Weird Things Happen on Friday

Whee! It's Friday, the doorway to the weekend. Isn't it amazing how people lust after Fridays? Like the song says, "Just working for the weekend."

I was reading an article about Friday the 13th, the historical event involving the Knights Templar, and decided to see how many weird things happen on Fridays.

To my surprise, I found a treasure trove of trivia. Let's get started with the Knights Templar. Read on and be amazed.

1. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France had hundreds of the powerful Knights Templar arrested. That event is often cited as the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition.

2.  Security data shows companies are disproportionately hacked or hit with phishing scams on Fridays because that's when IT staffs, like all the other employees, leave for the weekend.

3. Seafarers have long believed it was bad luck to start a new voyage on a Friday.

4. In the USA, TGIF means "Thank God It's Friday" whereas in Australia and the UK, Friday is known as POETS Day, "Piss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday."

5, In the USA, the crazy mad rush in stores on the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday because the first such event actually resulted in the death of a retail employee in 2008 in Valley Stream, New York.

He was crushed to death in the stampede of 2,000+ shoppers when the doors opened at midnight.

6. The expression “Man Friday” comes from the character Friday in the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The phrase is used to describe a particularly loyal and/or competent male personal assistant.

7. The restaurant chain TGI Friday opened in 1965 to capitalize on the popular TGIF phrase.

8. The popular saying “Friday on my mind” was popularized by the 1966 hit song of the same name by The Easybeats.

9. Friday is the most common payday in the United States.

10. Given that Friday is usually payday and that people are working for the weekend, it's no surprise that studies show worker productivity decreases on Fridays compared to other work days.

11. Friday is the only day of the week named after a Norse goddess, Frigg, who was the equivalent of Venus.

12. More bank robberies happen on a Friday than any other day of the week.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

TGIF! Let's have fun today and get ready for the weekend.

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