It wouldn’t be a queer planet if we didn’t have odd information and the word of the day, friggatriskaidekaphobia, lives up to being odd and/ or queer.

So what is friggatriskaidekaphobia? It’s fitting that we introduce you to this world on Friday the 13th, because according to Wikipedia; friggatriskaidekaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen), or paraskevidekatriaphobia[1][2] a concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning “Friday”), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning “thirteen”) attached to phobía (φοβία, from phóbos, φόβος, meaning “fear”). The latter word was derived in 1911[citation needed] and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953.[3]

Here are some other interesting facts about Friday the 13th that I picked up on Wikipedia as well.

• In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year.
• Any month’s thirteenth day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.
• According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a “Friday the 13th” superstition before the 19th century.

 

I hope you aren’t spooked too badly this Friday 13th!