Fun on Friday: Friday the 13th — In 2020

So… It’s Friday the 13th — 2020.

Should we really be tempting fate like this?

While we’re at it, why don’t we just break a mirror? Or maybe spill some salt? How about walking through a gaggle of black cats.

As if 2020 needed any help.

Luckily (see what I did there?) I’m not superstitious. At all. If there was a ladder in the room, I’d walk under it – just to tease fate.

Yes.

Even in 2020.

But I bet a lot of people a really nervous today.  I’ve honest to goodness known people who go through every Friday the 13th with a sense of abject dread.

Nope. Not me. I figure a day is what you make of it. I’m not going to ruin a perfectly good Friday worried about 13. I mean – it’s Friday. We’re already a step ahead on the luck-o-meter.

But if you think I’m nuts poo-pooing the notion of unlucky 13, you’re obviously not alone. I mean, fear of the number 13 (it even has its own phobia name — triskaidekaphobia — which is a wonderful word) has real-world impacts.

For instance, a lot of buildings skip the 13th floor. I always found that a little strange. You do know the 13th floor still exists, right? It’s there. It’s not like there’s a giant gap in the building. You can paint a 14 on the wall and renumber the elevator buttons if you want; it’s still the 13th floor. Pretending it isn’t there is just kinda, well, silly. But then again, we’re dealing with people who are afraid of a number – so there’s that.

And get this: If you want to buy a property, finding one with 13 as the address could save you a little money. According to the Independent, on average, property number 13 on any street in England is 3% cheaper than their equivalent properties with “less sensitive” numbers.

So, what’s the deal with 13? Why is it considered unlucky?

As it turns out, it’s not just because Friday the 13th happens to be the day Jason runs loose and butchers people.

Some people trace it all the way back to 1780 BC. As the myth goes, we find the first reference to unlucky 13 in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi. The 13th article was supposedly left out. But as it turns out, the articles weren’t numbered in the original, so that couldn’t have been a thing. It’s like the 13th floor of every building. It’s there no matter how you number it. Anyway, as it turns out, a translation by L.W. King (1910), edited by Richard Hooker, omitted one article, which is apparently the source of the myth. By the way, the missing article was, “If the seller has gone to (his) fate, the purchaser shall recover damages in said case fivefold from the estate of the seller.”

There is also a biblical explanation for the unpopularity of the number 13. There were 13 people at the table during the Last Supper. The 13th person – Judas – betrayed Jesus. You might wonder what made Judas the 13th person and not Jesus or John or Peter. Well, according to tradition, Judas was the 13th man to sit down.

But whether you take the Friday the 13th thing seriously or not, here’s a tip. You might save a little money if you buy gold today, according to the Independent.

The price of gold in particular – that most emotive of metals – seems to be hit hard by the ‘Friday 13th effect.’ Precious metals platform Bullionvault.com reported back in 2015 that gold transactions fall by an average of 39% on a Friday 13th, so if you’re planning to buy a few ounces today may be your day to snap up a relative bargain.”

So, there you go! Friday the 13th could be your lucky day. Just call one of our SchiffGold precious metals specialists at 1-888-GOLD-160 and they’ll hook you up with some lucky Friday the 13th gold. But you don’t want to be the 13th caller because – you know -reasons.

Fun on Friday is a weekly SchiffGold feature. We dig up some of the off-the-wall and off-beat stories relating to precious metals and share them with you – with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Click here to read other posts in this series.