing the pee , he hit it with an audible smack . His body did not return to the surface , which get the bunch to panic . His rooted remains were eventually found four months after at the mouth of the Genesee River .
Black Friday bushfires
After several years of drought , high-pitched temperature and stiff breaking wind led to bushfires that diffuse across Victoria , Australia , on Friday January 13 , 1939 . TheBlack Friday Bushfires , as they are now known , were part of a annihilating bushfire time of year that had take place across 1938 and into the unexampled yr . Around 75 per centum of the state of matter was affected by the fire as they burn almost2 millionhectares ( 4.9 million estate ) of state . By the end of January , 71 people had lost their lives , around 1,300 buildings had been destroy , and a total of 700 plate had been obliterated .
The Andes plane crash
The story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 is one of the more disturbing tarradiddle associated with Friday the 13th . In October 1972 , the trajectory was carrying 45 passengers , including arugby team , when it strike a ridgeline and crashed into the Andes mountains . Despite endeavour to find the survivor , the harsh environment and poor weather condition forced the emergency saving to be scream off after eight days . Left with little intellectual nourishment and dwindle down options , the survivors were forced to repair to cannibalism to stay live .
After 72 day maroon in the freezing condition , 16 survivors were deliver following a grueling 10 - day trek do by two of the chemical group who coiffe out to determine help .
Financial mini-crash
On Friday October 13 , 1989 , the stock market experienced a mini - crash when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by intimately 7 percent . The crash led to temporary financial panic , which earned the date the name “ Black Friday ” .
Costa Concordia disaster
On Friday January 13 , 2012 , the seven - year - oldCosta Concordiacruise ship crash and became stuck in shallow urine in the Tyrrhenian Sea , near Isola del Giglio . The disaster , which has been deem altogether preventable , has beenblamedon the captain Francesco Schettino and his crowd for irresponsible behavior after the ship voyage too near to the coast , at dark , and at gamy swiftness .
In the end , over 4,000 the great unwashed had to be rescue from the capsized watercraft , while 32 mass turn a loss their life .
Friday the 13th, what’s all this fuss about?
Thesuperstitionsurrounding Friday the 13th is old . Some believe the Templars ' bloody fate started it , but it is in all likelihood older than that . In fact , the superstition is probably the outcome of variousculturalbeliefs , rather than any specific historical effect . For example , Christianity associates the number 13 with suspicion after Judas Iscariot , the thirteenth guest at the Last Supper , betrayed Christ .
In Norse mythology , the hoaxer Loki was the 13th Edgar Guest at the feast of the idol , which has been identified as setting off chaos as he arranged the death of Balder .
At the same time , the Bible itself is filled with other various unfortunate result that occurred on Fridays ( most notably Good Friday , when Christ was said to have been frustrate ) , which was believed to be an luckless 24-hour interval more broadly .
On Friday 15 December 2024, over 600 Knights Templars were arrested in France.Image credit: Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon, France, viaWikimedia Commons(Public Domain)
These ethnic gene have in all likelihood influence how we think about Friday the 13th , but our brain have likely done the rest : substantiation preconception , the disposition to understand information that agrees with our parti pris . In this context , our idea have evolve to make links between likely causes and their effects . It ’s helped us survive as a specie , but sometimes it can go too far , hit connections andadding meaningto random unrelated outcome .
So if you have a civilization that view Friday the 13th as an unlucky date , you ’re likely to be more sensitive to unusual or negative events that occur on this particular date , even though terrible thing bechance on any other day as well .
A memorial has been placed in the Andes mountains to commemorate all those who lost their lives during the disaster and to remember the struggles of those who survived.Image credit: BookerKC viaWikimedia Commons(Public Domain)
