Friday, April 13, 2007

Friday fun for April 13, 2006

Do you have paraskavedekatriaphobia?

Don't know? Well, if you have ever heard of the word, then you probably know it's a fear of Friday the 13th. So, in honour of today, here's a link to an article on Wikipedia that explains just what all the fuss is about this day.

Before the 19th century, though the number 13 was considered unlucky, and Friday was considered unlucky, there was no link between them. The first documented mention of a "Friday the 13th" is generally listed as occurring in the early 1900s.

However, documentation aside, many popular stories exist about the origin of the concept:

* The Last Supper, with stories that Judas was the thirteenth guest, and that the Crucifixion of Jesus occurred Friday.
* That the biblical Eve offered the fruit to Adam on a Friday, and that the slaying of Abel happened on a Friday (though the Bible does not identify the days of the week when these events occurred).
* That it started on Friday, October 13, 1307, the date that many Knights Templar were simultaneously arrested in France, by agents of King Philip IV.

However, historically, there is no true date that the Friday the 13th superstition can be linked to.

There's lots more interesting stuff in the article, such as that there are more traffic accidents on a Friday the 13th (at least in Britain) and of course, there's the regular biker run to Port Dover, ON, that occurs every time a Friday the 13th rolls around.

There are also links to other sites and articles about the day. So if you're interested, give it a read.

One more thing

Since this day is a bit spooky, I've got a little exercise for you that seems a bit spooky as well. Just go ahead and follow the directions when you get to this site and you'll see what I mean.

If you can figure out what's going on, let us know in the comments, please. I suspect I've figured it out (actually, my daughter, Jaime, did) but I want to see whether others agree with her.

Here's the link.

Enjoy.





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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only symbol that you can reach is the one that keeps popping up. adding your numbers together and then subtracting them only gives certain answers so all the other symbols are just for show

Dave said...

OK...but how is it that no matter what numbers you choose, there is only option available? I still don't get how it can figure out which of the numbers will show up in the crystal...any ideas what the formula is?

Tim said...

Your original number xy actually has the value 10x + y. You subtract (x+y) so the result is always 9x. And in the chart, all the numbers divisible by 9 have the same symbol. The rest of the symbols are fluff.

Tim H

Dave said...

Thanks Tim -- That's what we figured out, but we didn't put it so elegantly. The way you explain it, it seems so obvious. I guess that algebra I learned in high school can be used for real-world stuff!

Anonymous said...

Wah? But other symbols do show up?

Melanie