Triskaidekaphobia

Today is Friday the 13th. Except in Australia, which by the time I write this it is Saturday the 14th I should think.

Triskaidekaphobia is the term given to the fear of the number 13. This is a fear common in North America and Europe. This fear has morphed into a fear of the date Friday the 13th. Fear of Friday the 13th has given rise to a slasher film franchise, which subsequently created higher sales of ice hockey goalie masks (but that's another story).

A search for triskaidekaphobia in Galileo yields 4 results in Academic Search Complete and 4 results in Research Library. The results span all the way back to 1980, and most of the articles deal with the psychological aspects associated with the number 13 and its perceived lack of luck.

And in unrelated news, the people of Sweden voted to join the European Union on this day in 1994.

JWF