Friday the 13th

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Where did this fear come from? Why is Friday the 13th such a superstition? While it's not exactly known many theories say that it hails back to Christianity's stories...Judas betraying Jesus on a Friday. Jesus being crucified on a Friday, which is also known as hangman's day.

Some suggest that 12 is a whole unit and can be broken down well and then you add in one more for 13 and it becomes spooky.

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Other cultures don't seem to have the same phobia of Friday the 13th like we do. In Italy it's Friday the 17th...The Roman number XVII can be rearranged into the Latin VIXI which means "my life is over."

How do you spend Friday the 13th? I'm excited it's in October this year. I'm having my son's friends over for a little Halloween/Friday the 13th party.

Knock on wood, be nice to black cats, and maybe throw some salt over your shoulder...you know, just in case!

Source: National Geographic article

Animals of Houston

So many animals were also affected by Hurricane Harvey. People Pets found some great animal rescue stories during the storm. I'll post a few of my faves but go check out the post for all of them!

This dog was found clinging to the rail. But they got to her!




This cooper hawk took refuge in this man's taxi to escape the hurricane winds. According to the New York Post the man Bruso nicknamed him "Sgt. Hurricane Harvey." The hawk even landed on Bruso's arm after he had put on a glove.

Bruso..."eventually handed the bird over to the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition of Houston. “It was a very cool experience,” Bruso told the Post. “I felt very honored that [the hawk] chose to hunker down with me — and was so well-behaved, better behaved than my cousins who come here and wreak havoc … It was a magical experience. This is a bird of prey, a natural-born killer in its normal environment. But this was not a normal situation.”

Here's How To Help according to People Pets:

• Best Friends Animal Society, the first animal rescue on the ground during Hurricane Katrina, has deployed its disaster response team to Texas to help rescue stranded animals, deliver supplies and transport displaced pets. You can donate to the disaster relief fund here. 
• The SPCA of Texas is working to evacuate pets out of the affected ares and is helping to provide resources on pet-friendly housing to those evacuating the Houston area. The SPCA of Texas is accepting donations here. 
• Austin Pets Alive! Is moving as many displaced animals as possible into its shelter and is working on adopting out the animals currently residing there, so it has more room for Harvey evacuees. The rescue is looking for financial donations and potential adopters, learn more here.
• American Humane is working to rescue animals from the flood waters, as well, and is also providing hundreds of pounds of pet food to pet owners and their animals currently displaced by Harvey. To support these efforts, click here.
• The Humane Society of the United States has several on-the-ground response teams rescuing animals and helping people with pets get to safety. It recently took the lead in organizing a flight of shelter dogs from Texas to New Jersey. Readers can donate towards the rescue effort by clicking here.

Friday Musings

The best thing on the internet this week happened when Andy Serkis read Tr*mp tweets as Gollum on the Stephen Colbert show! I'll take anything I can get right now and this was top notch. So thank you, Mr. Serkis!