Today marks the third and final Friday the 13th of 2015, and even those of us who don’t claim to be superstitious will still be watching our steps and avoiding black cats at any cost. But surely this day is simply like any other day, and if anything bad happens it’s just a coincidence. Right?
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This infamous date has in fact witnessed some of the most unfortunate and devastating events in human history. You may want to rethink leaving the house after you’ve read these 13 times Friday the 13th has lived up to its name. There’s a reason they named a horror franchise after this day…
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The story which has now become a legend. On Friday, October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes, killing 12 people instantly. Another 17 passengers later died due to an avalanche. The survivors of the crash were forced to eat the flesh of their dead friends in order to stay alive.
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On Friday, January 13, 2012, the Italian cruise liner, Costa Concordia, ran aground and was wrecked off the coast of Italy. The tragedy killed 32 people. The ship’s captain, Schettino, was later arrested on preliminary charges of manslaughter after failing to assist the 300 passengers, and also failing to be the last person to leave the wreck.
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On Friday the 13th of November, 1970, a giant cyclone killed approximately 500,000 people in Bangladesh. To this day, it remains one of the most catastrophic natural events the world had ever seen.
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On Friday the 13th of October, 2006, three people were killed in New York after a devastating snow storm hit the Buffalo area.
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On Friday, January 13th, 1939, the now notorious Black Friday bushfires raged in Victoria, Australia. The flames conquered over 20,000 square kilometres of land, and tragically killed 71 people.
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Daz Baxter died on Friday the 13th of August, 1976 after the floor of his apartment building collapse. The cruel irony of this story is that Baxter had refused to leave his home that day because he was so superstitious something bad would happen to him if he didn’t stay home.
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On Friday, September 13, 1940, Buckingham Palace in London was bombed during the Blitz. All five bombs which hit the iconic royal home came from the same German bomber.
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On Friday, May 13, 1925, any school located in the US state of Tennessee were ordered to cease the teaching of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, and only teach the Bible’s Creationism theory. Some people clearly hadn’t evolved enough…
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This one’s a little weird. A 13 year old boy was struck by lightning on Friday the 13th of August 2010 at an air show in Lowestoft. The paramedics then noticed they were treating him at 13:13pm. He made a full recovery.
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On Friday, October 13, 1989, the US stock market saw one of its biggest crashes in financial history. It was triggered by the breakdown of an airline buyout deal, and was subsequently renamed, “Black Friday” or the “Friday the 13th Mini-Crash”.
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Thinking of driving to work today? Think again. Back in 1993, the British Medical Journal published a study which revealed that there is a ‘significant level’ of traffic-related incidences in the UK on a Friday the 13th compared to another days/dates of the year.
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Friday the 13th, September, 1996 is also the date the music world lost one of the most talented and worshipped rappers in history, after Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas.
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A computer virus swept through the computers of IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) in the UK on Friday, January 13, 1989. The infection caused chaos for many businesses across the country.- So, it turns out nowhere and nobody is safe. Just make sure you look both ways when crossing the street.
