Is Friday the 13th really unlucky?

The dire weather predictions for today have been moderated somewhat, but as this was written this morning, we still had the potential for a bad day in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, with several inches of snow still expected, along with gusty winds.

It's about what you'd expect if you had friggatriskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13, or paraskavedekatriaphobia -- the more specialized term for the fear of Friday the 13th.

Other than the weather, is there really anything to fear?

Well, there are the popular beliefs that Judas was the 13th guest at the Last Supper, and that the Crucifixion of Jesus occurred on Friday.

There's nothing to back up the idea that Eve offered the forbidden fruit to Adam on a Friday, nor that Cain slew Abel on a Friday, but crusaders allegedly sacked Constantinople on April 13, 1204 -- although that was a Tuesday. And, as the controversial book, The DaVinci Code notes, King Philip IV had a number of Knights Templar arrested on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307.

But many of us can remember the third Apollo attempt to land on the moon, which was launched at 13:13 CST from Complex 39 (three times 13) on April 11, 1970 (4+11+7+0=13). An oxygen tank exploded at 19:13 CST, halfway to the moon, but if it would have exploded on the ground, repairs would have cost an estimated $13 million. And, by the way, the mission was named Apollo 13.

Enough of us are superstitious, however, that according to a stress management study, an estimated $800-$900 million is lost in business on Friday the 13th because people will not fly or do business like they normally do.

But not everyone is convinced.

Certainly not Wilt Chamberlain or Dan Marino, who wore the number 13 to professional sports glory; nor a group of 13 Ohio workers who won a $295 million Powerball jackpot in 1998 with, naturally enough, a red Powerball number of 13.

And, the ultimate bad day, Friday, April 13, 2029, turned out to be a false alarm. On that day, Asteroid 2004 MMN4, a 320-meter-wide asteroid was thought to have a chance at colliding with Earth. It turns out, however, that the hunk of rock will be at a comfortably distant point for good viewing by stargazers.

If we're around 22 years from now, it will be a great day to count your lucky stars.