5
Actual Excerpts
from Classified
Sections of City
Newspaper:
• Illiterate? Write today for free iielp.
• Auto Rpair Service. Free pick-up and
delivery. Try us once, you’ll never
go anywhere again.
• Our experienced Mom will care for your
child. Fenced yards, meals, and smacks
included.
• Dog for sale: Eats anything and is fond of
children.
• Man wanted to work in dynamite factory.
Must be willing to travel.
• Stock up and save. Limit: One.
• Mixing bowl set designed to please a
cook with round bottom for efficient beat
ing.
• For sale; Antique desk suitable for lady
with thick legs and large drawers.
• Now is your chance to have your ears
pierced and get an extra pair to take
home, too.
• We do not tear your clothing with ma
chinery. We do it carefully by hand.
• Great Dames for sale.
• Tired of cleaning yourself Let me do it.
• Vacation Special: Have your home exter
minated.
• Used Cars: Why go elsewhere to be
cheated. Come here first.
• Wanted. Man to take care of cow that
does not smoke or drink.
• Our bikinis are exciting. They are simply
the tops.
—adapted from quotesandjokes.com
bo
Why People Are
Afraid of Friday the
13th
Every year has one to three Friday the 13ths. Friday,
May 13, 2005, is the only Friday the 13th this year. Fear
of the number 13 is known as triskaidekaphobia.
It’s estimated that about 17 million to 21 million people
in the United States are afflicted with a fear of Fri-day
the 13th. Not only that, but it’s estimated that some
where between $800 million and $900 million is lost on
any given Friday the 13th, because people are afraid to
fly and do business like they do nomially, according to
Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Cen
ter and Phobia Institute in Asheville, N.C.
People who are afraid of Friday the 13 th are possibly
people who consider themselves to be unlucky in the
first place, and they are probably superstitious, says
Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of
Hertfordshire in Hatfield, England. In a suvey of 2,068
people, Wiseman found that one-quarter of respondents
believed that the number 13 was bad luck. He also found
that the people who believed in this bad luck tend to be
more anxious on Friday the 13th, and so it may be their
own expectations and anxiety that bring on the “bad
luck.”
Here are a few facts about the history of the idea that the
number 13 is unlucky:
• There was a Norse myth about 12 gods in heaven hav
ing a dinner party. A 13th guest walked in, the god Loki,
and shot the god of joy. Balder. When Balder died the
whole world became dark.
• Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest at The
Last Supper.
• Witches in ancient Rome supposedly gathered in
groups of 12. The 13th attendee was the devil.
• More than 80 percent of high rises lack a 13 th floor.
• Most airports skip a 13th gate.
• Hotels and hospitals often do not have room number
13s.
As for the Friday part of the bad luck, it seems that this
belief rose from the idea that Jesus was crucified on a
Friday, that Eve tempted Adam on a Friday, and that
Abel was slain by Cain on Friday.
—adapted from National Geographic