Today is Friday the 13th. For the superstitious, this day is considered one of the unluckiest of all. There are many theories that claim to explain the origins of the fear of the number 13 (Triskaidekaphobia), but there will never be any that can be called definitive (technically, fear of Friday the 13th specifically is called "Paraskavedekatriaphobia").

One of the most widely accepted is that it was on Friday the 13th of October 1307 that King Phillip IV of France ordered the Knights Templar to be arrested. They went onto become the freemasons. (Our founding fathers were freemasons. Our country had 13 colonies when it was formed. Coincidence?)

Also on this date, in 2004 Hurricane Charley slammed into Florida, and in 1899 Alfred Hitchcock was born. Of course, it was Apollo 13 that had all of the malfunctions and was almost lost.

What is amazing is how much superstition has driven decisions in seemingly logical arenas. How many skyscrapers - designed and built by brilliant architects - lack a 13th floor? How is it that superstitions with absolutely no basis in anything remotely scientific (and let's face it - there is nothing related to the number 13 that could be used as evidence) drive normally sensible people to do nonsensical and sometimes costly or detrimental things?

It is a curious mechanism of the human mind that we will do things that make no sense, because we want to believe the improbable over the indesputable. Look at all the lefties planning on sitting out the upcoming election. It is improbable that Democratic leaders will "learn their lesson". It is indesputable that allowing the Republicans to regain power will lead to a repeat of the past 10 years.

It is way past time in the course of human evolution that we put away notions based on long-dead explanations for the world around us that pre-date modern science. Friday the 13th is just another day on the calendar. Even science-fiction author H.G. Wells would've likely told you that - even though he died on this day in 1946.