Friday the 13th is a day which a lot of people consider to be unlucky and many people dread. If anything special is happening on a Friday the 13th then people assume that it will go wrong, whether it is an exam, wedding, meeting or whatever. However, many people do not know why the day is considered to be unlucky.

The history of the date is a little shaky. There are 19th century references to the date being unlucky, but many folklores start being passed down orally and so there may not be written records for a long time after the stories started. There are there several theories made up as to the tradition of the day being one to be fearful of but they are really down to guesswork.

In numerology, the number twelve is one of completeness which is why there are twelve signs of the zodiac and twelve months of the year. The number thirteen is thought to interfere with this completeness and therefore is not liked. Many people think that it is because there were 13 people at the table at the last supper, but there is also a story in Norse mythology where there were 13 people at a table for a meal and one of them later died.

Friday has been considered to be unlucky for even further back in time. There are even references in the Canterbury Tales which was written in the 14th century that refers to Friday being unlucky. There is also reference to Jesus being crucified on a Friday. Therefore many feel that it is a Christian belief that Friday the 13th is unlucky.

However. There are other theories dating back further. In Norse mythology there was a goddess of love and fertility names Frigga where the word Friday was derived from. She was banished to a mountaintop where she met up with eleven witches and the devil every Friday.

There is also a reference to Friday the thirteenth in the Knights templar which was recently popularized in the novel The Da Vinci Code but many think that this is quite a modern day invention.

There is also a theory that there was reference to the Friday the thirteenth with regards to the battle of Hastings where the king decided to go in to battle on Friday the thirteenth rather than resting his troops for a day and the king was killed and it was therefore thought to be an unlucky day.

However, in some countries different dates are considered to be unlucky instead.

It has been found that people are so worried about the day being unlucky that many do not travel on the dat and some do not even get out of bed. However, flight companies have reported that there is no significant lower amount of flights happening on Friday the thirteenth as compared to other dates.

With regards to the risk of accidents, there is conflicting data with some statistics showing there are less accidents on that day but some shows that there are. However, people do tend to drink more alcohol on a Friday which could lead to more accidents. Also some people are more cautious on Friday the thirteenth which could lead to less accidents taking place.

A lot of horror films are released on Friday the thirteenth. There have also been some storms such as Hurricane Charley, Friday the 13th storm and the Andes plane crash.

We have all been faced with an urgent task or assignment that requires long hours of work that can not possibly be completed during the daytime.  And then there are the crazy people who want to stay awake through the night just for the fun of it.  No matter what your reason is, there are certain tips you can follow to make your all-night entertainment/work/study extravaganza a success and still have enough energy to make it through the next day.

All-Nighter Tips

Knock-Out the Boring Tasks First–Break down your overall assignment into a series of smaller, more manageable tasks.  Be sure to take care of the most monotonous tasks early into your all-nighter while you have enough energy to deal with them.

Find a Companion–If you have a friend who is notorious for keeping late hours, recruit him or her as your all-nighter buddy you can text or instant message whenever you feel your energy start to sag.

Do Not Get Comfortable–Not getting comfortable means avoiding working on your cushy bed or couch.  Choose your desk or dining room table as your designated work station for the night.

Give Yourself a Natural Energy Boost–Take frequent breaks from the assignment at hand and get your blood pumping.  Run in place, do some ab crunches, walk around in circles, or engage in any other brief physical activity.

Eat–While the human body may need alternative sources of energy to run on when deprived of sleep, this does not mean you get carte blanche for having an all-out pig fest.  Eat light foods that do not contain high concentrations of starches or sugars, which will eventually cause an energy crash.

Power Nap–Power nap your way through the night by laying down and closing your eyes for 20-30 minutes every 2-3 hours.  Be sure to put the alarm clock in a location that will force you to get up and walk to turn it off, preventing you from being tempted to hit the snooze button or worse, turning it off completely.

Get Mad–Did something happen to you recently that ticked you off?  If so, take a couple of minutes to dwell on it in order to get your adrenaline pumping.

Caffeine Is Your Best Friend–Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that will increase your alertness.  Although sodas and chocolate contain caffeine, they also include sugar as a main ingredient.  It is usually best to choose a caffeine source such as coffee or tea.

Yes, you can skip the beverages all together and pop a caffeine pill; however, some people become slightly nauseous or extremely jittery because the entire 200mg found in a typical caffeine pill will hit the body all at one as opposed to ingesting it at a steady rate through caffeinated, non-sugar beverages.

Background Noise–Silence is one of the worst enemies you will face when you are trying to stay up all night.  Find something that is makes noise and is entertaining enough to keep your interest–a favorite television show, an action-packed movie, or loud, rock music.

Cold Showers–When you feel it is time to take drastic measures, go to the bathroom, turn the “cold” knob on your shower, and jump into the freezing waterfall you have created.  It is an undeniably instant pick-me-up.

