-- The fear of Friday is skeviphobia, the fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia, and the fear of Friday the 13th is paraskevidekatriaphobia (aka friggatriskaidekaphobia).
-- While both Friday(because Judas was thought to have been the 13th guest at the Last Supper) and 13(because it is an uneven number following the even number 12 widely considered beneficial) had independently been considered unlucky for centuries, the dark nature of Friday The 13th appears to have only originated in the West in the 19th century, possibly with Henry Sutherland Edwards' 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini wherein the date is termed unlucky!
-- Apollo 13, which barely escaped becoming a doomed flight, was launched on 13:13 CST, April 11,1970, with the explosion that disabled the craft occurring on April 13(a Monday).
-- In Spanish-speaking nations, Tuesday The 13th is regarded as unlucky!
-- Oklahoma bandit Crawford "Cherokee Bill" Goldsby murdered 13 victims, and was captured with a reward of $1300, At his trial, 13 eyewitnesses testified against him, the jury took 13 hours to render a verdict of guilty, and he was hanged on April 13,1896 on a gallows with 13 steps!
-- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would never host a dinner party with 13 guests in attendance and refused to travel on the 13th day of any month!
-- Cuban leader Fidel Castro was born on Friday, August 13,1926, while celebrated outlaw Butch Cassidy was born on. Friday, April 13,1866!
-- Miami Dolphin Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his distinguished football career. In his one and only trip to the Super Bowl(1985), the San Francisco 49ers clobbered his team, 38-16!
-- The majority of skyscrapers in America do not have a 13th floor, while some hospitals avoid rooms numbered 13, and a few airline terminals bypass gates numbered 13!
-- Every calendar year has at least one Friday The 13th. The most Fridays The 13th that can occur in any given calendar year is three, such as in 2012(January, April and July)!
-- The longest period that can occur without a Friday The 13th is 14 months, either from July through September of the following normal year, or from August through October of the following leap year!
-- In the 1960 cinematic thriller, 13 Ghosts, director William Castle, known for creating innovative PR gimmicks, introduced "Illusion-O" and offered audience members "ghost viewers" to enable them to see the invisible spirits(unfortunately, his on-camera appearance is often deleted from TV airings of the film).
-- On Friday April 13, 2029, the asteroid 99942 will make its closest encounter with the Earth!
Here are 2 Friday The 13th related video links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2RZn9CV_9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwnCZO7vr88