13 Freaky Facts About Friday the 13th By Live Science Staff | July 13, 2012 08:42am ET Does Friday the 13th freak you out? If so, hold on to your rabbit's foot extra tight, because there are three of these supposedly unlucky dates in 2012, though perhaps luckily, this Friday (July 13) is the last of them. Though, there's always some fear to be had next year, 2013. Read on for 13 strange facts about this day of superstition. 1. The year 2012 was a special one for Friday the 13ths: There are three of them: Jan. 13, April 13 and July 13. The freaky thing? The dates fall exactly 13 weeks apart. That hasn't happened since 1984. 2. If that scares you, you may have paraskavedekatriaphobia (also known as friggatriskaidekaphobia). Those are the scientific terms for fear of Friday the 13th. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13. 3. It's not clear when or why Friday the 13th became associated with bad luck. The association may be biblical, given that the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus. His crucifixion was the next day, apparently a Friday. Or maybe 13 suffers from coming after the more-pleasing number 12, which gets to number the months, the days of Christmas and even the eggs in a dozen. (There are also 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles of Jesus.) 4. Whatever the reason, fear of 13 has spread far and wide: Hotels and hospitals often skip the 13th floor, and even airports quietly omit gate 13 sometimes. 5. The next year in which we'll have three Friday the 13ths is 2015. They'll fall in February, March and November. 6. If you think your Friday the 13th is likely to be bad, be glad you aren't a 14th-century Knight Templar. On Oct. 13, 1307, officers of King Philip IV of France raided the homes of thousands of these Crusades warriors, imprisoning them on charges of illegal activities. Though the charges weren't proven, more than a hundred died of terrible torture, according to "Tales of the Knights Templar" (Warner Books, 1995). 7. Fittingly, director of psychological thrillers Alfred Hitchcock was born on the 13th — Friday, Aug. 13, 1999, would have been his 100th birthday. Perhaps aptly titled "Number 13," a film that was supposed to be Hitchcock's directorial debut never made it past the first few scenes and was shut down due to financial problems. He allegedly said the film wasn't very interesting. (Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was born on Friday the 13th, in August 1926.) 8. Why does the Friday the 13th superstition stick so firmly in our minds? According to Thomas Gilovich, who chairs the department of psychology at Cornell University, our brains are almost too good at making associations. "If anything bad happens to you on Friday the 13th, the two will be forever associated in your mind, and all those uneventful days in which the 13th fell on a Friday will be ignored," Gilovich said in a statement. [13 Superstitions & Traditions Explained] 9. For pagans, 13 is actually a lucky number. It corresponds with the number of full moons in a year. 10. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is said to have avoided travel on the 13th day of any month, and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13. 11. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest. [13 Odd Occurrences on Friday the 13th] 12. Stock broker and author Thomas W. Lawson, in his 1907 novel "Friday the Thirteenth," wrote of a stockbroker's attempts to take down Wall Street on the unluckiest day of the month. Reportedly, stock brokers after this were as unlikely to buy or sell stocks on this unlucky day as they were to walk under a ladder, according to accounts of a 1925 New York Times article. 13. This fear of Friday the 13th can be serious business, according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, N.C., which, among other things, offers therapy to help people overcome their fear of the freaky friday. Their estimates suggest hundreds of millions of dollars, up to $900 million are lost due to people's fear of flying or doing the business as usual that day, though that number isn't backed up with other estimates.

Round 2! CD 2 of the Deluxe Edition of Queen: Live At The Rainbow '74 The Nasty Queenies are back! ~ Freddie Mercury

The one, the only......

Had these in the form of crummy digital downloads. Glad to finally have these in album form!

Looking forward to watching this after dinner, tonight!

This must be so exciting for you, guys! Thanks for sharing that photo, Walter! Hats off to you for building your dream home from scratch! I do know the feeling (at least to a certain extent) as my parents and I turned interior decorators over night, when we transformed a 20 year old apartment (which literally had nothing) into our new home. It took 5 months to get everything in order and beat the place into shape. It was pretty stressful, but worth it! Wishing you and your family all the luck in the world!

Thank you, Walter! I really appreciate it! It was a happy and surreal moment when I held my first paycheck.

