Triscadeaphobia

Triscadeaphobia refers to the irrational and exaggerated fear of number 13 and shares much of its symptoms with other phobias. I am not much of a superstitious person and have not known the phobia altogether, had I not installed Microsoft’s Office 2010. I went on to install bulky application, only to notice that the installation folders bore the name office 14, whereas when I installed Office 2007 the folders had the name office 12. That made me suspicious “where is the office 13? I asked to myself, and after searching internet learnt that engineers at Micrososoft have human failings, as much as they think themselves to be the gods. Office 13 has been omitted due to the Triscadeaphobia. Apparently the term is not a new fad and has been known for centuries. The modern reference to the fear could be found in a treatise on abnormal psychology dating back to 1911.

First signs of triscadeaphobia can be found in Babylonian civilization whereby thirteenth law is omitted from an important book of law. In the Christian mythology the person who turned out to be a betrayer was sitting at the 13th number on the table with Jesus at the Mystical Supper. Read more