Friday the 13th

Yes, I know.. it's a bit cliche to write a Friday the 13th post, on Friday the 13th... but I'm doing it anyway.

Frankly, I didn't realize until a short time ago (ie, well after lunchtime) that this WAS Friday the 13th. Oh sure.. when I make an appointment, I look at the date.  But when I check my schedule for the day, my app automatically opens to the current date.  And when I prepare a letter or some other document, I have the program set so that it automatically enters the current date.  So I don't really pay attention to the calendar date, most of the time.

But this is Friday, May 13th.. and it seemed like that was worthy of a quick google and wiki check. And, as usual, I wanted to share what I found.

While 13 is considered unlucky in Hispanic and Greek cultures... the unlucky day there is Tuesday, not Friday.  So today is not a big deal to them... but boy oh boy, watch out for Tuesday, September 13th, this year.

In Italy, the unlucky day is Friday, just as it is in the US...but the unlucky date is 17... so Italians will be biting their nails next month.  Not only is the unlucky date #17.. but #13 is considered lucky, so the Italians are probably doing all sorts of dangerous things today, knowing that it's safe.

Beyond that, there's a lot of conflicting information.  In Great Britain, it's been reported that there are more car accidents on Friday the 13th... but the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics reports there are actually fewer accidents, which is attributed to the fact that people are extra-careful, since it is indeed Friday the 13th.

Interestingly enough, assuming that you're using the Gregorian calendar, there is actually a slightly greater chance of the 13th day of the month falling on a Friday, than on any other day.  No, I don't understand why... but  apparently it's true, although it's also very, very, very slight.  For every 400 years, there are 684 Thursdays and 684 Saturdays that are the 13th day of the month, while there are 688 Fridays that are designated #13, and the other four days  of the week fall somewhere in between 684 and 688.

All of which makes me wonder why there are 7 days in a week, instead of 8, as the Beatles suggested. Or 4, which is my favorite number.  Or even 13 days a week.  Then there would only be... oh wait... that would mean we might not have Fridays at all.  

Never mind.  It's clearly time for a cup of tea.