If a shooting star falls, we make a wish. Even if we know it’s bullshit. It’s like the 13th day of the month superstition: 85 percent of elevators in the US don’t have a 13th floor, and almost no flight numbers use “unlucky numbers”: popular belief is stronger than statistics.
But what do accident statistics say about the particularly feared combination Friday and the 13th (1.7 times a year on average)? Axa counted. Paraskavedekatriaphobics – because it’s called fear in medicine – then strikes more often, perhaps because you drive more nervously? No, the insurer counts fewer accidents! In the last twelve years, an average of 1,349 traffic or personal accidents and breakdowns occurred on other Fridays. On the 13th there was “only” Friday 1336. Zurich Insurance and German ADAC also counted the numbers. There are fewer accidents there, too. random range? Or it can be imagined, but not proven: maybe superstitious people do not drive there or are especially careful?
Where does this fear come from?
Where the superstition came from is a matter of debate. Blick lists the most popular theories here. 13 is considered an unlucky number in many places (not everywhere, but a lucky number in Japan, for example). In many peoples, the lunar calendar had a 13th month, which was considered sacred in some years. When the Gregorian or Islamic calendar was introduced, 13 were declared pagan months.
But why Friday? It is often mentioned on October 13, 1307, when the French king ordered the arrest of all members of the Knights Templar. It was just a Thursday. Later, the British used “Black Friday” for Friday’s accidents. But the combination of days and numbers did not appear until 1906. That year “Friday the Thirteenth” was published in the US: Unlucky day is named after a novel written by a former stockbroker! Addendum: The often-accepted reason for “Black Friday” in the stock market in October 1929 was the 25th – and Thursday. It is correctly called “Black Thursday” in the US.
friday is more dangerous
Is everything clear? Piece. Because Fridays are more dangerous than other days of the week. “On Friday evening, many road users go home or to leisure activities,” says Thomas Eichholzer, accident investigator at AXA Switzerland. “I think an accident happens very quickly, unfortunately, on weekends rather than on the road.” Serious accidents often occur from Friday to Saturday and on the nights between Saturday and Sunday – mostly due to alcohol. By the way, this also applies: the hotter it is outside, the higher the risk of an accident.