Friday the 13th superstitions and trivia
For Friday the 13th, here are some superstitions and trivia about the day and bad luck in general.
Black cats
It's bad luck when a black cat crosses your path. Especially if it crosses so close to you that it wraps itself around your legs and trips you.
A howling dog portends death
When a dog howls, death is near. Well, we all have to go sometime.
Breaking a mirror
It is said that breaking a mirror can bring seven years of bad luck. That may be because mirrors are thought to carry souls of people who looked in them. Here, a visitor walks on a broken mirror art installation by Italian artist Alfredo Pirri, near town of Konjic, 80 kms south of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Friday, April 26, 2013.
Cross your fingers
People cross their fingers for luck. Does it work? Does it matter?
Don't open an umbrella indoors
To open an umbrella indoors is thought to be bad luck. Maybe that's just because you'll poke someone in the eye.
Don't give an empty wallet as a gift
Giving an empty wallet or purse as a gift can bring bad luck to the recipient.
See a penny, pick it up
See a penny, pick it up and all the day you'll have good luck. Unless that penny is lying tails up. Then it's bad luck to grab it.
Step on a crack, break your mother's back
How many hours was she in labor before you were born? Don't make it worse. Keep off the cracks and save your mom.
Washing your car makes it rain
It's a common belief — or maybe it's just a joke — that washing your car will make it rain. Unless the car wash gives you a rain check. Then the rain will hold off just until the rain check expires.
Don't walk under a ladder
Is it bad luck to walk under a ladder? It's not always safe. It may just be smarter to go around.
Alfred Hitchcock's birthday
Film director Alfred Hitchcock seen here in 1968 was born on Friday the 13th, in 1899.