2013

This is going to be a very trying year for people with Triskaidekaphobia, also known as the fear of the number 13.
对于那些患有数字13恐惧症的人们来说，今年可真是难熬的一年。

While the superstitious folks afflicted with this problem can easily stay home on Friday the 13th, it’s going to be a lot harder to stay inside for another 362 days.
以往迷信的人可以在家躲过每个13号的周五，但剩下362天难道也在家宅过去吗？

Why is 13 considered unlucky, anyway?
那么为什么13会被认为是不吉利的数字呢？

last supper

There were 13 people at the Last Supper.
最后的晚餐有13个人。

It's said that Judas Iscariot and the one who betrayed Jesus - was the 13th man to take his place at the table.
据说背叛耶稣的信徒犹大就坐在饭桌的第十三个位子上。

Loki

Similarly, there’s a Norse legend that has 12 gods sitting down to a banquet when the 13th (uninvited) god, Loki, shows up.
同样，在北欧神话中有12个神的宴会，结果第十三个到来的就是不请自来的洛基（最会惹麻烦的神）。

Loki killed one of the other gods, which led to events that eventually resulted in Ragnarok - the death of a bunch of gods, a slew of natural disasters, and the eradication of everything on earth save for two human survivors. There's a lot more to the story than that, but you get the general idea.
洛基杀了其中一个神引发了一系列事件，最终导致世界毁灭：众神的死亡、自然灾害和地球上一切的消亡（仅幸存2名人类）。这个故事远没有这么简单，但你能差不多明白个大概。

Christian

Many Christians also believe that the Cain and Abel debacle took place on that date
很多基督徒认为该隐和他弟弟亚伯是在13号决裂的。

Let's go back to Christianity for a moment. Many Christians believe that Jesus was crucified on Friday.
我们回头再来看一下基督教，基督徒认为耶稣是周五被钉在十字架上处死的。

Researchers, however, believe that it wasn't a case of Friday the 13th lore - it was possibly something like Friday, April 3, 33 A.D. But that doesn't mean the 13th is off the hook.
然而研究者认为并不是像传言中在一个13号的周五——有可能是公元33年4月3号星期五。但这也不能排除13这个数字的不祥之兆。

gallow

Traditionally, there used to be 13 steps leading up the gallows.
传统中通往绞刑台有13个阶梯。

There's also a legend that a hangman's noose traditionally contained 13 turns, but it's actually more like eight.
还有传说称刽子手的纹索上有13个曲纹，但实际上似乎是8个。

Apollo 13

Apollo 13 is the only unsuccessful moon mission (intended to get men on the moon, anyway) thus far.
阿波罗13号是目前为止唯一失败的登月计划（试图送太空员登月）。

An oxygen tank exploded and the survival of the astronauts on board was pretty touch-and-go for several days, but they did all come home safely in the end.
阿波罗13号氧气罐爆炸，舱内的宇航员要想生存好几天真是难上加难，他们想尽一切办法最终安全回到地面。

mass arrest

There was a mass arrest and execution of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307.
1307年10月13号星期五，有一次大规模的圣殿骑士追捕执行活动。

Spongebob

According to Mr. Krabs on Spongebob Squarepants, there are 13 dirty words.
用海绵宝宝里蟹老板的话来说，总共存在13句脏话。

Squidward must be a George Carlin fan, because he responded that he thought there were only seven. "Not if you're a sailor," Mr. Krabs replied.
章鱼哥肯定是美国导演乔治-卡林的粉丝，因为他觉得只有7句脏话，蟹老板回答道：“你不过是个水手。”

coven

it was once believed that a coven was made up of exactly 13 members.
曾一度有说法认为女巫集会里有13个成员。

Although a coven is now just considered to be any group of witches (or vampires, if you’re into a certain young adult series about sparkly supernaturals).
如果你也爱看讲述超自然力量的偶像剧集，现在的女巫集会不过是一群巫师（或吸血鬼）的集会而已。

letters

There’s an old superstition that says if you have 13 letters in your name, you’re bound to have the devil’s luck.
老的传言中说如果你的名字里有13个字母，那么你注定有魔鬼的运气：肯定非常倒霉！

Silly, yes, but slightly more convincing when you consider that Charles Manson, Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all contain 13 letters (I know, I know, what about their middle names?).
听起来是挺傻，但想想这些有13个字母的人名查尔斯·曼森 Charles Manson, 开膛手杰克 Jack the Ripper, 杰夫瑞·达莫 Jeffrey Dahmer, 泰德·邦迪 Theodore Bundy 和阿尔伯特·德·萨尔沃Albert De Salvo是不是有点说服力了？（我当然知道，他们的全名是什么来着？）

小编注：查尔斯·曼森、开膛手杰克、杰夫瑞·达莫、泰德·邦迪和阿尔伯特·德·萨尔沃都是历史上臭名昭著的连环杀手。

teenager

Kids officially become teenagers at the age of 13, and we all know that’s a scary phase.
官方认为小孩于13岁成为青少年，我们都知道这是个恐怖时期。

numerology

In numerology, the number 12 is considered to be the representation of perfection and completion.
数字学认为12代表着完美和完整。

It stands to reason, then, that trying to improve upon perfection by adding a digit is a very bad idea indeed - your greed will be rewarded with bad luck.
这是有道理的，想在完美上锦上添花本就是个馊主意——你的贪心只会带来厄运。

Thirteen Club

Two presidents of The Thirteen Club were shot.
两位十三俱乐部的总统都被枪杀。

In the late 1800s, there was a group called The Thirteen Club. Their purpose was to debunk the legend that seating 13 people at a table would result in the death of one of them in the year to follow.
19世纪晚期，有一个组织叫做十三俱乐部，他们是为了打破一个传言：如果13个人坐在桌子上吃饭，那么其中一人会在第二年死亡。

They met on the 13th of the month and had dinner 13 people to a table, and to make matters worse, they purposely spilled salt on the table without throwing it over their shoulders. The horror! They also fined members who showed up late — 13 cents, of course.
他们每个月的13号见面，13个人一起吃饭，更严重的是，他们故意把盐洒在桌子上而非肩膀上。最恐怖的还是：迟到者会被惩罚13分！

Members of the club included five U.S. presidents: Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Chester A. Arthur. I’m not sure if it’s worth noting that two of these presidents were shot — one fatally, of course — but I’ll mention it anyway. And, if you’re keeping track, Chester A. Arthur only became president because he was vice when Garfield was assassinated.
这个俱乐部包括5名美国总统：班杰明·哈里逊，格兰佛·克利夫兰，威廉·麦金利，西奥多·罗斯福以及切斯特·阿瑟。我不确定其中两位总统遭到暗杀（其中一人身亡）与这有没有联系，但我还是不得不提一下。如果你了解历史就该知道，切斯特·阿瑟之所以能成为总统就是因为当他还是副总统时，总统詹姆斯·加菲尔德被人杀害。

aviation

Friday, October 13, 1972, was a bad day in the history of aviation.
1972年10月13号星期五对于航空史来说是个灾难日。

That's the day that Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 infamously crashed in the Andes, killing 29 people. On the exact same day, 174 people were killed when a Soviet Aeroflot crashed in a lake about a kilometer from the runway.
那一天，乌拉圭空军571号坠毁于安第斯山脉，造成29人死亡。同日，前苏联俄罗斯航空飞机坠毁于跑到一公里以外的湖里，造成174人死亡。