Are you superstitious?

I'm not. But I thought I'd ask.

As you've already noted today is Friday the 13th! Oooooooooo Ahhhhhhhhh- Scared?

Me neither.

The scholar in me {which reveals I'm a nerd at heart- who likes facts about all sorts of things and history} wanted to know what the big deal is about Friday the 13th. So here ya go- if you're intrigued as I:

'This Friday some people will be so paralyzed with fear they simply won't get out of bed. Others will steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. It's Friday the 13th, and they're freaked out.

It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do, and isestimated afflicts 17 to 21 million people in the United States.

Symptoms range from mild anxiety to full-blown panic attacks. The latter may cause people to reshuffle schedules or miss an entire day's work. Their beliefs and behavior are likely to be part of a much bigger world view. They will believe that luck is a magical force and that it can ruin their lives.

Ominous Number

So how did Friday the 13th become such an unlucky day?

Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities ultimately combined to make one super unlucky day.

Traced back to a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.
Balder died and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It was a bad, unlucky day. From that moment on, the number 13 has been considered ominous and foreboding.

There is also a biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.

Meanwhile, in ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.

The number 13 suffers because of its position after 12. Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus.
In exceeding 12 by 1 - 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness. The number becomes "restless or squirmy".

This fear of 13 is strong in today's world. More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor. Many airports skip the 13th gate. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half. In France socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.

Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.

As for Friday, it is well known among Christians as the day Jesus was crucified. Some biblical scholars believe Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on Friday. Perhaps most significant is a belief that Abel was slain by Cain on Friday the 13th.'