17 terrible things that have happened on Friday the 13th

Gabbi ShawNov 13, 2020, 21:34 IST

Tupac died on a Friday the 13th.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Friday the 13th has been a superstitious date for a very long time, but no one knows exactly why.
Whether you believe in the bad luck this day brings, there are multiple examples of terrible or tragic events happening on these Fridays throughout history.
Today, November 13, is a Friday the 13th so beware.

Friday the 13th is so famously unlucky that there's even a phobia dedicated to it: friggatriskaidekaphobia.

Even if you personally don't put stock in this fear, there are a lot of people who do. According to CNBC, the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimated that, in a normal year, between $700 to $800 million dollars are lost every Friday the 13th because people are afraid to shop, travel, and conduct business.

Still think it's just a superstition? These events might be enough to convince even the most determined non-believer.

Buckingham Palace was bombed during WWII.

The even occurred during the London Blitz in World War II. Everett Historical/Shutterstock

Tupac Shakur passed away.

Shakur in 1993. Walik Goshorn/MediaPunch/IPX/AP

A British 13-year-old boy was struck by lightning on Friday the 13th, at 13:13.

13:13 is 1:13 in military time. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Kitty Genovese, a Queens resident, was brutally attacked and murdered.

Kitty Genovese. NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

The Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Italy.

The Costa Concordia lies on its side. Tony Gentile/REUTERS

Kansas experienced record-breaking amounts of rain and flooding.

People pushing boats through flood water in Kansas, 1951. Francis Miller/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

The stock market experienced a "mini-crash" in 1989.

"Mini" is a relative term. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A flight through the Andes ended in disaster and death.

Survivors from the Andes flight disaster wait to be rescued. Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images

On that same day, another flight crashed in Russia.

The plane was headed to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Shutterstock

The Ku Klux Klan's first Grand Wizard was born.

A member of the KKK. AP Photo

Computers fell victim to the "Friday the 13th Virus."

The virus affected computers made by IBM. Shutterstock / photovibes

The Bhola cyclone hit Bangladesh.

Some of the damage from the cyclone. AP Images

Swedish flight DC-3 vanished and was never heard from again.

The Baltic Sea from space. NASA

The city of Buffalo was hit with a freak blizzard.

Buffalo is no stranger to snow. Reuters/Rickey Rogers

The Black Friday bushfires consumed Victoria, Australia.

A wildfire. Associated Press/Noah Berger

Sam Patch plunged to his death in the Genesee River in 1829.

The site of Patch's last stunt. The Print Collector/Getty Images

In 2029, an asteroid will come extremely close to Earth.

The asteroid was named 99942 Apophis. Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock

13 wonderful things that happened on Friday the 13th

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