Speaker A
The evening of the 13th of October 1972 was approaching when the plane of the Uruguayan Air Forces flew over snow-capped peaks of the Andes. There were 45 passengers on board, including the members of the Uruguayan team Old Christians.
Exploring the origins and myths of Friday the 13th, its cultural impact, and psychological effects behind the superstition.
Key Takeaways
- Friday the 13th superstition is rooted in cultural, religious, and historical myths rather than factual events.
- Belief in bad luck on this day can influence behavior and perception, sometimes causing more caution or anxiety.
- Economic and social impacts of the superstition are significant, affecting business and daily activities.
- Scientific studies provide mixed evidence about actual increased risks on Friday the 13th.
- Psychological factors play a crucial role in reinforcing the superstition and its effects on people.
Summary
- The video begins with the 1972 Andes plane crash on Friday the 13th, highlighting the tragedy and survival story.
- It contrasts the number 13 with the traditionally perfect number 12, explaining cultural and religious symbolism.
- The superstition around Friday as an unlucky day is traced back to European sources from the 17th century, linked to Jesus' crucifixion.
- The legend of Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Templar Order, is discussed, including the myth of his curse on Friday the 13th.
- The video clarifies historical inaccuracies about the date of Jacques de Molay's execution and the origin of the Friday the 13th curse.
- Modern cultural behaviors around Friday the 13th include avoiding significant decisions and omitting the 13th floor in buildings.
- Economic impact in the US is noted, with losses estimated between 800 to 900 million dollars due to cautious behavior on this day.
- Scientific studies on accident rates on Friday the 13th show conflicting results, with some indicating increased risk and others decreased risk.
- Psychologist Richard Wiseman explains that belief in the superstition influences people's perception and memory of negative events on Friday the 13th.
- The video concludes that the superstition’s power lies in human psychology rather than statistical evidence.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Unfortunately, as a result of a dreadful pilot's mistake and tremendously difficult weather conditions, the plane fell straight into snow-capped mountains.
Speaker A
However, every single survivor of a group of 16 people paid a horrendous price for a godsend, because, for instance, they had to eat bodies of their dead friends, obviously, in order to survive.
Speaker A
Still, the tragedy in the Andes is not being mentioned solely because of those acts of cannibalism but mainly because it took place on the 13th of October 1972 and it was an ill-fated, allegedly, Friday the 13th.
Speaker A
In order to understand possible issues with the bloody number 13, we have to contrapose it to the number which precedes it, that is 12, that one traditionally symbolized perfection and harmony.
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Therefore, we have 12 Olympic gods, 12 zodiac signs, or 12 apostles. On the other hand, the number 13 shatters this order. In addition, some people blame that number also for the fact that Judas was the 13th guest at the Last Supper,
Speaker A
who betrayed Jesus. He was then an unfortunate guest. But what's wrong with Friday itself?
Speaker A
Written sources which tell the story of the fatefulness of this particular day already appear in Europe from the 17th century. One of the theories explains that it was actually the day of Jesus' crucifixion, which per se makes it the most unfortunate day ever.
Speaker A
The worst-case scenario would have been a combination of the mentioned Friday, with also already mentioned the number 13. According to some sources, the tragic history of Friday the 13th has taken its place alongside the person of Jacques de Molay,
Speaker A
who was a Grand Master of the Templar Order, who, after the effort of the King of France, Philip IV the Beautiful, was accused of blasphemy, heresies, and homosexual practices.
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Those accusations have never been proven. However, the Grand Master died tragically, being burned alive at the stake.
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That was the moment, according to a legend, that he cursed the King of France and contemporaneous pope Clement V: "Before one year has passed we shall meet on Last Judgement." As a matter of fact, the pope died the very next month and after him, after seven months,
Speaker A
also the king Philip IV the Beautiful. In spite of the fact that the history is romantic and mysterious, unfortunately, there are some gaps.
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First of all, the Grand Master has not been burned alive at the stake on the Friday the 13th, but on the 18th of March, which was actually on Monday instead.
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If we seek the Friday the 13th in his memoirs, we have to go back 7 years to the Friday the 13th, when he was arrested.
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However, that situation had already taken place 7 years before putting a curse. If we actually associate the ill-fated Friday with the curse, incineration at the stake, or with the actual act of arresting the Grand Master, we should remember that at these times no one did that.
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We should only seek the connection of his person with ill-starred Friday in the beginning of the 20th century.
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No one did it earlier and such an association was produced by pop culture. Despite the fact, mankind acts nothing less than weird on allegedly ill-fated Friday. So some people, for instance, would rather stay in bed the entire day on Friday the 13th,
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of course just in case and not to make any business decisions or the ones concerning their private lives.
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Obviously, just in case, not to have bad luck. Donald Dossey, who studies the phobia, estimated that on this very day American economy loses from 800 to even 900 million dollars, because people tend to be more careful and preservative.
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We stay. In some hotels worldwide, for example in the United States, there is a great concern not to paginate the 13th floor.
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Thereupon, there is obviously a 12th floor, 14th floor, but no 13th floor. There is a similar situation with elevators, where we have buttons corresponding to 12th and 14th floors but without the 13th one.
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In this case, someone put an effort not to build the ill-starred 13th floor. Coincidence? If humanity guards against Friday the 13th so much, we should ponder if there is a reason to fear.
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In 1993, the prestigious British Medical Journal published research which compared ordinary Fridays with Fridays the 13th.
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It turned out that in terms of intensity of traffic jams, or intensity of car accidents, on this particular day, on this ill-fated Friday the 13th, we have 52% more chances to fall victim of a car accident than on other Fridays.
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Authors of this research advised to stay at home on Fridays the 13th. But on the other hand, 15 years after this research, other results were published.
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This time conducted in the Netherlands where it turned out that on Fridays the 13th the number of accidents does not increase but rather decreases!
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Authors of this research explained that it was due to the fact we tend to be more careful, or we seldom leave home.
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What is the secret behind all this? It turns out that the statistics of negative events on Fridays the 13th are not the most significant. Richard Wiseman, who is a British psychologist who has been studying the Friday the 13th phenomenon for years, claims that the most important things are occurring in our brain.
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That is why, if we, for example, believe that hanging a horseshoe on our habitation brings us luck, or passing under a spread ladder will result in our disastrous day, the fact of the matter is that belief in the context of these things
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will largely affect our fate. In other words, in the context of Fridays the 13th, in the opinion of that psychologist, our belief in negative events is the greatest factor of the occurrence of these events on Friday the 13th.
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Our mind will not let us forget, if we believe in the fate of that day, that some kind of ill-fated event took place on this day.
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But if the same event happened, for instance, on Thursday, it would not be such a big deal.
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And this theory excellently explains why in half a year, a year, every one of us can perfectly recall from our memory that the tragedy in the Andes happened on Friday the 13th, because some people associate that day with something additional, negative,
Speaker A
but it might be more difficult to memorize the day of sinking Titanic, because it was on the 15th of April, so the ordinary Monday.
Topics:Friday the 13thsuperstitionAndes plane crashJacques de MolayTemplar cursepsychology of superstitioncultural mythsunlucky number 13economic impactrisk perception
