Friday Favorites: Fun Facts about Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th! I've always had great experiences on Friday the 13th. I don't consider it unlucky at all. As a matter of fact, I'd consider it one of my favorite things.

Apparently, I share this love of Friday the 13th with singer Taylor Swift. She claims the number has helped her in life. "I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro," the singer told MTV in a 2009 interview.

Here's some more Friday the 13th Trivia:

The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch.

If a month begins on a Sunday it will contain a Friday the 13th. There is always at least one Friday the 13th in every year, with a maximum of 3. Yes, there are 3 this year. Today, March and November. If it’s a leap year, then there’s a Friday the 13th in January, April and July.

Ancient Mayans of Central America were the most advanced culture in all of the Americas. They considered the number 13 sacred.

More than 80% of high-rise buildings have no 13th floor. (Those of you who are on the 14th floor know where you really are, right?)

Airplanes have no 13th aisle.

One superstition says that if one cuts one's hair on Friday the 13th, someone in their family dies.

In Spanish-speaking countries, it is not Friday that 13th that is thought to be the most unlucky day. Instead, they consider 'Tuesday the 13th' as a day of back luck.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest for dinner parties.

According to historians and numerologists, 13 is just unlucky because it falls after the number 12, which was considered to be a number of completion:. 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen. Of course, if you go to any good bakery, a baker's dozen includes 13 delicious treats- I'd call that VERY lucky.

Finally, for your listening pleasure, one of my favorite songs of all time:

Sláinte!