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Friday The 13th: Four Expensive Freaky Friday Disasters

Here's The Four Worst Freaky Friday Financial Disasters
Asa Bennett
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SuperStock via Getty Images

Friday 13th, or "Freaky Friday", has become of our most infamous superstitions, affecting us not just personally but financially.

Every year, the world loses around £500 million ($800 million) due to economic paralysis, as people refuse to travel, buy big items or conduct business, according to the Stress Management Centre and Phobia Institute.

According to Travelodge, a third of Britons change their plans on Friday the 13th, with the same amount saying they would prefer to hide under the duvet and emerge the following day to avoid any bad luck.

Freaky Friday has been extraordinarily costly for us in the past, especially for those suffering from friggatriskaidekaphobia (the fear of Friday the 13th).

HuffPostUK has compiled the costliest disasters that happened on Friday the 13th to show today should hopefully not be any worse for you.

Friday 13th Financial Disasters
The Friday 13th crash in 1989(01 of04)
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On Friday 13 October, 1989, United Airlines' parent company UAL Corporation set off a wave of panic in the markets after announcing a leveraged buyout deal had collapsed.Values plunged in the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq in what became the "Friday the 13th Mini Crash". At the time, this marked Dow Jones' second largest drop in its history.
The Freaky Friday Virus (02 of04)
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On Friday 13 January 1989, hundreds of IBM computers across Britain were infected by a virus which wiped out programe files and sparked a wave of anxiety.The cost would have been steep, as one data recovery expert reported at the time: "It has been frisky and hundreds of people, including a large firm with over 400 computers, have telephoned with their problems.
The Friday the 13th credit downgrade (03 of04)
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On Friday 13 January, 2012, rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit ratings for several countries including France, Austria, Italy, Portugal and Spain - setting off fears over the European debt crisis.
The Black Friday Costa Concordia Crash (04 of04)
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On Friday January 13 2012, the Costa Concordia ran aground and sank, resulting in the deaths of 32 passengers and damages of over £300 million.The cost of insurance payouts as a result of the disaster are set to surpass $1.1 billion (£670 million). The ship cost £372 million ($570 million) to build, so the disaster and resulting full-scale rescue operation would make its mark.
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