13 Interesting Facts

1.  Belief that the number 13 is unlucky is the most common Western superstition.
2.  Every month has a 13th but no single year has more than three Friday the 13th's and on average there are two.
3.  Months with a Friday the 13th always begin on a Sunday.
4.  It is from the Norse goddess Frigg, or Freyja, that we get Frigg's Day, or Freyja's Day which became the English Friday.
5.  Black abbath's self-titled first album was released in the UK on Friday, February 13, 1970 and I will be listening to it on this Friday the 13th.
6.  In a traditional hangman's noose there are 13 twists of the rope and 13 steps to the gallows.
7.  There is no 13th Avenue in San Francisco, instead Funston Avenue is between 12th and 14th Avenues. There is however a 13 Street. It's covered by the Central Skyway making it one of the darkest and ugliest streets in San Francisco.
8.  In Formula 1, there is no car with the number 13. The number has been removed after two drivers were killed in crashes — both driving cars numbered 13.
9.  According to Dr. Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, more than 80% of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
10. Infamous murderers Charles Manson, Harold Shipman, Frederick West, Saddam Hussein, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne acy, Theodore Bundy, and Jack the Ripper each have 13 letters in their names.
11. Women drivers have a 64% increased chance of death when driving on Friday the 13th.
12. Folklore remedies for triskaidekaphobia include climbing to the top of a mountain or skyscraper and burning all the socks you own that have holes in them. Another is to stand on your head and eat a piece of gristle.
13. According to at least one interpretation of the Mayan calendar the world will end on 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.0.0.0.0 or in the Gregorian calendar, Friday, October 13, 4772.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
The Knights Templar, the Assassins, the Johannite Heresy, and Satanism, FreeMasonryWatch.org
The fear of number 13 and Friday the 13th
How Friday the 13th Works, HowStuffWorks.com
Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky, About.com
Traffic Deaths and Superstition on Friday the 13th, The American Journal of Psychiatry, Dec. 2002
Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History, National Geographic News, Aug. 2004
Maya Calendar, Wikipedia http://www.hauntedbay.com/history/friday13.shml