There is no year without one Friday the 13th, and no year with more than three. This day is considered the unluckiest of days in many superstitions, unless you were born on Friday the 13th, in which case it is your lucky day. “Friggatriskaidekaphobia” is the fear of Friday the 13th. Some people don’t like the number 13, whether it’s a Friday or not. The fear of the number 13 is called “triskaidekaphobia.” Quite a few skyscrapers and hotels do not have a 13th floor (or a room 13, for that matter), and many buildings substitute 12 1/2 for 13 in their addresses. Winston Churchill wouldn’t travel on Friday the 13th, considering it too unlucky.” Discover more fun and freaky facts about Friday the 13th!
Daily Calendar for Friday, November 13, 2026
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Friday, November 13, 2026
Question of the Day
Why do I sometimes sneeze when I look at the sun?
Regular sneezing occurs when the nerve endings of the mucous membranes in your nose are irritated. The bright light of the sun can have this effect on your nose when the light hits your optic nerve.
Advice of the Day
Prune grapevines now.
Home Hint of the Day
To clean bone knife handles or any ivory object (such as piano keys), wipe on a solution of 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide and 1 cup of water. No need to rinse.
Word of the Day
SOS
The letters signified by the signal ( … - - - … ) prescribed by the International Radiotelegraph Convention of 1908 for use by ships in distress. SOS was chosen as the universal distress signal because this combination of three dots followed by three dashes followed by three dots was easy to send and easily recognized, especially since they were usually sent as a nine-character signal, which stood out against the background of three-character Morse Code letters. The letters themselves are meaningless. SOS does not stand for Save Our Souls, Save Our Ship, Stop Other Signals, or Sure Of Sinking.
Puzzle of the Day
What is the longest word in the English language?
Smiles, because there is a mile between the first and last letters.
Born
- Esaias Tegner (writer) –
- Lady Caroline Ponsonby Lamb (author) –
- Edwin Booth (actor) –
- Robert Louis Stevenson (author) –
- Louis Brandeis (U.S. Supreme Court justice) –
- Bennie Moton (Jazz pioneer; born in Kansas City, Missouri) –
- Alexander Scourby (actor) –
- Richard Mulligan (actor) –
- Garry Marshall (producer, director, & actor) –
- Dack Rambo (actor) –
- Chris Noth (actor) –
- Whoopi Goldberg (actress) –
- Jimmy Kimmel (television host) –
- Monique Coleman (actress) –
Died
- Gioacchino Rossini (composer) –
- Irv Rubin (Jewish Defense League leader) –
- Robert Pershing "Bobby" Doerr (baseball player) –
- Katherine MacGregor (actress) –
Events
- David Kirke granted co-proprietorship of Newfoundland –
- U.S. General Montgomery captured Montreal –
- Thousands of meteors fell per hour in the eastern United States –
- The Holland Tunnel between New York and New Jersey opened –
- Ginger Rogers married Lew Ayres –
- Walt Disney’s Fantasia premiered at the Broadway Theater in New York; first film to attempt to use stereophonic sound –
- Sammy Davis Jr. married May Britt –
- Bob Pettit was the first to reach 20,000 career points in the NBA –
- Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet (Mars) –
- Li’l Abner, Al Capp’s 43-year-old comic strip, appeared in newspapers for the last time –
- The Wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated, Washington, D.C. –
- Volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupts in Colombia, killing over 23,000 people. –
- Groundbreaking ceremony held for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. –
Weather
- The first great storm of what became the Dust Bowl spread a pall from the Great Plains to New York –