Hocks Hearing Healthcare Products
Hocks Hearing Healthcare Products
3930 SW Kelly Avenue
Portland, OR 97239
United States
ph: 503-274-9482
fax: 503-222-3539
alt: 800-654-6257
customer
Hocks Thoughts
Hocks Thoughts: quotes, humor,
helpful household tips, famous sayings,
thoughts, interesting facts, history, quizzes or riddles
Friday the 13th
How did Friday the 13th become such an unlucky day?
Friday the 13th occurs when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year, but can occur up to three times in the same year. In 2022 it occurs once, on May 13. In 2023, there will be two Friday the 13ths, January and October.
~ More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
~ Many airports skip the 13th gate. Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
~ Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
~ Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
~ On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between numbers 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 ½.
~ Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue.
~ In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests, to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
~ Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky number 13 are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
Fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities combine to make one super unlucky day.
In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.
There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13: Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
It is believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on Friday. It is also believed that the Flood in the Bible, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.
Numerologists consider 12 a complete number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus. In exceeding 12 by one, 13’s association with bad luck has to do with being just beyond completeness.
There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the earth got dark. The whole earth mourned.
A particularly bad Friday the 13th occurred in the Middle Ages. In 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and tortured them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
Let’s Celebrate 
May is Better Hearing Month. Protect your hearing!
May 1: May Day, Lemonade Day, Hug Your Cat Day, 
Mother Goose Day
May 3: National Two Different Colored Shoes Day, Lumpy Rug Day, National Teacher Day
May 4: Great American Grump Out, Orange Juice Day, Bird Day
May 5: 
Cinco de Mayo, International Roller Derby Day, World Naked Gardening Day
May 6; No Diet Day, Dandelion Day, Tuba Day
May 7: Join Hands Day, Kentucky Derby, Learn To Ride A Bike Day
May 8: 
Mother's Day, No Socks Day
May 10: Clean Your Room Day, Hostess Cupcake Day
May 13: Friday the 13th, Frog Jumping Day
May 14: National Chicken Dance Day, Stars and Stripes Forever Day, World Belly Dance Day
May 15: Straw Hat Day, Ride A Unicycle Day, 
National Chocolate Chip Day
May 17: National Cherry Cobbler Day, National Pack Rat Day
May 18: I Love Reeses Day, Visit Your Relatives Day
May 19: National Devil’s Food Cake Day
May 20: Be a Millionaire Day, National Pizza Party Day, International Red Sneakers Day
May 21: Armed Forces Day, International Tea Day
May 24: International Tiara Day, Shrimp Day
May 25: Cookie Monster's Birthday, National Tap Dance Day, National Wine Day
May 26: Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Day, National Paper Airplane Day
May 28: National Hamburger Day, National Learn To Swim Day
May 29: National Alligator Day, Put A Pillow On Your Fridge Day
May 30: Memorial Day, Mint Julep Day, My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It Day
May 31: 
National Smile Day, Save Your Hearing Day
Hocks Hearing Healthcare Products
3930 SW Kelly Avenue
Portland, OR 97239
United States
ph: 503-274-9482
fax: 503-222-3539
alt: 800-654-6257
customer