WEBVTT - Why Is Friday the 13th Considered Unlucky?

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, brain stuff, I'm Christian Sager here to tell you

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<v Speaker 1>why Friday is considered unlikely because in North America and Europe,

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<v Speaker 1>a significant proportion of the population behaves very strangely on Friday.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people won't fly in airplanes, host parties, apply for jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>get married, or even start new projects. In fact, in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States, roughly eight percent of the population is

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<v Speaker 1>afraid of Friday, which is a condition known as and

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<v Speaker 1>say it with me here paraskeva deca tree a phobia.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right, it's actually a combination of two separate fears.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a fear of the number thirteen that's called triscadecaphobia,

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<v Speaker 1>and a fear of Friday's Anyways, the most familiar source

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<v Speaker 1>of both of these phobias is actually Christian theology. Thirteen

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<v Speaker 1>is significant to Christians because it is the number of

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<v Speaker 1>people who were present at the last sub birth. Because

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<v Speaker 1>you've got Jesus and his twelve apostles, and then Judas,

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<v Speaker 1>the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was allegedly the thirteenth member

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<v Speaker 1>of the party to arrive. Maybe Judas was just being

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<v Speaker 1>fashionably late, but Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays

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<v Speaker 1>because they also think that Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

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<v Speaker 1>And some theologians think that Adam and Eve eight from

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<v Speaker 1>the forbidden Fruit on a Friday. So what's going on here?

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<v Speaker 1>Why are all the worst events in the Bible happening

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<v Speaker 1>on Friday, including the Great Flood? Yes, supposedly Noah and

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<v Speaker 1>his arc also set sail on a Friday as Friday,

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<v Speaker 1>God's least favorite day. Because of all of this, in

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<v Speaker 1>the past, many Christians would never begin any new project

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<v Speaker 1>or trip on a Friday, for fear that the endeavor

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<v Speaker 1>would be doomed from the start. Now, sailors were particularly

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<v Speaker 1>superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out to

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<v Speaker 1>sea on a Friday. But according to nautical legend, in

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<v Speaker 1>the eighteenth century, the British Navy commissioned a ship called

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<v Speaker 1>the Hmis Friday. In order to quell the superstition. The

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<v Speaker 1>navy selected the crew on a Friday, they launched the

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<v Speaker 1>ship on a Friday. They even selected a man named

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<v Speaker 1>James Friday as the ship's captain, and then one Friday

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<v Speaker 1>morning that ship set sail, but as bad luck would

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<v Speaker 1>have it, it disappeared. Now, some historians also think they

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<v Speaker 1>can trace Christian distrust of Friday to the Church's overall

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<v Speaker 1>opposition to pagan religions, because did you know this Friday

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<v Speaker 1>is named after Frigg, the Norris goddess of love and sex,

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<v Speaker 1>and now this strong female figure, these historians claim, posed

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<v Speaker 1>a threat to the male dominated Christianity. So to fight

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<v Speaker 1>her influence, the Christian Church characterized her as a witch,

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<v Speaker 1>vilifying the day after her. This characterization may have also

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<v Speaker 1>played a part of the fear of the number thirteen

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<v Speaker 1>trisca decaphobia. Remember that word I did and now I

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<v Speaker 1>can say it correctly. It was said that frig would

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<v Speaker 1>often join a convent of witches, normally a group of twelve,

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<v Speaker 1>bringing the total number to thirteen, and a similar Christian

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<v Speaker 1>tradition holds that thirteen is unholy because it signifies the

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<v Speaker 1>gathering of twelve witches and the devil. Some trace the

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<v Speaker 1>infamy of the number thirteen also back to ancient Norris culture.

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<v Speaker 1>In Norris mythology, the beloved hero Balder was killed at

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<v Speaker 1>a banquet by the malevolent god Loki. You know Tom

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<v Speaker 1>Hittleston who crashed the party of you guessed it? Twelve

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<v Speaker 1>people bringing the group to thirteen, and this story, plus

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<v Speaker 1>the story of the Last Supper, led to one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most entrenched connotations of the number thirteen. You should

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<v Speaker 1>never sit down to a meal at a group of thirteen.

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<v Speaker 1>Another significant part of the Friday the thirteenth legend is

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<v Speaker 1>particularly bad in This was a Friday the thirteenth that

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<v Speaker 1>occurred in the Middle Ages. On a Friday in thirteen

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<v Speaker 1>o six, King Philip of France burned the revered nights

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<v Speaker 1>of Templar at the stake, marking the day as an

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<v Speaker 1>occasion of evil. Now these days, some people come to

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<v Speaker 1>fear Friday because of misfortune they've experienced on that day

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<v Speaker 1>in the past. So if you get in a car

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<v Speaker 1>wreck on Friday the thirteenth or lose your wallet on

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<v Speaker 1>that day, then that superstition is bound to stick with

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<v Speaker 1>you if you think about it. Though terrible things horrible

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<v Speaker 1>things are just mundane things like spilling coffee on your lap,

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<v Speaker 1>or losing your wallet or losing your cell phone. This

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<v Speaker 1>stuff happens all the time, but if you're looking bad

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<v Speaker 1>luck on Friday, you'll probably find it. Jason Borhes check

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<v Speaker 1>out the Brainsuff channel on YouTube and for more on this,

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<v Speaker 1>and thousands of other topics. Visit how stuff works dot com.