THOMPSON: Black cats, broken mirrors and other superstitions we believe in

Some folks – who might otherwise be healthy – can still suffer from triskaidekaphobia…a fear of the number 13. It is a real thing. There are people, for example, who will not travel on the 13th day of any month…and even structure their decisions and lives around avoiding the number. 

It can go to extremes…I once knew someone who wouldn’t meet with anyone at 1 P.M., because noon plus one is 13. Some don’t admit it freely…but it’s no accident that 80 percent of buildings in North America with more than a dozen floors skip from the 12th floor to the 14th floor. 

I guess you might be able to find a reason to be superstitious of most anything if you look hard and long enough…a black cat, walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror and knocking on wood.

Psychologically, if some folks get relief…simply feel better about it…what’s the harm? What one finds unacceptable…is another’s good fortune. I once got on a Delta Airlines flight that I was waiting-listed because the original ticket holder didn’t want to fly on a jet with a 13th row.

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and British Airways all have jets with row 13. But a host of airlines, including Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia, KLM, ITA Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Thai Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways avoid row 13.

Some theatres avoid Seat 13 in every row…and some even avoid Row M…the 13th letter in the alphabet. Of course, theatres are famously superstitious. Most stage actors wont say Macbeth in a theatre…or even quote from Shakespeare’s play…unless it’s being performed on stage. Off stage they almost always refer to the play being performed as “The Scottish Play”.

Stage actors are a superstitious lot beyond most other professions. They never wish “good luck” and say instead, “break a leg”. Empty theatres always burn a “ghost” light on stage.

No one on Broadway whistles backstage. Stage managers will tell you, don’t put shoes on a table…it’s bad luck. Never bring a pet back stage…unless it’s part of the performance.

But the number 13 in many people’s minds is synonymous with bad luck. Only one study – reported somewhat tongue-in-cheek by the British Medical Journal in 1993 – supports any linkage between 13 and misfortune.

Researchers studied traffic flow and car accident injuries on London’s M25 motorway during the five months that had a Friday 13th from 1990 to 1993. In each case, the study compared the data with traffic flow and accidents on a preceding Friday, the 6th. The data showed drivers were 52 percent more likely to end up in hospital after an accident on the 13th.

Despite the obvious making the data fit an existing belief – after all it was published in a Christmas edition of the Journal known for spoof articles – triskaidekaphobia fans often cite the article as proof.

The truth is…no serious study has ever found a direct relationship between belief or superstition and behaviour. Numbers – whether drawn for Bingo or an unassigned airline seat – are random. Numbers, it turns out, are neither lucky nor unlucky. 

We decide – based on our own anecdotal experience – whether 13 or any other number is lucky or unlucky. Personally, Friday the 13th has brought me more good than bad luck…but my wife, Bonnie, tells a different story. But, neither of us makes or cancels plans because of 13 or any other number.

Still, those who have triskaidekaphobia often point to famous believers – like author Stephen King and President Teddy Roosevelt – in an attempt to validate their reality.

Friday the 13th and triskaidekaphobia have been with us since the Middle Ages…and will likely be a thing forever. Superstitions tend to die hard. 

Of course, some superstitions are real…every baseball fan knows that if you wear your cap inside-out or backwards – a “rally cap” – your team will come-from-behind and win.