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Everybody has bad luck at some time in their life. So it stands to reason that some people are going to be on Friday 13th. But the real issue is whether certain people get unlucky every single time it is Friday 13th. This year (2009) is actually a good year to put it to the test - because we have two Friday 13th on the trot - in February and March. It will be interesting to see if cases of bad luck rise above the average for these two months.

The number 13 has long been regarded in western culture as unlucky. So it follows that people who are superstitious are going to blame any mishaps they have on Friday 13th on the date. Yet when they trip over on Monday 20th, they will not blame the accident on anything. 'It just happened,' is more likely to be their response.

In our office, most peple make light of the 'unlucky' date. In fact, most people are unaware of the date until someone reminds us that it is Friday 13th. 'Better be careful, then,' someone will quip. Generally, we dismiss the idea of one particular date being unlucky as some form of old wives' tale that is not based in fact at all.

Most superstitions have some sort of logical explanation. For example, if you walk under a ladder, it follows that you are more likely to have some paint drop on you. Or if a black cat runs in front of you, then you will try to avoid it, which could lead to an incident that you would later deem unlucky. But this is not always the case.

People in the past - particularly the Middle Ages - were hugely superstitious. Not surprising really, given the awful lot they had to endure in life. So they would look for things to avoid to have more luck. And they were quick to point the finger at witches and the like. In modern times, we are still superstitious to a degree, although we do not take it quite so seriously as our ancestors must have done. Sport is a field in which we see plenty of superstition. You will find soccer players who insist on being the last out of the changing room. Others have to put their right boot on before their left and so on. They reckon that if they fail to follow these strict routines, then they will have a bad game. Even when they lose doing such ridiculous things, they still carry on before the next match.

My conclusion is that Friday 13th is not really an unlucky day. There is no more misfortune on that date than any other date. And the odd case of bad luck could well be down to the attitude of the victim - they feel they are going to be unl;ucky and subconsciously bring misfortune on themselves.

Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.
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