Happy birthday, David! RIP You would have been 70 today. Still haven't fully gotten over your passing. Cranking this album in your honour, tonight!!

Went to the bank. Got my money. And now all the albums I've ordered are on the way! Today was also family movie night.

Wow! That's so cool, Julie!

Well, it's better late than never, Debbie! While I've eaten chicken and lamb, sea food was a big no no! I'm really glad that I'm not allergic! I know that I'll be missing out on a lot if I was!

LOL! I like your logic!

Me too!

Thank you, CP! The world of sea food sure sounds exciting! How do scallops taste? I'm very curious to know! Yes, the dish was called Grilled and marinated Lamb kebabs. The bones were just so annoying to remove! On the other hand, the chicken and prawn kebabs were soft, tender and juicy! In a word : perfect!!

Hi Fred! Wonderful to know that you had a great Christmas and New Year! Happy 2017! I have to say, I LOVE the gif of Humpty Dumpty and Little Bo Peep!! Fantastic stuff! I have to ask, which cartoon is this from? I'm a cartoon buff. I especially love Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts to a core. My love in fact borders on obsession! Also, may I please post this on the gif thread? It is so great! I'll definitely mention that you made this gif from scratch

Yes, it has! Thanks Craig! I'm by no means the number 1 Rush fan. I am just so passionate about them as no other band's music has spoken to me or touched my heart so much. I've grown up listening to 100's of bands over the years, but there is something extra special about these guys. Can't quite put my finger on it, yet!

Strider, I would also like to add that unlike in the US and Europe, where the availability of things are plentiful (to say the least), in India, this is not at all the case. I recently saw some *ahem unofficial Rush releases on Amazon. I have to seize the day now as the seller might remove the listing at any time or hike up the damn price or some other fan from India might purchase it. I've seen listings disappear in a matter of 2 to 3 weeks. It is now or never. If I don't buy these albums now, I most probably will never get a chance to add these to my collection. Besides, from next month, I won't be spending a dime from my salary. The entire amount will be going into my savings account. I'm not a spoiled brat who doesn't know the value of money. I've been raised better. My dad saw Pink Floyd's Ummagumma at a record store in Manchester in 1978. He debated whether or not to buy it. But sadly, when he went to the same record store about a week later, it was gone. He never saw that album at any store he went to, for the next 35 years. That's very unfortunate, IMHO. He finally bought himself a copy at Real Groovy in Auckland, when he and I went record shopping together. But he considers himself incredibly lucky to have actually found it, after all these years. Also, I despise people who demand 'freebies' or credit. The sense of entilement or gimmie, gimmie, gimmie attitude is wrong on so many levels and is not part of my value system. It is not who I am and never will be. Either I can afford something or I cannot. It is as simple as that. Honestly, I was pretty surprised, disappointed and hurt to know that you believe that I'm just like the typical millennial in terms of being entitled and greedy. I thought you knew me better!

Strider, I don't have a credit card. I have what is known as a debit card. When you use a debit card, you essentially, transfer money from your account straight away to the seller, upon purchasing an item. It's just like going to the shops and paying right away in exchange for the product. I chose to have a debit card rather than a credit card, because I want to be able to pay for things right away and not be a debt ridden idiot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debit_card The going rate for brand new CD's in India (if you look carefully and wisely for the right seller) is around $4 to $6. Yes, this does include imported albums. Trust me, this Millennial is wiser than you think. Credit cards are dangerous, IMHO.

Om Puri https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/06/om-puri-indian-actor-dies-aged-66

Had sea food for the first time at an office party, recently. It was at a Kebab cum pub type of joint. It is called The Big Pitcher http://www.bigpitcher.co.in/ For the record, my dad is highly allergic to sea food. I was terrified to try the prawn kebab, for obvious reasons. Then in went in a few beers (I can sure as hell, out drink any man in my office ) and in spite of being pretty drunk, I can tell you that the prawn kebab and chicken kebab were absolutely lip smacking. The lamb kebab was just OK. The taste was great, but manually deboning each and every freakin' piece of kebab was messy and annoying! I highly recommend The Big Pitcher to anyone visiting Bangalore, who wants to go out and have some good culinary