| 13th October 2006 07:22 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Shiittttt!!!!!
Maybe we should all go back to bed.
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| 13th October 2006 07:25 AM |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
Or play any verion of all of "Ain't Superstitious" |
| 13th October 2006 07:28 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Of Friday the 13th and evil day tag
• Friday, Oct 13, 2006
The Tide News/Nigeria
In most of the so called civilised Western World, Friday the 13th of any month is a most dreaded day.
The origins of “Friday the Thirteenth” revolve around folklore and Christianity, though it is believed the latter has had a more intense influence on the fateful day.
The superstitious will, however, cite a long history of misfortune associated with the number 13.
Though no one has been able to say what and why human being first associated the number 13 with misfortune, the belief is assumed to be older than the proverbial hills and there exist a number of theories purporting to trace the origins to antiquity and beyond.
In addition, it has been asserted that fears surrounding the number ‘thirteen’ are as ancient as the act of counting the number 13.
Number 13, an integer that looms between 12 and 14, is sometime referred to as the ‘devils dozen’ in the Western world. The origins of the connection between the number 13 and ill fortune are so obscure, but in order to understand number 13, one has to understand the history of number 12.
The number 12, has traditionally represented completeness. This can be justified by some of the following examples:
·There are 12 months in a lunar year.
·There are 12 gods of Olympus
· There are 12 signs of Zodiac
· There are 12 apostles of Jesus
Number 13 therefore is just one digit beyond twelve and the superstitious regard it as symbolic of the first departure from completeness or the initial step toward evil. From that mythical start, the number 13 has plowed a path of devastation through history.
According to the Bible, there were 13 people gathered at Christ’s last supper, including the double-crossing Judas Iscariot and in fact Judas Iscariot was the 13th apostle.
We are also told that the 13th tribe of Israel was the only tribe left without land, and that the ill-fated Apollo 13 space mission was launched at 1313 hours from pad 39 (the 3rd multiple of 13) and had to be aborted on April 13, 1970.
It is alleged that:
· If 13 people sit to dine together, it is a prediction that either the first one to rise up or any other of them will die within that year.
· Some cities in the Western World have neither 13th street or Avenue.
· If one’s name has 13 letters one is prone to evil’s luck.
· Some architects have gone to greater lengths to soothe superstition and as such, they have erected buildings with no 13th floor.
· In countries’ lotteries, number 13 is deliberately omitted. Research gives an example of Italy.
· In some air buses, there is no 13 aisle and the joke still revolves round triskaidekaphobics to label the supposedly 13th aisle 14 to hoodwink you into relaxing.
Friday, the sixth day of the week has an equally colorful past. Together with the number 13, both have foreboding reputations said to date from ancient times, and their inevitable conjunction from one to three times a year portends more misfortune than some credulous minds can bear.
Incidents abound in support of the supposedly “most widespread” superstition in the Western World according to researches by folklorists.
According to the Bible, some enthusiasts have reported, Eve gave the “apple” to Adam on Friday; the Great Flood began on Friday; the temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday; the confusion at the Tower of Babel was on a Friday; the execution day in ancient Rome was Friday and to crown it all, Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday.
Chaucer, in his ‘Canterbury Tales’ alluded to Friday as a day on which bad things seemed to happen, as far back as the late 14th century.
However, references to Friday as a day connected with ill-luck generally start to show up in Western literature, around the mid-17th century.
Put together, Friday the 13th spells trouble for triskaidekaphobics (term used for those with a phobia for number 13). Hardcore triskaidekaphobics say 13 has the power to affect not only their personal lives, but global events as well.
It is estimated that the 13th of the month costs America a billion dollars a year through train and plane reservation cancellation, absenteeism and reduced commerce. One can therefore see why philosopher Edmund Burke proclaimed superstition the ‘religion of feeble minds’.
Dr Donald Dossey, a psychotherapist specialising in the treatment of phobias and a coiner of the term paraskev-idekatriaphobia (term for those with a Friday 13th phobia), reveals that 8 per cent of Americans are still in the grips of a very old superstition.
Some of the things paraskavidekatriaphobic will dear not do on Friday the 13th include eating in restaurants, going to work, setting their weddings on that day, turning mattresses, starting a new venture, signing a new contract and sailing.
Research results by John Bowe indicate that while fewer people chose to drive their cars on Friday 13th, the number of hospital admission due to vehicular accidents were significantly higher than on ‘normal Fridays’. An English school boy allegedly proved mathematically that 13, when examined over a 400-year period, falls on Friday more than any day of the year. He was 13 years old of course.
With all the fuss over Friday the 13th, the only reality that surround the date is that it remains nothing more than superstition. Friday (TODAY) is like any other day of the week that happens to occur on the 13th of the month.
It is obvious that all months whose first day falls on a Sunday, will contain a Friday the 13th. For instance, the first day of January, April and October this year happens to be Sunday which makes the 13th of these three months to be Friday.
In my opinion, belief in Friday the 13th is no different from that of some Nigerians who superstitiously regard the 122 days (1st September to 31st December) of every year – the so called MBER MONTHS as evil day. None of these claims are grounded on sound scientific evidence.
My research is prompted by the fact that my first son was born on the 13th day of October. And today, Friday the 13th of October happens to be his birth day. His resume is that of a very successful young man-called to the Nigeria Bar 22 years ago at a very tender age. He has, by dint of hard work, since then, established and sustained an impressive livelihood in the legal practice. He is a complete family man, a Knight in the Anglican communion and well rooted in the LORD.
All the stricking surprises revealed by this research are mere coincidence. Thousands of children are born daily all over the world. Many will be born today here in Nigeria. They are all normal children. Many of them will succeed in life more than some people on the ‘normal day’.
Ichoku, veteran journalist, is a retired director of publications, Rivers State Ministry of Information
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[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
| 13th October 2006 10:31 AM |
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| corgi37 |
I always perform anal sex on Friday the 13th. |
| 13th October 2006 06:16 PM |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
LOL Corgi, any reason why? |
| 13th October 2006 06:23 PM |
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| Dan |
I didn't even realize that was today. I like parts 1-4 and 6. Some of the best movies of the 80's. |
| 13th October 2006 06:43 PM |
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| TampabayStone |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
I always perform anal sex on Friday the 13th.
Beauty!! |
| 13th October 2006 07:24 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
I always perform anal sex on Friday the 13th.
Is it really better to give than recieve? |
| 13th October 2006 07:26 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
VoodooChileInWOnderl wrote:
LOL Corgi, any reason why?
does he need one? LOL |
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