It's Friday the 13th, and since Halloween is just a few weeks away, this one feels just a little more meaningful. So if you're uneasy today, listen up. I've got a list of five things science says about you if you fear Friday the 13th . . .
1. Your fear has a name. The fear of Friday the 13th is called frigg-a-tri-skai-dek-a-phobia. And if you're afraid of the number 13 in general, that's tri-skai-dek-a-phobia.
2. You might be scared about what you can't control. That's why so many people alter their plans today, to try to avoid being unlucky.
3. If you're a little on edge today, you're normal. Having a ritual like not walking under a ladder or avoiding black cats today is silly . . . but it's probably not indicative of any sort of mental illness.
4. If you're SUPER anxious though, it could be a problem. If you stay in bed all day in fear that anything you do will be cursed, there might be some deeper issues at play.
5. You're disrupting the economy. It's estimated that around $900 MILLION is lost in business every Friday the 13th . . . from all the people who decide not to fly, go to work, or leave their house at all.
(Full Story Reader's Digest / National Geographic, image (c) 2017 GettyImages)
Now here's a few of stats for Friday the 13th. Hopefully they'll make you feel LESS nervous . . .
1. 74% of people say they've had bad luck on a Friday the 13th in the past.
2. But that could just be people overstating things. Statistically speaking, today isn't any more dangerous than any other day. A study out of Finland found there's no increase in bad things happening on Friday the 13th.
3. 5% of people plan to stay in their house all day today just to be safe.
4. This is only the fifth time in the past three decades that Friday the 13th has happened in October. The previous ones are 1989, 1995, 2000, and 2006.
5. Every single year has to have at least one Friday the 13th, and some years can have up to three. The next one is in April of next year.
(Full story News Shopper / Haruteq / LiveScience / Devon Live)