It’s Friday the 13th. Here are some odd things you might not know.
- More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
- Many airports skip the 13th gate.
- Some airplanes have no 13th row of seats.
- Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
- Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
- On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
- Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue.
- 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, those who fear the unlucky integer, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
- If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck. Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy, and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names. (Source: corsinet.com)
A YouGov poll asked Americans if they're afraid of Friday the 13th and found that nearly half say they are a little spooked. Those who are 25 to 34 years old are the most anxious about it, with about a quarter of them saying they are very superstitious about the day. The over-55 crowd is the least superstitious group. The next Friday the 13th won't be until next September.