19 August 2024

T is for Triskaidekaphobia

Triskaidekaphobia 

noun: fear or avoidance of the number 13. 

The term was coined in the early 20th Century by psychologist Isador Coriat, although there is history of the number being said to be unlucky from all the way back to the Middle Ages. The word is formed by attaching the Greek word for "thirteen"—treiskaideka (dropping that first "e") — to phobia ("fear of").

If you fear the number 13, the chances are that you will also have a fear of Friday the 13th which many believe to be a day of bad luck in a number of western cultures. The term for fear of that particular day is Paraskevidekatriaphobia, or friggatriskaidekaphobia.

For completeness, please note that NASA's Apollo 13 mission to the Moon was launched on 11th April, 1970, at 13:13:00 CST and suffered an oxygen tank explosion on 13th April at 21:07:53 CST. It returned safely to Earth on 17th April. 

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