How Do You Battle Triskaidekaphobia (Fear Of The Number 13)?
The third Friday the 13th of 2009 occurred in November – the maximum number of unlucky Friday the 13ths that can occur in a year. Who believes in these silly superstitions? Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt did, for starters. The first skirmish in the battle against triskaidekaphobia is to know thine enemy. Just why do we distrust the number 13? The prankster Loki crashed a party of 12 Norse gods in Aasgard and became an uninivted thirteenth guest. In an eerie parallel, Judas Iscariot was the 13th guest at Jesus Christ’s last supper. Some elevators and buildings have no 13th floor – or they christen them with a pseudonym like 12A. FDR refused to travel on the 13th. Then, of course, there are all those Fridy the 13th movies with the seemingly unstoppable mass killer Jason. Even the most level headed among us must occasionally pause to ponder the tragedy of Apollo 13, which launched at the CST military time of 13:13. For the devoutly superstitious, potential ill might be neutraliz
