Today's Today

Happy Triskaidekaphobia Day

MATHWORLD:

Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of 13, a number commonly associated with bad luck in Western culture. While fear of the number 13 can be traced back to medieval times, the word triskaidekaphobia itself is of recent vintage, having been first coined by Coriat (1911; Simpson and Weiner 1992). It seems to have first appeared in the general media in a Nov. 8, 1953 New York Times article covering discussions of a United Nations committee.

This superstition leads some people to fear or avoid anything involving the number 13. In particular, this leads to interesting practices such as the numbering of floors as 1, 2, ..., 11, 12, 14, 15, ... (OEIS A011760; the "elevator sequence"), omitting the number 13, in many high-rise American hotels, the numbering of streets avoiding 13th Avenue, and so on.

Apparently, 13 hasn't always been considered unlucky. In fact, it appears that in ancient times, 13 was either considered in a positive light or (more commonly) not at all (Adams). The association of bad luck with the number 13 has been attributed to the fact there were 13 people at the Last Supper of Jesus, although this association seems to have originated only in medieval times.

The association has also been linked to that fact that lunisolar calendars (such as the Hebrew and Chinese calendars) must have 13 months in some years in order to synchronize the solar and lunar cycles, while the solar Gregorian calendar in universal current usage always has 12 months in a year.

Triskaidekaphobia also may be related to Norse mythology, which tells how the god Odin invited eleven of his closest friends to a dinner party at his home in Valhalla, only to have his party crashed by Loki, the god of evil and turmoil, thus giving a total of 13 people. The legend further relates how Balder, one of the most beloved gods, tried to throw Loki out of the party, resulting in a scuffle and ultimately Balder's death with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.

Fear of the number 13 also leads to fear of Friday the thirteenth (a fear recently dubbed paraskevidekatriaphobia), despite the fact that Friday turns out to be the most common weekday on which the 13th of a month can occur in the Gregorian calendar. The association of bad luck with Friday appeared in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the late 14th century ("and on a Friday fell all this misfortune"), but references to Friday as a day associated with ill luck in general first appear around the middle of the 17th century (Mikkelson and Mikkelson). In particular, it appeared in numerous publications as a particularly unlucky day to start a new venture (beginning a journey, giving birth, getting married, moving, starting a new job, etc.) beginning around 1800 (Mikkelson and Mikkelson).

While 13 is associated with the number of people at the Last Supper, the Crucifixion took place on a Friday, thus leading to an association of back luck with the combination of this number and day. Note that the association of Friday the thirteenth with the arrest of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, on Friday, October 13, 1307 by King Philippe IV of France--as repeated, for example, in D. Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code (Brown 2003, p. 163)--is a modern-day invention (Mikkelson and Mikkelson).

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is probably the most widespread superstition in the United States, possibly affecting tens of millions of Americans. Interestingly, a study by Scanlon et al. (1993) published in the prestigious British Medical Journal which analyzed the relation between health, behavior, and superstition surrounding Friday 13th in the United Kingdom by comparing the ratio of traffic volume to traffic accidents on Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th over a period of years found that, "The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52%. Staying at home is recommended."

While there does not appear to be hard evidence to support the claim, it has been suggested that $800 to $900 million are lost each Friday the 13th (Roach 2004) as a result of people avoiding travel, wedding plans, moving, and so on.

WTAF

Bingo card, schmingo card - what the fuck are we doing?

Markwayne Mullin Reportedly Fingered Nostrils of Colleagues and Their Spouses During Visit to Israel

A former House Republican and his wife claimed that in 2015, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) – then a congressman – took photos of himself putting his finger up the noses of sleeping lawmakers and their spouses during a visit to Israel.

Mullin made waves this week when he tried to pick a nose physical fight with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien during a Senate hearing.

The source of the story is former Rep. David Trott (R-MI), whose account was relayed in Friday’s edition of Politico’s Playbook:

Wednesday night, after a full day of coverage of Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-Okla.) near-fisticuffs with a Teamsters leader — and his subsequent unapologetic victory lap of media appearances — we got an email from former Rep. David Trott (R-Mich.), who served with Mullin in the House: “My wife and I have a story about Senator Mullin if you’re interested.”

Consider our interest piqued.

We called up the former congressman, who told us about an AIPAC-sponsored trip to Israel in August 2015 that he remembered about 40 members attending, plus many spouses. Among those spouses was his wife, Kathleen "Kappy" Trott.

At this point, he handed the phone over to Kappy. She told us about the flight to Israel, which was hampered by layovers and delays. Though they were promised a quick shower in the hotel upon arriving, that schedule was revised on the fly: Instead, they’d immediately board buses to see an Iron Dome installation and a kibbutz.

“We were in the clothes we’d been wearing for like 24 hours,” Kappy says. “We get on this bus, and it’s a couple-hour bus ride and people were kind of leaning on their spouse’s shoulder and falling asleep. And this idiot starts walking up and down the bus with his camera and anyone who fell asleep, he would put his finger in their nose and take a picture.”

