It's Friday the 13th. Here are some facts about the superstition, culled from a piece by Jay Serafino at mental floss.com, heavily edited by yours truly:
There were 13 guests at the Last Supper, including Christ and his betrayer, Judas. The crucifixion was on a Friday.
Legend has it that on October 13, 1307, Philip IV of France had members of the Knights Templar arrested, having grown uneasy with their power and covetous of their riches. There were trials, torture, and burning at the stake. Dan Brown ran with this in The DaVinci Code, although it is probably myth.
In 1907 Thomas Lawson, a stockbroker, wrote Friday, the Thirteenth, a popular novel. It's the tale of a stockbroker who picks that particular day to manipulate the market and bring down Wall Street. In truth, according to research, stocks have gained 57% on that feared date, as opposed to 52% on any other.
On Friday, July 13, 1923, the landmark Hollywood sign was christened as a promotional tool for a new housing development, initially reading "Hollywoodland." It was shortened in 1949.
"Triskaidekaphobia" is the fear of the number 13. Fear of Friday the 13th is covered by two words: from Greek - "paraskevidekatriaphobia"; and "friggatriskaidekaphobia", based on Frigg, the Norse goddess that Friday was named after in English.
In the '30's & '40's, officials of French Lick, Indiana, Larry Bird's hometown, decreed all black cats were to wear a bell around the neck every Friday the 13th.
Italians believe Jesus was crucified on Friday, the 17th. Alitalia doesn't have a row 17 - or a 13 - on its planes.
According to heavy metal lore, the genre was born Friday, February 13, 1970, when Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album was released in the UK. "Oh no, no, please god help me!" (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward)
In his op-ed piece in today's NY Post, Rich Lowry points out how liberals, who were all for judicial activism when the Supreme Court tilted left, are now warning of its potential evils under a right bias. I'm hoping the nine justices will do what they're supposed to - interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.
How would the mainstream media and Democrats be reacting if Peter Strzok and Lisa Page had asked each other what they could do to stop Hillary?
I doubt Friday the 13th had anything to do with it, but it was a quiet day at the floating book shop. My thanks to the gentleman who bought It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism by Thomas E. Mann & Norman J. Ornstein; and to the woman who purchased Liberty on 23rd Street by Jacqueline B. Glasthal, a young adult selection intended for a friend who wants to improve her English.
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