Triskaidekaphobia Day – You Know You Are Excited!

Wow, seems like only 13 weeks ago it was Friday the 13th. Wouldn’t it be neat if we had another one in 13 weeks? Hmm, I bet we do!

Booo Haaa Haaa…. Mooo Haaa Haaaa…. OK, get over it. It’s just another fun day to create chaos in the world.

Last Friday the 13th I wrote a post —> Friday the 13th Oh the Abuse You Take

And last I checked, we all survived. Well, except that one lady……..Never mind, the FBI & CIA did a cover up on it to prevent world catastrophic events from occuring.

I was going to write a whole other post today, but will push it off till tomorrow, I just can’t pass up the opportunity to exploit this silly fear day. After all, what kind of humorist would I be if I let the moment slip by? Besides, tomorrow you will not find it as fascinating since you would have survived.

So for this Triskaidekaphobia Day, I thought I’d squeeze out a little bit more of my trivia kick pony I’ve been riding. (how’s that for mixing metaphors?)

I’d promise no more this week, but honestly….who the hell knows. I promise to T R Y……that’s all you get out of me.

So, with that said, how about I cull down all the trivia I found on it. In my defense it’s Friday’s fault, I found all this when looking for trivia for that silly day – I can’t help it if Friday’s greatest claim to fame (next to being the last day of work) is scaring the bee-jee-bees out of people)

  Since I see you are on the edge of your chair (or falling asleep) I’ll jump right in….

1.     Technically if you are afraid of Friday the 13th, you may have paraskavedekatriaphobia (also known as friggatriskaidekaphobia). Those are the scientific terms for fear of Friday the 13th. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.  Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were said to be sufferers. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is said to have avoided travel on the 13th day of any month, and would never host 13 guests at a meal

2.     More than 60 million people worldwide claim to be affected by a fear of Friday 13th. Some of them won’t go to work, drive cars or get out of bed on this day. Friday the 13ths have more call outs from work than any other Friday. (too bad all the bad drivers aren’t any of these people – they are still on the road)

3.     The independent horror flick Friday the 13th was released in May 1980 and despite only having a budget of $550,000 it grossed $39.7 million at the box office in the United States. The remake of the original Friday the 13th film was released on Friday, February 13, 2009. (even worse? Like Jason, the films wont die! Seems like there is a new one every year)

4.     Tupac Shakur died on Friday, September 13, 1996. (Yea, guess it wasn’t so lucky for him)

5.     Fittingly, director of psychological thrillers Alfred Hitchcock was born on the 13th — Friday, Aug. 13, 1999, would have been his 100th birthday.  (not making fun of him, he was awesome)

6.     Lizzie Borden uttered a total of 13 words at her trial (“Yea, I did it, so what is the problem? Now, where’s my axe?” Just kidding, those weren’t them, I made that part up) 

7.     Apollo 13, 1970, the 13th mission launched from pad #39 (13 x 3), mission was aborted, after an explosion occurred in the fuel cell of their service module.  The rocket had left launching pad at 13:13 CST and the date was April 13th. (hmm, I’m pretty sure most of those dates / times were known in advance.. where they tempting fate?)

8.     Certain ocean liners will be held in dock until after midnight to appease passenger’s fears of setting sail on Friday the 13th (Was it a surprise to them they picked a cruise leaving on this day?)

9.    If 13 was so bad, what about this.. There were 13 original colonies & the US Seal has 13 stars, bars, feather in the eagle’s tail. 13 bars in one claw & 13 olive branches in the other

10.   Then again, a witches coven consists of 13 members and Tarot Card #13 is the Death Card depicting the Grim Reaper

11.   Hmm, the more I think about it, There are 13 steps leading to the gallows & a Guillotine blade falls 13 feet

12.   There are 13 knots in a hangman’s noose (Ok, maybe the last 3 facts are kinda creepy – yet fascinating to know)

13.   This year is a special one for Friday the 13ths: There are three of them: Jan. 13, April 13 and July 13. The freaky thing? The dates fall exactly 13 weeks apart. That hasn’t happened since 1984. And will happen again in 2015. (Think of it this way..2 down, 1 to go)

 

Ok, ok, I hear the moaning and groaning now…. No more trivia junk… I think I can make it for a week or two. 😉

Now go out and brave the big bad world and WHAT EVER YOU DO!!!! Do not walk under that ladder or cross that black cat…

LOL just kidding… I’m sure the black cat has a white hair somewhere…. Or does it……

 

~~~till we laugh again~~~

Are you Prepared to be a Phone a Friend?

So last week when I was looking for facts for the days of the week, I kept running across various fact websites offering trivia for the day. I shared a few random things I found (anyone still looking to see if you really do breathe out of one nostril every 4 hours?).

I love useless facts. Not that I remember most of them. Normally for no reason at all, it might pop in my head at the strangest moments. But I’m pretty sure if I was someone’s phone a friend, I would choke. Maybe you are like me. We can watch these TV shows and spit out the answers and roll our eyes when the contestant forgets the smallest of things.

But we know darn well that if our cell phone rang and it was Regis or Meridith we would freak out.

Yep, the minute they asked if I was me, I’d have to check the mirror to see. I’d be that unsure of myself. Especially if I knew money was on the line. I sure the heck don’t want to be the reason someone lost.

However, I still love to read facts. So I found a few that I thought I would share.

How many did you know? 

  • If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.  (But you do have enough for a Spicy Chicken Sandwich from McDonald’s)
  • President Kennedy was the fastest random speaker in the world with upwards of 350 words per minute. (Which is how he got Jackie Kennedy to forget he was having an affair with Marilyn Monroe)
  • The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had. (Plus if you hit the 57 your ketchup comes out faster)
  • Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours per day. (So can worthless boyfriends)
  • The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C. (I’m afraid to find out what you did with it)
  • When you die your hair still grows for a couple of months.  (Note, toss a razor in the coffin)
  • The most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $1.3 million. (I bet he gave Chocolate Milk)
  • It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write “War & Peace”. (And took most people 60 years to read)
  • The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly. (They tried peanut butter but their hands kept getting stuck to the roof of their mouth)
  • The word “lethologica” describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want. (I had a word I wanted to use in this side joke….now what was it???)
  • Henry Ford produced the model T only in black because the black paint available at the time was the fastest to dry. (Plus he heard it was slimming)
  • Elephants are the only mammals that can’t jump. (Guess I better take back the hopscotch chalk I was going to give as a present)
  • The average person makes about 1,140 telephone calls each year. (The average teen texts 1,140,000 times a year)
  • The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69. From 1725-1765, a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets. (Their reality show was called 69 kids and Counting)
  • The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used. (Which is why mules are being sent to the Middle East now)
  • On average, there are 178 sesame seeds on each McDonalds BigMac bun. (Who the heck counted these? Same person who counts the holes in the ceiling tile at the dentist I bet)
  • The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees. (Don’t they know they could jump if they bend at the knees?)

 

Ok, if you stuck with me, you learned a bunch of useless stuff you can now wow your friends with. That is if you have any left after reading these to them.

~~~till we laugh again~~~