“I said [to myself, ‘If] that idiot comes near me when I fall asleep, I’m going to punch him,’” Kappy told us. “And I said to Dave: ‘This is a U.S. congressman?’”

That congressman? Markwayne Mullin.

“Some people were mad, and some people were laughing. There were a couple of women who were mad,” Kappy said. “You’re trying to fall asleep, somebody you don’t know has his finger … It was just middle school. And we were in Israel, and we’re going to go see the Iron Dome and go to a kibbutz. Just didn’t seem appropriate.”

They said that Mullin’s recent round of publicity jostled their memory. Contemporary press reports verify that Mullin was, in fact, on this 2015 trip to Israel.

Politico stated it reached out to Mullin’s staff multiple times, but did not receive a response.

Today's Amanda

Keith

Republicans have had ample opportunity to pull us back from a whole big bunch of Trump's dumbass fuckery, but they chose to go with Secret Police, 5-dollar gas, and dead Iranian school girls instead - all of which is plausibly in service of the Epstein coverup.

If there's anything that might remotely resemble a silver lining, it's the somewhat increasing probability that the Plutocracy Project is going down the shitter.

Today's Bulwark

"We have deeply unserious leadership in a deadly serious moment."

Aaron Parnas

Oh no - they lied !?!

A Quote

Historicalness

Imagine the level of fuckedup-ed-ness you have to achieve to get Switzerland off the fence.

Popularity

Poll: Confidence in the Supreme Court drops to a record low

The latest NBC News poll shows that the percentage of voters with a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of confidence in the court is at the lowest ebb since the question was first asked in 2000.

The percentage of voters with significant levels of confidence in the Supreme Court has dropped to its lowest point since NBC News began polling on the question in 2000, according to the most recent survey.

The latest NBC News poll shows that 22% of registered voters nationally said they have a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of confidence in the high court. Another 40% said they had "some" confidence, while 38% said they had "very little" or "no" confidence.

The previous low point for voters' impressions of the Supreme Court came in the wake of the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, when 27% said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence. That number hit a high of 52% in December 2000, just before the court’s Bush v. Gore ruling that paved the way for George W. Bush to take office, a polarizing decision that buffeted the court’s popularity.

Although Republicans generally have higher confidence in the court than Democrats do, there has been a drop among both constituencies over time, according to NBC News polling data. The court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority that often favors Republican causes on issues such as abortion and voting rights.

In the latest survey, 9% of Democrats said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the court, compared with 35% of Republicans who do.

"It’s one thing to make controversial rulings that one party may or may not like but maintain respect and confidence. What we are seeing is quite the opposite, where the court is making controversial rulings but not being respected and in fact confidence is being eroded," said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the survey alongside Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.

In an NBC News poll that was conducted after the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that President Donald Trump had broad criminal immunity in a case arising from his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, 55% of Republicans said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the court, while 4% of Democrats had a similar sentiment.

Democratic confidence in the court took another big hit in 2022 when the conservative majority overturned federal abortion rights. At that point, 11% had a significant amount of confidence in the court.

The new NBC News poll, which was in the field Feb. 27-March 3, follows the Supreme Court's most recent high-profile ruling, in which it struck down Trump's sweeping tariffs, bucking a recent trend of significant decisions in favor of the president and other conservative causes. Trump responded with harsh criticism of the justices in the majority.

Republicans had previously chided liberals for stridently criticizing the court when they disagreed with its rulings, including the abortion decision.

"At this stage ... they are getting it from both sides," Horwitt said of the justices.

Maya Sen, a political scientist at the Harvard Kennedy School, said the polling reflects how high-profile rulings tend to shape public opinion of the court, although it would take more than the tariffs decision alone to lead to a significant change in attitudes.

If the court hands other big losses to Trump, including on his plan to end automatic birthright citizenship that is currently before the justices, sentiments among both Democrats and Republicans could change, she added.

“If there are series of unfavorable rulings for the administration ... I think what you’d expect to see is support among Democrats start to thaw a little bit and you’d expect to see some reaction from Republicans,” Sen said.

A majority (54%) of voters surveyed said they approved of the Supreme Court's tariffs ruling, while 27% disapproved. And 55% said Trump's tariffs are hurting the economy, compared with 33% who said they are helping.

Supreme Court justices are appointed for life and generally do not have to worry too much about how popular they are, but a sustained drop in confidence brings its own problems. The court has no power to enforce its rulings and relies upon faith in its legitimacy among political leaders and the people as a whole for that to happen.

“When courts become extensions of the political process, when people see them as extensions of the political process, when people see them as just trying to impose personal preferences on society, irrespective of the law, that’s when there’s a problem,” liberal Justice Elena Kagan said in 2022.

The same year, conservative Chief Justice John Roberts said it is common for people to disagree with rulings, but he added: “Simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court.”

Today's Belle

A full course meal of TACO, chicken and waffles, and crow.