The Economic and Cultural Toll of Friday the 13th Through History
Friday the 13th brings economic losses, behavioral quirks, and superstition. From stock market studies and birth rate drops to Templar history, we explore the reality behind the fear.
The cost of fear on Friday the 13th reaches staggering figures. Folklore historian Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, estimated that business activity losses in the USA range between 800 and 900 million dollars due to people avoiding flights and business deals. This figure has been cited for over twenty years without clear methodology, turning into a global legend. Adjusted for US GDP growth, the damage scales up to 2 billion dollars per problematic Friday. Expanding the calculation to all OECD countries, excluding nations with different unlucky numbers like Japan and South Korea where 4 is feared or Italy where it is 17, brings the total to 4 billion dollars.
Market Fluctuations and Cultural Anomalies
Two economists from the University of Miami, Robert Kolb and Ricardo Rodriguez, analyzed stock market returns across 39 Fridays the 13th, concluding that the risk of losing money increases compared to a regular Friday. Conversely, researcher Brian Lucey from Trinity College Dublin examined FTSE stock indices across 19 countries between 1988 and 2000, finding evidence that returns on Friday the 13th are generally higher than on other Fridays. Meanwhile, pop star Taylor Swift embraces the date. Born on December 13, 1989, she turned 13 on a Friday the 13th, and notes that her first album went gold in 13 weeks, while famously drawing the number 13 on her hand before every show.
Birth Rates and Historical Myths
According to data journalism site FiveThirtyEight, approximately 800 fewer babies are born in the US on Friday the 13th because many deliveries are scheduled in advance, leading parents to choose different dates. The historical roots are often traced back to Friday, October 13, 1307, when agents of French King Philip IV arrested thousands of Knights Templar across France to seize their assets and alleviate royal debt. Although popularized as the origin of the superstition, most historians view this explanation as a retroactive invention. A Dutch insurance center study from 2008 showed that traffic accidents drop from a daily average of 7,800 to 7,500 on Friday the 13th, while a British study in the BMJ noted higher hospitalization rates despite fewer travelers.
