TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA

In honor of today, Friday, October 13th, I thought I would do a little #FunFactFriday.

TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA is the "fear of the number 13."

Yep, it is a true phobia or fear.

Let's take it a step further:  FRIGGATRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA is the "fear of Friday the 13th."

Why 13?

Some say it's because there were 13 people at the Last Supper.

Some say it's because there were 13 steps to the gallows.

Some schools of numerology, the number 12 is considered the number of perfection and completion.  It stands to reason then that trying to improve on perfection by adding a digit is a very bad idea indeed - your greed will be rewarded with bad luck.

Some sports greats wore number 13 and always came up short:  Dan Marino (football) and Steve Nash (basketball), to name a couple.

Some buildings are so superstitious that the don't have a 13th floor (the elevator skips from 12 to 14).  I worked in a building like this.

But I say it's just a number.

Here are some good things that are associated with the number 13:  

My oldest sister (and the first born of our family) was born on the 13th.

One of the greatest (to me) football stories is of Kurt Warner who went from stocking shelves at a Hy-Vee grocery store to now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Kurt wore #13 throughout his NFL career.

I'll end our little #FunFactFriday with this: NASA Mission Apollo 13.  

Some will say that it was not a success, but I beg to differ.  

Yes, there was the famous quote, "Houston, we've had a problem here" (Astronaut Jack Swigert, Apollo 13), but what took place to get those three astronauts back to earth safely was, to me, a fantastic show of TEAMWORK, intelligence, and a bit of luck!

When it was announced that there was going to be an Apollo 13 mission, Commander Jim Lovell's wife Marilyn expressed her concern about the mission's number to her husband by asking, "Why 13?"  Her husband's answer, "It comes after 12, hon."