Friday 13th
From Today's Independent.
13 reasons to beware Friday the 13th
1.) Bad news if you're a Knight Templar: Friday 13 October 1307 was the date chosen by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France to begin their annihilation of the wealthy monastic military order, formed to protect Christian pilgrims during the Crusades. Mass arrests on spurious charges (heresy, blasphemy, homosexuality) were followed by tortured "confessions" and burning at the stake.
2.) A 1993 study in the British Medical Journal, "Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?", found that although fewer people drove on Friday the 13th, the number of hospital admissions due to road traffic accidents was up 52 per cent on "normal" Fridays. It said: "Friday the 13th is unlucky for some ... Staying at home is recommended."
3.) The Chicago gangster Al Capone's slide to ruin began when he was arrested on Friday 13th in 1931. He was later jailed for 11 years for tax evasion and sent to the notoriously strict Alcatraz. He died in 1947.
4.) In the 18th century, the government tried to debunk the naval myth that ships sailing on a Friday would have bad luck. A vessel was commissioned, named HMS Friday. The yard began construction on a Friday the 13th, hired her crew on a Friday and chose a captain called Jim Friday. She set sail on her maiden voyage in 1796 on a Friday, and vanished. Lloyds of London stopped insuring ships launched on Friday the 13th.
5.) On Friday 13 October 1972, the members of Argentina's Montevideo Old Christians rugby club were on their way to a game in Chile when their plane clipped a peak and crashed. Only 16 of the 45 people on board survived. They spent 72 days in the Andes and ate their dead team-mates to survive, inspiring the film Alive.
6.) Sir Henry Segrave chose Friday 13 June 1930 to attempt the water speed record on Lake Windermere. Not knowing he had completed the task, he turned the boat around for a final attempt, but lost control and shot out of the water. Segrave suffered multiple fractures as he was flung from the vessel, but was told he had succeeded before he died.
7.) On Friday 13 July 1984, 12 Germans were killed and 300 injured in freak storms. Hailstones as big as tennis balls fell on Munich, allowing crocodiles and snakes to escape from the zoo.
8.) On 13 November 1970, a cyclone and 20ft tidal surges devastated Bangladesh, killing an estimated 300,000 people.
9.) Bob Renphrey, below, a retired bus conductor from north Wales, worries about Friday the 13th. On those days during the 1990s, he suffered five car crashes, fell through a plate glass door, lost his job, was run over by a motorcycle and fell into a river.
10.) Dave Warren's paraskevidekatriaphobia was severe enough for him to take out a £25,000 insurance policy in 1969, just in case. On Friday the 13ths he had been struck by lightning while in a plane and his car caught fire.
11.) Daz Baxter, of New York, stayed in bed all day on Friday the 13th in 1976 to avoid catastrophe. Alas, his floor collapsed, dropping him six storeys to his death. He was said to be holding his "lucky" rabbit's foot when he landed.
12.) Friday the 13th in February 1987 was bad for Robert Bullard, 21. He attempted suicide by putting his head in a gas oven, but caused only an explosion which did £35,000 damage. He was unharmed.
13.) On 13 August 1976, England's bowlers were humiliated by the West Indian batsmen, who reached a record first innings score of 687-8 at The Oval on their way to victory. Viv Richards hit 291.
13 reasons to beware Friday the 13th
1.) Bad news if you're a Knight Templar: Friday 13 October 1307 was the date chosen by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France to begin their annihilation of the wealthy monastic military order, formed to protect Christian pilgrims during the Crusades. Mass arrests on spurious charges (heresy, blasphemy, homosexuality) were followed by tortured "confessions" and burning at the stake.
2.) A 1993 study in the British Medical Journal, "Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?", found that although fewer people drove on Friday the 13th, the number of hospital admissions due to road traffic accidents was up 52 per cent on "normal" Fridays. It said: "Friday the 13th is unlucky for some ... Staying at home is recommended."
3.) The Chicago gangster Al Capone's slide to ruin began when he was arrested on Friday 13th in 1931. He was later jailed for 11 years for tax evasion and sent to the notoriously strict Alcatraz. He died in 1947.
4.) In the 18th century, the government tried to debunk the naval myth that ships sailing on a Friday would have bad luck. A vessel was commissioned, named HMS Friday. The yard began construction on a Friday the 13th, hired her crew on a Friday and chose a captain called Jim Friday. She set sail on her maiden voyage in 1796 on a Friday, and vanished. Lloyds of London stopped insuring ships launched on Friday the 13th.
5.) On Friday 13 October 1972, the members of Argentina's Montevideo Old Christians rugby club were on their way to a game in Chile when their plane clipped a peak and crashed. Only 16 of the 45 people on board survived. They spent 72 days in the Andes and ate their dead team-mates to survive, inspiring the film Alive.
6.) Sir Henry Segrave chose Friday 13 June 1930 to attempt the water speed record on Lake Windermere. Not knowing he had completed the task, he turned the boat around for a final attempt, but lost control and shot out of the water. Segrave suffered multiple fractures as he was flung from the vessel, but was told he had succeeded before he died.
7.) On Friday 13 July 1984, 12 Germans were killed and 300 injured in freak storms. Hailstones as big as tennis balls fell on Munich, allowing crocodiles and snakes to escape from the zoo.
8.) On 13 November 1970, a cyclone and 20ft tidal surges devastated Bangladesh, killing an estimated 300,000 people.
9.) Bob Renphrey, below, a retired bus conductor from north Wales, worries about Friday the 13th. On those days during the 1990s, he suffered five car crashes, fell through a plate glass door, lost his job, was run over by a motorcycle and fell into a river.
10.) Dave Warren's paraskevidekatriaphobia was severe enough for him to take out a £25,000 insurance policy in 1969, just in case. On Friday the 13ths he had been struck by lightning while in a plane and his car caught fire.
11.) Daz Baxter, of New York, stayed in bed all day on Friday the 13th in 1976 to avoid catastrophe. Alas, his floor collapsed, dropping him six storeys to his death. He was said to be holding his "lucky" rabbit's foot when he landed.
12.) Friday the 13th in February 1987 was bad for Robert Bullard, 21. He attempted suicide by putting his head in a gas oven, but caused only an explosion which did £35,000 damage. He was unharmed.
13.) On 13 August 1976, England's bowlers were humiliated by the West Indian batsmen, who reached a record first innings score of 687-8 at The Oval on their way to victory. Viv Richards hit 291.
posted by phylos @ 12:50
2 Comments:
Love this post-and what is to be said for today's 13th?
Mine was disaster free.
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