13 Insane Things That Happened On Friday The 13th
TGIF? Not today!
Friday the 13th is so famously unlucky that there's even a phobia dedicated to it: friggatriskaidekaphobia.
Superstition or not, here are some events that happened on Friday the 13th.
1. Buckingham Palace was bombed during WWII.
According to the New York Daily News, the German forces during WWII bombed Buckingham Palace on September 13, 1940. The bombs hit both the palace and its chapel.
Even scarier, the King and Queen were both at the residence at the time of the attack. Even though the event was traumatic, Queen Elizabeth merely stated she was "glad we have been bombed. Now I can look the East End in the face."
2. The murder of Tupac Shakur.
Tupac Shakur was a prolific rapper during the '90s. His murder is one of the most famous unsolved cases in recent history. Some say he was taken out by his friend Suge Knight, others are convinced it was Christopher Wallace (a.k.a the Notorious B.I.G.), while others still think the FBI conspired to kill Shakur in order to end the violent East Coast vs West Coast feud.
The details we do know: Shakur was shot four times on September 7, 1996 in Las Vegas. He succumbed to his injuries six days later on Friday, September 13.
3. A British 13-year-old was struck by lightning on Friday the 13th, at 13:13.
While getting struck by lightning is definitely horrible, this incident ended up being a miracle. According to the Daily Mail, the unnamed teenager was struck by lightning while at an air show in England and was treated only for burns on his shoulder. The hospital stated he was expected to make a full recovery.
4. The Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Italy.
The Costa Concordia sank into the ocean on January 13, 2012. According to Vanity Fair, it became the largest passenger ship ever wrecked, with almost double the amount of people on board than on the Titanic.
When all was said and done, 32 people died and the captain was convicted of manslaughter in 2015.
5. The stock market experienced a "mini-crash" in 1989.
After the buyout of United Airlines fell through on October 13, 1989, the ripples were felt throughout the stock market, specifically the junk bond market.
According to CNBC, this resulted in a seven percent sell-off in the Dow, and the S&P 500 lost six percent. Essentially, a lot of people lost a lot of money.
6. A flight through the Andes ended in disaster and death.
Uruguayan Flight 571 was headed towards Chile when it crash-landed in the Andes on October 13, 1972. In the following days after the crash, the survivors were reduced to hiding in the fuselage of the plane and eating deceased passengers, according to People.
The rescue efforts were called off only 10 days after the crash, so it was shocking when two men appeared 72 days later, and alerted the authorities that there were 16 other survivors trapped in the mountains.
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Superstition or not, here are some events that happened on Friday the 13th.
1. Buckingham Palace was bombed during WWII.
According to the New York Daily News, the German forces during WWII bombed Buckingham Palace on September 13, 1940. The bombs hit both the palace and its chapel.
Even scarier, the King and Queen were both at the residence at the time of the attack. Even though the event was traumatic, Queen Elizabeth merely stated she was "glad we have been bombed. Now I can look the East End in the face."
2. The murder of Tupac Shakur.
Tupac Shakur was a prolific rapper during the '90s. His murder is one of the most famous unsolved cases in recent history. Some say he was taken out by his friend Suge Knight, others are convinced it was Christopher Wallace (a.k.a the Notorious B.I.G.), while others still think the FBI conspired to kill Shakur in order to end the violent East Coast vs West Coast feud.
The details we do know: Shakur was shot four times on September 7, 1996 in Las Vegas. He succumbed to his injuries six days later on Friday, September 13.
3. A British 13-year-old was struck by lightning on Friday the 13th, at 13:13.
While getting struck by lightning is definitely horrible, this incident ended up being a miracle. According to the Daily Mail, the unnamed teenager was struck by lightning while at an air show in England and was treated only for burns on his shoulder. The hospital stated he was expected to make a full recovery.
4. The Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Italy.
The Costa Concordia sank into the ocean on January 13, 2012. According to Vanity Fair, it became the largest passenger ship ever wrecked, with almost double the amount of people on board than on the Titanic.
When all was said and done, 32 people died and the captain was convicted of manslaughter in 2015.
5. The stock market experienced a "mini-crash" in 1989.
After the buyout of United Airlines fell through on October 13, 1989, the ripples were felt throughout the stock market, specifically the junk bond market.
According to CNBC, this resulted in a seven percent sell-off in the Dow, and the S&P 500 lost six percent. Essentially, a lot of people lost a lot of money.
6. A flight through the Andes ended in disaster and death.
Uruguayan Flight 571 was headed towards Chile when it crash-landed in the Andes on October 13, 1972. In the following days after the crash, the survivors were reduced to hiding in the fuselage of the plane and eating deceased passengers, according to People.
The rescue efforts were called off only 10 days after the crash, so it was shocking when two men appeared 72 days later, and alerted the authorities that there were 16 other survivors trapped in the mountains.
