Hi All, I hope this has no negative impact on you, but this week begins on the 13th (if this blog had dramatic music it would happen here). The idea that 13 is unlucky has persisted for centuries but is it really unlucky? In the Christian world the significance of 13 is that, that was the number of people at the last supper and the night didn’t end well. In ancient Rome it was thought that witches gathered in groups of twelve, the thirteenth spot was left for the Devil. There is no evidence that he ever turned up though. It has also been suggested that primitive man had only ten fingers and 2 feet to count with, so anything over 12 was baffling and as such, to be feared. Once primitive man developed toes I guess 21 became unlucky, until other countable objects were discovered. According to Palaeontologists, countable objects first appeared in the fossil record during the cretaceous period. While this empirical evidence is compelling, there have been many wonderful things that have happened on the 13th :

Anthony Faas of Philadelphia, PA, patented the accordion.

Ernst F. W. Alexanderson gave the first public demonstration of television.

The comic strip "Prince Valiant" appeared for the first time.

Chester Greenwood patented the earmuff. Fox aired "Celebrity Boxing." Tonya Harding beat Paula Jones, Danny Banaduce beat Barry Williams and Todd Bridges defeated Vanilla Ice.

Next time you have cause to think that the 13th is bad consider a world without,the accordian, earmuffs, Prince Valiant, television and celebrity boxing. In the midst of your considerations come to the library and sit in at a Refworks class with Miranda Newell at 1PM on Tuesday. Marcos