Triskaidekaphobia

13
It seems that whenever Friday the 13th creeps onto our calendars, people can't help but blame the date for everything that goes wrong on that day -- and not without reason. The number 13 is commonly associated with bad luck, and there is even a name for the fear of the number 13: triskaidekaphobia.

Theories abound about how Friday the 13th came to be. Here are the main ideas:
One hinges on eating as a group of 13. Historians tie it to the Last Supper (13 men, a betrayal and a final Good Friday crucifixion) and Norse mythology (12 gods have dinner, a 13th crashes the party, one god dies and the entire Earth goes into mourning).

Another theory rests on the downfall of the Knights Templar (hundreds of religious knights executed in France on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307).
Perhaps these stories explain friggatriskaidekaphobiacs' fear of the No. 13.

And someone along the way cared. Just look at the fact that many U.S. buildings are without a 13th floor. Many people are careful to avoid black cats.

Another explanation for society's fear about the No. 13 is simply the holiness of the No. 12. Live Search tells us that twelve's significance is everywhere, dating back to the B.C. era. You know Zeus and all those gods and goddesses of Olympus? You guessed it: They total 12.
Even in our day-to-day lives, 12 rules. We have 12 zodiac signs, 12 months in a year and 12 hours on a clock.