By: Pat Jacobs

Friday the thirteenth is traditionally considered
unlucky; however, there are many LUCKY things
concerning the number 13. The American dollar, since
1935, consists of a pyramid of 13 steps, 13 leaves and
berries on an olive branch, and in the left talon of
the eagle are 13 arrows.

The many uses of this number on the dollar refers to
the 13 original colonies. The ancient Egyptians
regarded 13 as a lucky number; they noticed that the
moon's phases occurred 13 times a year. Greatly
impressed by this, they gave each "moon" a name, such
as Harvest, Fruit, etc. Once in a great while a "blue
moon" showed up as the 13th moon, which was cause for
great rejoicing. (Blue was the Egyptians' favorite
color.)

If you were born on the thirteenth of any month,
Friday the 13th is considered an especially lucky day
for you. Charles Nelson Reilly, Robert Stack, Gwen
Verdon, Stephen Foster, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Harrison
Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Kim Novak, Neil Sedaka, Thomas
Jefferson, Samuel Beckett, Al Green, Joe Louis, Bea
Arthur, Peter Gabriel, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder,
Richard Thomas, Dan Fogelberg, Jacqueline Bisset, Nell
Carter, Peter Cetera, Claudette Colbert, Mel Torme,
Margaret Thatcher, Art Garfunkel, Yves Montand, Marie
Osmond, Nipsey Russell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Gary
Marshall, Mary Todd Lincoln, Tim Conway, and Dick Van
Dyke were all born on the 13th.

In the U.S.,13 is the first official year as a
teenager.

The first magazine published in the U.S. began on the
13th, as well as the first public school. The first
permanent English settlement in North America,
Jamestown, began. The Live Aid Concert was held on the
13th, and August 13th is International Left-Handers
Day. Several baseball players like to wear the number
13, including Dave Conception of the Reds, and the
Toronto Blue Jays' Roy Howell. Pitcher Pete Vukovich
thinks that Friday the 13th is his lucky day. In
bridge, 13 cards of one suit (symbols such as diamonds,
hearts, etc.) are considered a "perfect hand." Emory
Harrison of John City, Tennessee, had a family of
13-all sons. The odds against this are over 4,000 to 1.

The 13th of the month falls on Friday more often than
on any other day. Over a period of four hundred years,
there will be 688 Fridays the 13th. Of Sundays and
Wednesdays, the next most occurring 13th, there will be
687. Seven U.S. presidents had names of 13 numbers:
Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, James Knox Polk,
Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, and Herbert Hoover.
The "Star Spangled Banner" was written on September
13th, 1814. The German composer Richard Wagner
considered the number lucky. His name contained 13
letters; he was born in 1813(the year adds up to 13);
he left school at 13; wrote 13 operas and loved 13
women. His mother's name contained 13 letters and he
died February 13th,1883. The first election in North
America was held on Friday the 13th. Also, on this
day: Georgia was first settled. Construction of the
White House began. George Washington was made
Commander-in-Chief.

On June 16th, 1896,the steamship "Dummond Castle" bound
from Capetown to England with 250 souls aboard, struck
a submerged rock near Ushant, France and sank within
three minutes. Only one passenger escaped with his
life. He was Charles Marquardt, who clung to a
floating pole all night, until rescued by a fisherman.
He had been the sole occupant of cabin 13 on the
vessel.

About the Author:

Pat Jacobs is currently the writer/producer of "The
World Of 1960s Music" blog on Yahoo 360 (degrees).
She also writes features for ehow.com (how-to articles) and www.associatedcontent.com (various
non-fiction).
She can be reached at Patj25@yahoo.com.