March 13, 2026

Friday the 13th: superstitions, luck, and spooky folklore.

Show Notes
Transcript

Friday the 13th: superstitions, luck, and spooky folklore.
Test your knowledge with five engaging trivia questions, then stick around for the answers and fascinating explanations. Perfect for your morning commute, lunch break, or anytime you want to learn something new!

You may also like ODD ONE OUT. a new podcast with Mark Ellison! Mark gives you 4 words, you decide which word does not belong. Three rounds daily, quick and fun,

Portions of today's trivia podcast were made with the help of AI.

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Caalarogu shark media. Hi, I'm Mark Ellison. In today's theme

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is Friday the thirteenth Superstition's luck and spooky folklore? Question one.

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Many explanations for the Friday the thirteenth superstition point to

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a dramatic medieval event, the mass arrest of the Knights

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templar orchestrated by King Philip the fourth of France on

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Which exact date did this crackdown begin, cementing an aura

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of misfortune around Friday the thirteenth? Question two. Superstitions can

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be so strong they get their own clinical sounding names.

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What is the Greek derived term for the fear of

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Friday the thirteenth? Specifically? Question three? Calendar quirks make Friday

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the thirteenth show up more often than you might think,

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considering the Gregorian calendar's structure. What is the maximum number

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of Friday the thirteenth raus that can occur in a

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single calendar year? Question four. Folklore often connects Unlucky thirteen

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to a mythic banquet gone wrong in Norse mythology, which

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trickster arrived as the thirteenth guest at a feast, setting

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off events that led to the death of the beloved

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God Balder and reinforcing thirteen's ominous reputation. Question five, Friday

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the thirteenth isn't universally feared? Some cultures dread a different

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combination in Spain and many Latin American countries, which day

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and date pairing is traditionally considered unlucky. Instead, we'll be

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right back with these answers after this break. Welcome back.

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Question one. On what date did King Philip the fourth

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begin the mass arrest of the Knights Templar. Answer Friday,

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October thirteenth, thirteen oh seven. King Philip the fourth ordered

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the sudden arrest of the Knights Templar across France on Friday,

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October thirteenth, thirteen oh seven. The episode's notoriety helped link

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the date with bad luck in popular imagination even centuries later.

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Question two, what is the term for fear of Friday

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the thirteenth? Answer? Paris cavitikatriaphobia. Paris gave it to katriaphobia,

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combines Greek roots Pariskevi Friday Dakatria thirteen and phobia fear.

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It's a specialized offshoot of triskaitkaphobia. The more general fear

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of the number thirteen. Question three, what's the maximum number

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of Friday the thirteenth thethees in one year? Answer three.

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A year can have up to three Friday the thirteenth Ethe's.

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Depending on how months align, any month that begins on

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a Sunday will have a Friday the thirteenth, and certain

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year layouts allow this to happen three times. Question four.

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Which Norse trickster was the thirteenth guest linked to Balder's death? Answer? Loki.

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Loki turned up as the unwonted thirteenth guest, manipulating the

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blind god Hoder to kill Balder with a missletoe dart.

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The tale is commonly cited as a folkloric root of

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the number thirteen's ill fortune. Question five? What day date

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is unlucky? In Spain and much of Latin America? Answer

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Tuesday the thirteenth, known as Martes thirteen. The superstition associates

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Tuesday with Mars Martes, the planet and Roman god linked

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to war and misfortune. As a result, Tuesday the thirteenth,

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not Friday, is the date to avoid. That concludes today's

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five Daily trivia questions. I'm Mark Ellison and today's questions

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were crafted with the help of AI technology. See you tomorrow.

Friday the 13th: superstitions, luck, and spooky folklore.

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