For Your Information

Of course, an all-nighter should not become a nightly ritual.  It should be done a maximum of once a week and only if necessary; otherwise, it can have adverse effects on not only your physical health, but also your mental faculties.  If you are curious about what may happen to you, here is an outline of what a typical adult may experience through six days of not sleeping.

Night One–The first night of depriving the body and mind of sleep is the easiest.  While it may be slightly uncomfortable, the effects are highly manageable.

Night Two–During night number two, a person will have a strong urge to go to sleep when their body temperature reaches its lowest point, which usually occurs between 3am to 5am.

Night Three–On night three, the person will experience difficulty focusing their attention on the task at hand and clearly processing multi-step thoughts, especially when working on a task they find boring and repetitive.

Night Four–The body on night four is now desperate to get sleep and will do so whether the individual wants it to happen or not by engaging in micro-sleep.  The involuntary microsleep process is marked by the sleep deprived person staring off into space for several seconds followed by returning to full mental awareness.  They will also experience feelings of irritability and confusion as well as the “pressure band” feeling that can only be described as having a vice grip tightened around the head.

Night Five–Once night five rolls around, the person will begin to lose control over their common sense.  Once common side effect that occur after five nights without sleep is the beginning of delusions and paranoia.

Night Six–On the final night, the individual may enter a sleep deprivation psychosis where they lose their sense of identity and become depersonalized, much like a “zombie.”

Most of us remember that one time or another during out childhood, we ripped out a sheet of notebook paper and used it to fashion a paper airplane due to sheer boredom, as a time-passing hobby, or because we were looking for a way to cause mischief in the classroom.  Whatever the reason behind our aviation efforts, we all know the frustration that stems from making a defective paper airplane.  However, when we were children, we did not have this widespread information database known as the internet to refer to for answers to our all-important questions.  But now that times have changed, anyone can learn how to do just about anything, such as constructing far-flying airplanes from regular notebook paper.

The History of Paper Airplanes

Folded airplanes made from paper products comes from an unknown origin with most experts theorizing the art is based from either Japanese origami or the Chinese practice of folding paper gliders.  Wherever paper airplanes were first made, there is clear documentation that proves they have been in existence for more than 1,000 years.

Many notable people and inventors who actively worked to pioneer aircraft flight have utilized the airplanes models crafted from paper as a guide to building large-scale flying machines.  Leonardo Da Vinci recorded his various experiences with parchment paper airplanes and in the 19th century, a British engineer named Sir George Cayley explored some of his aviation ideas through paper plane models.   Read more »

Telemarketers.  The bane of our existence.  The bottom-feeders of society who are considered to be an even lower human life form than the stereotypical used car salesman.  They always call as soon as you sit down to enjoy the dinner you slaved over the stove to make, right when your favorite television program comes on, while you are in the shower, and especially when you are taking a much-needed nap.  It makes even the typically reasonable, level-headed individual want to blow a gasket but as the cliche goes, “don’t get mad, get even.”

Following the Rules Has Failed You

Do not feel guilty about enacting revenge on those pesky little devils in disguise as humans.  You, like many other consumers, have probably tried the recommended cease and desist methods of asking them to stop calling, joining the National Do Not Call Registry that bans telemarketers, and blocking their phone number only to have them worm their way back into your caller id by using an alternate phone number.

Fun Tips to Becoming a Telemarketer’s Worst Nightmare

If you have done everything right yet everything seems to be going wrong, it is time to turn the tides and have a little fun at their expense.  Here are some great tips to get you started; however, you are only limited by your imagination so feel free to pull out all of the stops.

Please Hold–Take a page out of the customer service handbook of virtually any business and make that annoyingly persistent telemarketer shut-up by saying, “can I put you on hold for a moment.”  Do not give him or her time to answer but instead put the receiver down and walk away for a few minutes.   Read more »

Facebook is a social networking website that was launched in the fall of 2006.  Over the past four years, it has quickly become the most popular and fun of all networking tools.  But just as in real life, there are people on Facebook who do not understand the concept of proper social networking etiquette.  Do not become the one all of your Facebook friends hate to chat with.  Learn how to behave yourself and follow proper Facebook etiquette.

Post Replies in a Timely Fashion

If someone sends you a card in the mail, would you wait several months to respond or worse, never respond at all?  Of course not.  This etiquette rule is no different on Facebook.  If someone posts on your wall or writes you a private message, reply in a timely manner.  This keeps your friend from feeling ignored or slighted and prevents you from coming across as an ill-mannered jerk.

Skip the Applications

Even if you have a strong desire to use countless Facebook applications, avoid sending every app invite to all of your friends.  Nobody wants to get yet another Farmville or Mafia Wars requests.  The more applications you sign up for, the more clutter will appear on your homepage.  It is one thing to have fun but an entirely different matter to solicit 50-100 apps to your friends each month.   Read more »