1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,079 Speaker 1: Hey, brain stuff, I'm Christian Sager here to tell you 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: why Friday is considered unlikely because in North America and Europe, 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: a significant proportion of the population behaves very strangely on Friday. 4 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: Some people won't fly in airplanes, host parties, apply for jobs, 5 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: get married, or even start new projects. In fact, in 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: the United States, roughly eight percent of the population is 7 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: afraid of Friday, which is a condition known as and 8 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 1: say it with me here paraskeva deca tree a phobia. 9 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: That's right, it's actually a combination of two separate fears. 10 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: We have a fear of the number thirteen that's called triscadecaphobia, 11 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: and a fear of Friday's Anyways, the most familiar source 12 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: of both of these phobias is actually Christian theology. Thirteen 13 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: is significant to Christians because it is the number of 14 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: people who were present at the last sub birth. Because 15 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: you've got Jesus and his twelve apostles, and then Judas, 16 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was allegedly the thirteenth member 17 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: of the party to arrive. Maybe Judas was just being 18 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:17,919 Speaker 1: fashionably late, but Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays 19 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: because they also think that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. 20 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: And some theologians think that Adam and Eve eight from 21 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: the forbidden Fruit on a Friday. So what's going on here? 22 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: Why are all the worst events in the Bible happening 23 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: on Friday, including the Great Flood? Yes, supposedly Noah and 24 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: his arc also set sail on a Friday as Friday, 25 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: God's least favorite day. Because of all of this, in 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: the past, many Christians would never begin any new project 27 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: or trip on a Friday, for fear that the endeavor 28 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: would be doomed from the start. Now, sailors were particularly 29 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out to 30 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: sea on a Friday. But according to nautical legend, in 31 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: the eighteenth century, the British Navy commissioned a ship called 32 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: the Hmis Friday. In order to quell the superstition. The 33 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: navy selected the crew on a Friday, they launched the 34 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: ship on a Friday. They even selected a man named 35 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: James Friday as the ship's captain, and then one Friday 36 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: morning that ship set sail, but as bad luck would 37 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: have it, it disappeared. Now, some historians also think they 38 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: can trace Christian distrust of Friday to the Church's overall 39 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: opposition to pagan religions, because did you know this Friday 40 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: is named after Frigg, the Norris goddess of love and sex, 41 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:53,359 Speaker 1: and now this strong female figure, these historians claim, posed 42 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: a threat to the male dominated Christianity. So to fight 43 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: her influence, the Christian Church characterized her as a witch, 44 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: vilifying the day after her. This characterization may have also 45 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: played a part of the fear of the number thirteen 46 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: trisca decaphobia. Remember that word I did and now I 47 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: can say it correctly. It was said that frig would 48 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: often join a convent of witches, normally a group of twelve, 49 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: bringing the total number to thirteen, and a similar Christian 50 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: tradition holds that thirteen is unholy because it signifies the 51 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: gathering of twelve witches and the devil. Some trace the 52 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: infamy of the number thirteen also back to ancient Norris culture. 53 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: In Norris mythology, the beloved hero Balder was killed at 54 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: a banquet by the malevolent god Loki. You know Tom 55 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: Hittleston who crashed the party of you guessed it? Twelve 56 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: people bringing the group to thirteen, and this story, plus 57 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: the story of the Last Supper, led to one of 58 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: the most entrenched connotations of the number thirteen. You should 59 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: never sit down to a meal at a group of thirteen. 60 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: Another significant part of the Friday the thirteenth legend is 61 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: particularly bad in This was a Friday the thirteenth that 62 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: occurred in the Middle Ages. On a Friday in thirteen 63 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: o six, King Philip of France burned the revered nights 64 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: of Templar at the stake, marking the day as an 65 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: occasion of evil. Now these days, some people come to 66 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: fear Friday because of misfortune they've experienced on that day 67 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: in the past. So if you get in a car 68 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: wreck on Friday the thirteenth or lose your wallet on 69 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 1: that day, then that superstition is bound to stick with 70 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: you if you think about it. Though terrible things horrible 71 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: things are just mundane things like spilling coffee on your lap, 72 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: or losing your wallet or losing your cell phone. This 73 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: stuff happens all the time, but if you're looking bad 74 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: luck on Friday, you'll probably find it. Jason Borhes check 75 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: out the Brainsuff channel on YouTube and for more on this, 76 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Visit how stuff works dot com.