Comments on: Quiz of the Day: Friday the Thirteenth http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324 Feel Smart Again Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:18:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 By: Sandy http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324/comment-page-1#comment-3199 Sandy Fri, 13 Oct 2006 21:58:31 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324#comment-3199 You're right, Fotis. And the two fears are closely related. The phobia mentioned in the quiz is a fairly new word (coined in the 1990s, I believe) to specifically refer to the fear of the day. You’re right, Fotis. And the two fears are closely related.

The phobia mentioned in the quiz is a fairly new word (coined in the 1990s, I believe) to specifically refer to the fear of the day.

]]> By: Deb http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324/comment-page-1#comment-3183 Deb Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:45:59 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324#comment-3183 Cool! Thanks! Cool! Thanks!

]]> By: Fotis http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324/comment-page-1#comment-3171 Fotis Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:31:35 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324#comment-3171 I've always heard of Fear of Friday the 13th reffered to as Trisadekaphobia but apparently thats the just the fear of the number 13 (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Triskaidekaphobia.html). Somewhere along the line it must have made the leap to the fear of friday the 13. I’ve always heard of Fear of Friday the 13th reffered to as Trisadekaphobia but apparently thats the just the fear of the number 13 (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Triskaidekaphobia.html). Somewhere along the line it must have made the leap to the fear of friday the 13.

]]> By: Sandy http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324/comment-page-1#comment-3165 Sandy Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:12:34 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324#comment-3165 It's really because of the cycles of the calendar, with leap days and such. When you calculate it out, there's a slightly greater chance that the 13th of the month will be on a Friday than on any other day of the week. <a href="http://www.furrfu.com/magpies/friday_13.html" rel="nofollow">This page</a> breaks down the actual statistics. The difference is slight, but it exists. It’s really because of the cycles of the calendar, with leap days and such. When you calculate it out, there’s a slightly greater chance that the 13th of the month will be on a Friday than on any other day of the week.

This page breaks down the actual statistics. The difference is slight, but it exists.

]]> By: Deron http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324/comment-page-1#comment-3164 Deron Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:03:53 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324#comment-3164 From Wikipedia: This sequence, here given for 2001-2028, repeats every 28 years from 1901 to 2099. The months with a Friday the 13th are determined by the Dominical letter (G, F, GF, etc.) of the year. All months whose first day falls on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th. The Gregorian Calendar 400-year cycle contains a whole number (20871) of weeks, but the number of months (4800) is not divisible by seven. Because of this, no chosen day of the month up to the 28th can occur the same number of times on each day of the week. The 13th day of the month is slightly more likely to be on a Friday than on any other day of the week. The distribution of the 13th day of the 4,800 months is as follows: * 688: Friday * 687: Sunday and Wednesday * 685: Monday and Tuesday * 684: Thursday and Saturday. From Wikipedia:

This sequence, here given for 2001-2028, repeats every 28 years from 1901 to 2099. The months with a Friday the 13th are determined by the Dominical letter (G, F, GF, etc.) of the year. All months whose first day falls on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th.

The Gregorian Calendar 400-year cycle contains a whole number (20871) of weeks, but the number of months (4800) is not divisible by seven. Because of this, no chosen day of the month up to the 28th can occur the same number of times on each day of the week. The 13th day of the month is slightly more likely to be on a Friday than on any other day of the week.

The distribution of the 13th day of the 4,800 months is as follows:

* 688: Friday
* 687: Sunday and Wednesday
* 685: Monday and Tuesday
* 684: Thursday and Saturday.

]]> By: Deb http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324/comment-page-1#comment-3161 Deb Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:28:45 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2324#comment-3161 Can someone please explain why "The 13th day of any month is more likely to occur on a Friday than any other day of the week"? Can someone please explain why “The 13th day of any month is more likely to occur on a Friday than any other day of the week”?

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