Welcome to the Travel Forums

Why join TravelBlog?

  • Membership is Free and Easy
  • Your travel questions answered in minutes!
  • Become part of the friendliest online travel community.

* Blogging is not required to participate in the forums

Friday 13th

How supersticious are you? Have you taken any precautions against the bad luck today?
9 years ago, May 14th 2011 No: 21 Msg: #136269  

Was this a good idea someone had to give women the day off?

Likely, in my opinion. It is amazing how reluctant we are to take a break, especially when we have kids. It is as if we believe everything will collapse around us in the house, if we dont keep at it. Well, at least I have learned to ignore the nagging voice that tells me to do laundry on New Years Day. And, that has to be a good thing, if it prevents washing somebody out of the family. 😊
[Edited: 2011 May 14 19:37 - Mell:49612 ]
Reply to this

9 years ago, May 14th 2011 No: 22 Msg: #136270  

On Norwegian ships it is considered bad luck to bring a rucksack on board , also whistling at sea is considered bad luck...

As a keen traveller, I really should have known this already. 😊 Reply to this

9 years ago, May 14th 2011 No: 23 Msg: #136271  
B Posts: 460
Madagascar is extremely rich in superstitions, including (depending on a person's tribe):

A girl should not wash her brother's clothes.
The legs of a fowl should only be eaten by the father of the family.
A child can not refer by name to any part of their father's body (so "leg" would be something like "what he walks with")
A pregnant woman should not sit in the doorway of a house.
Corner posts for a new house should only be dug while sitting down, not standing up.
A male youth should not wear shoes while his father is alive.

There are umpteen others. The one that catches most foreigners out is that you're not supposed to point at things with an extended finger - instead, you should bend it and use the knuckle to point. Reply to this

9 years ago, May 18th 2011 No: 24 Msg: #136569  
I've cut and pasted an interesting article on superstitions by David Grossman the Business Traveler

Check your travel superstitions, or carry them on?
On Continental Airlines there is no row 13. The same is true for Air France, AirTran, KLM, and Iberia. Is it a coincidence that the rows jump from 12 to 14? Of course not. Airlines can be very superstitious. Because today is Halloween, I thought a column about travel superstitions and purported apparitions would be appropriate.
"Apparently someone a long time ago (we don't know when) thought we shouldn't have a row 13," says Martin DeLeon, a spokesperson for Continental Airlines. "We have let the row numbering system persist, especially since we don't want to go through the expense of renumbering rows on about 600 aircraft."

"Most people wouldn't want to sit there," says Judy Graham-Weaver, a spokesperson for AirTran. "Whether we believe in the superstition or not if it's the perception of the community we need to go by that."

Superstitions vary by culture. Many Japanese avoid the number four because it sounds like the word for death in their language and the word for nine sounds like the word for torture. Japan-based All Nippon Airways omits rows 4, 9 and 13 even though the unlucky reputation of 13 is allegedly based in Christianity and Viking folklore.

Consistency is not the hallmark of superstition. Japan Airlines' planes have both rows 4 and 9, but no row 13. Surprisingly, a whole slew of Asian carriers including Cathy Pacific, Malaysian, Singapore and Thai Airways also skip row 13.

Seventeen is considered unlucky in Italy because rearranging the letters in the Roman numerals for 17 could spell "VIXI" which means "I lived" in Italian. Lufthansa airplanes do not have row 13 or 17. You would certainly expect Alitalia airplanes to be missing row 17, but this is not the case. To further confusion, Alitalia's Boeing 777s have row 13 while the rest of their fleet does not.

Many airlines do not offer a flight 13 as well. And the Koreans take superstition one step further as there are no gates 4, 13, or 44 at Seoul's Inchon Airport.

Superstitions can also be positive. Northwest and US Airways offer flights 777 and 711, respectively, from Minneapolis and Pittsburgh to Las Vegas. (Related story:Memorable flight numbers)

While sevens and 11s are considered lucky in Western culture, the Chinese consider eight to be lucky because their pronunciation sounds like the word "to acquire wealth." Continental Airlines offers flight 88 from Beijing to Newark and that route was launched with a "lucky" $888 round trip air fare sale, according to DeLeon.

The number seven was not a lucky number for passengers aboard Korean Airlines flight 007 which was shot down by a Russian fighter pilot in 1983 after it accidentally strayed into Russian airspace. Sadly, flights 77 and 11 were also unlucky for the passengers onboard the hijacked American Airlines flights on 9/11.

I can't help but believe that 191 is unlucky after both American and Delta Airlines lost airplanes with that same flight number in separate incidents. Most airlines retire the number of their flight after a crash. I thought skittish passengers might avoid an ill-fated flight number but both AirTran and United told me that retiring those numbers is done out of respect for the families of those who lost loved ones in those tragic incidents.

Hotels are superstitious, too. Fairmont hotels in Acapulco, San Jose, Quebec City and Vancouver do not have a 13th floor. But the Fairmont in Dubai does, according to Lori Holland, director of public relations for Fairmont Hotels. Like most major hotel chains, Fairmont doesn't have an "official policy" on the presence of a 13th floor. Numbering decisions are usually made during construction and many Fairmont hotels were built long before Fairmont acquired those properties, according to Holland.

In Asia, many hotels have no 4th floor. Fairmont has also removed some room numbers, like 666 and 1313, from various hotels because people often steal the room number signs.

