Hard-hats at the ready – it's Friday the 13th. For the third time this year!
According to how the calendar falls there will be two Friday the 13th's next year (in September and December), one in 2014 and three in 2015. After that there won't be another three until 2026. Make of that what you will.
Fear of this date is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia (named after "Frigg", the Norse goddess whom Friday is named after and "triskaidekaphobia" meaning the fear of "13".)
Superstition says it’s the unluckiest day of the year and is generally regarded as an unsuitable day to undertake journeys or begin new projects.
Among the tragedies to befall this day were the bombing of Buckingham Palace on September 13, 1940, as part of Hitler's strategic "Blitz" bombing campaign.
November 13 1970 (also a Friday) saw a massive storm kill around 300,000 people in Bangladesh, with subsequent floods killing as many as a million in the Ganges Delta.
Have you ever had an unlucky event befall you on this date? Tell us about it in comments below.
Take a look below at 13 examples of reactions to the belief that 13 is an unlucky number:
Friday The 13th - Unlucky For Some?
It's in the cards(01 of13)
Open Image ModalTarot Card number 13 is the Death Card, depicting the Grim Reaper. (credit:AP)
No room in the inn(02 of13)
Open Image ModalHospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13. (credit:AP)
On the street(03 of13)
Open Image ModalMany cities don't have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. This city tempted fate. (credit:AP)
Blame your parents(04 of13)
Open Image ModalIf you have 13 letters in your name, you're said to have the devil's luck. Like, this guy (Charles Manson). (credit:AP)
Checking in(05 of13)
Open Image ModalMany airports skip the 13th gate. (credit:AP)
Aisle omission(06 of13)
Open Image ModalAirplanes have no 13th aisle. (credit:AP)
Numero...?(07 of13)
Open Image ModalItalians omit the number 13 from their national lottery. (credit:AP)
Unlucky height(08 of13)
Open Image ModalMore than 80% of high rises lack a 13th floor (credit:AP)
One solution(09 of13)
Open Image ModalOn streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half. (credit:AP)
Hangman's noose(10 of13)
Open Image ModalTraditionally in hangings, there are 13 knots in the noose and 13 steps leading up to the moment of death. (credit:Flickr: Snap®)
Dinner luck(11 of13)
Open Image ModalFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy may know that in France, socialites called quatorziens (fourteeners) make themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate. (credit:AP)
Space travel(12 of13)
Open Image ModalMany say the No. 13 pointed to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13. (credit:AP)
Ancient ties(13 of13)
Open Image ModalSome say that the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (circa 1780 B.C.E.) is to blame for the No. 13 woes since the 13th law is omitted. (credit:AP)