Here’s why you shouldn’t worry about it being Friday 13th
Today is Friday 13th, the second of three occurrences of the day that cultures the world over love to hate.
The superstition apparently dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was believed that Christ was crucified on a Friday 13th. There's a book in which an unscrupulous stockbroker takes advantage of paraskevidekatriaphobia to create Wall Street panic and a slasher film franchise about someone even nastier.
People are so fearful of the number 13 that plenty of hotels miss it in their room numbers and some skyscrapers lose the entire floor.
But the figures just don't bear it out.
Data from home insurance provider Policy Expert suggests the number of accidents and crimes being reported actually goes down.
Last June, for example, the average cost of claims on Friday 13th was £680 – less than half the month's average. The same was true on other Friday 13ths.
Rival insurance firm LV agreed there was no evidence to suggest the day was dangerous, although a spokeswoman said the data showed it was pretty much the same as every other day of the year.
A few years ago the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics released a study showing there were fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft when the day is Friday 13th compared with other Fridays.
"I find it hard to believe that it is because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home, but statistically speaking, driving is a little bit safer on Friday 13th," CVS statistician Alex Hoen told the Verzekerd insurance magazine.