Today is Friday, May 13, 2011 -- the only Friday the 13th of 2011.
Historically, some unlucky events are believed to have occurred on the day to:
o French King Philip IV rounded up hundreds of monks and tortured them for heresy on Friday, October 13, 1307.
o Some say Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday the 13th.
o More recently, on Friday, March 13, 1992, an earthquake in Turkey killed nearly 2,000 and left 50,000 homeless.
The No. 13 itself has driven people crazy for centuries, in large part due to Friday the 13th. Some people are so obsessed that triskaidekaphobia was born -- the fear of the number 13.
That fear has led the human race to make some strange decisions. Here are 13 examples.
Vote on the most ridiculous and be extra careful today!
1. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
2. Many cities don't have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue.
3. If you have 13 letters in your name, you're said to have the devil's luck. (Like Charles Manson).
4. Many airports skip the 13th gate.
5. Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
6. Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
7. More than 80% of high rises lack a 13th floor.
8. On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
9. Traditionally in hangings, there are 13 knots in the noose and 13 steps leading up to the moment of death.
10. Socialites called quatorziens (fourteeners) make themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
11. Many say the No. 13 pointed to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
12. Tarot Card number 13 is the Death Card, depicting the Grim Reaper.
13. Some say that the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (circa 1780 B.C.E.) is to blame for the No. 13 woes since the 13th law is omitted.