Many hotels are considered to be haunted. One such story involves the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec, which was named after Louis de Buade, Conte de Frontenac. When Baude died, he wanted his heart sent in a box to his fiancé in Europe but she was so sad she sent it right back to Quebec. Since then, it is believed that the Conte wanders the hotel looking for his beloved, according to Holland.

London's Heathrow Airport is alleged to be haunted by several spirits. Dick Turpin, a highwayman who was hanged in the 18th century, is often reported to be seen riding his black steed in the area around the airport. A man who died in the crash of a Belgian airliner in 1948 is seen running along the runway where he died, searching for his briefcase. And I'm always on the lookout for a harried and worried businessman in a grey suit who reportedly materializes at odd times in many of the airline lounges in the airport.

After the crash of American Airlines flight 191 near Chicago's O'Hare Airport in 1979, many residents claimed to see strange white lights emanating from the crash site. Dogs would bark endlessly at the field where the plane crashed. Nearby residents also reported strange figures rapping at their doors looking for lost luggage or saying they had to make a connection. These mysterious visitors often vanished into the darkness.

Perhaps the most bizarre travel-related apparition sightings came after the crash of Eastern Airlines flight 401 in the Everglades in 1972. Eastern salvaged many parts of the fallen L1011 aircraft and used them on other airplanes. Crew and passengers alike reported seeing the ghosts of Captain Bob Loft and flight engineer Dan Repo (both died of injuries in the crash) on airplanes with the salvaged parts

In one incident, Repo appeared to another captain and said "There will never be another crash" (of an Eastern L1011). "We will not let it happen." The stories of Eastern flight 401 were so pervasive that they became the subject of John G. Fuller's 1976 book "The Ghost of Flight 401", which was subsequently made into a television movie. The apparition sightings subsided after Eastern removed the salvaged parts from those airplanes.

Superstition is a touchy subject. Many airlines and hoteliers declined to comment on superstitious behavior by their companies. When I worked in the airline industry I was told travel actually dropped off on Friday the 13th, and even on the 13th of any month, but no one would substantiate that claim. Of course, who would admit to believing in superstitions? It's just not something adults in the modern, scientific world would admit. Happy Halloween!
Reply to this

9 years ago, May 18th 2011 No: 25 Msg: #136571  
When traveling I think it is a good idea to be aware of a few folk remedies for common things like travelers diarrhea as you may not always have medicine with you when you travel....although we usually do take something for diarrhea with us just in case.

Folk remedies for treating can include:

Munching on carrots will replace lost electrolytes, lessen symptoms and speed recovery.

dried blueberries or blueberry root= antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

Chamomile Tea
Reply to this

9 years ago, May 24th 2011 No: 26 Msg: #136998  
B Posts: 897
Im not overly suspicious and didnt realise it was friday the 13th until I looked at my phone and saw the time was 13.13 and date Friday 13 May on the day of the aborted dive because the diveguide and boatman both said they had a "bad feeling" -sea was very rough which obviously gave them both a bad feeling (and me)which is why we turned back but I found the time coincidence a bit ... spooky.

Perhaps it was a good idea not to dive that day. Reply to this

9 years ago, May 25th 2011 No: 27 Msg: #137062  
Hi, I pretty much super superstitions because lots of time something happen with me and for that i can't say that is co-incidence. Reply to this

8 years ago, January 13th 2012 No: 28 Msg: #150272  
Oh no, its Friday 13th! 😞

Does anyone know if the number 13 is only unlucky in Western culture, or is it everywhere? Reply to this

8 years ago, January 13th 2012 No: 29 Msg: #150280  
I didn't realise it was Friday 13th either. I spent all afternoon driving the twisty roads round Mt Agung and the coastal roads back to Candi Dasa so maybe it was just as well.

Statistically, there are less accidents on Friday 13th because people are generally more careful. Reply to this

8 years ago, January 13th 2012 No: 30 Msg: #150299  
These comments are taken directly from Wikipedia and are not my thoughts.

Strikingly similar folkloric aspects of the number 13 have been noted in various cultures around the world: one theory is that this is due to the cultures employing lunar-solar calendars (there are approximately 12.41 lunations per solar year, and hence 12 "true months" plus a smaller, and often portentous, thirteenth month). This can be witnessed, for example, in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" of Western European tradition.

There is a lot of interesting stuff to read religion and whether it is lucky or unlucky.

Reply to this

8 years ago, January 23rd 2012 No: 31 Msg: #150809  
B Posts: 897
Now how wierd this post pops up again - I just realised from my post I was in Ao Nang thailand last friday the 13th when we aborted a dive due to the ocean conditions..this friday the 13th I had just arrived back on Bunaken island and when checking in we noticed the date and laughed and said Bring it ON! so went for a really awesome night dive.

Seems i like diving on friday the thirteenth :-) Reply to this

8 years ago, July 13th 2012 No: 32 Msg: #158763  
Is there a special day for having good luck, like today is especially for bad luck?

It is unlucky already here. Middle of July and it is as dark and cloudy as January. Im expecting a downpour any second, and that is especially bad luck, as I just hung out the laundry to dry. 😞 Reply to this

Tot: 0.083s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 6; qc: 55; dbt: 0.0425s; 1; m:saturn w:www (; sld: 2; ; mem: 1.2mb