--- title: Friday the 13th Bad Luck: 5 Good Things that Happened on Friday 13th description: Friday the 13th isn't all bad luck. Here are 5 good things that happened on that dreaded date. (Mercury retrograde we can't help you with.) canonical: https://time.com/2866748/5-actually-good-things-that-happened-on-friday-the-13th/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-13T11:32:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:36.475Z og:title: 5 Actually Good Things that Happened on Friday the 13th og:description: It's not all bad! og:url: https://time.com/2866748/5-actually-good-things-that-happened-on-friday-the-13th/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Actually Good Things that Happened on Friday the 13th twitter:description: It's not all bad! twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 5 Actually Good Things That Happened on Friday the 13th by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Jun 13, 2014 11:32 AM UTC by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Jun 13, 2014 11:32 AM UTC **Correction appended, June 13, 3:04 p.m.** For those of us with the windows drawn, desperate to avoid the double whammy of Friday the 13th and Mercury retrograde at all costs—change out of your hole-y sweatpants and go outside. Friday the 13th isn’t as calamitous as some people make it out to be. Sure, the 1989 stock market dip, Tupac Shakur’s death, and the sinking of Costa Concordia all happened on that dreaded day, but some good stuff happened, too. Here are 5 good things that happened on Friday the 13th (Mercury retrograde we can’t help you with): **LBJ signed an executive order designed to eliminate hiring discrimination based on gender on October 13, 1967**[Executive Order 11375](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=60553) was applicable to the United States federal workforce and government contractors. **The accordion was patented January 13, 1854**And who _doesn’t_ love at least the option of hearing good polka? Or in this case,a reinterpretation of Vivaldi: **The first female flight instructor was** **licensed October 13, 1939** You crash through that glass ceiling with your airplane,[ Evelyn Pinckert Kilgore](http://books.google.com/books?id=EmgLHStZPhkC&pg=PA453&lpg=PA453&dq=october+13+1939+first+female&source=bl&ots=CSHqqBCwWf&sig=VyKavv-SDONtr9rMJfq7pu5n%5FJQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rOCaU5RZpeawBMqUgNgF&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=october%2013%201939%20first%20female&f=false)! **It was a really good day for the** **_Friday the 13th_** **film franchise**When adjusted for ticket price inflation, the [films grossed a total of $738 million](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=fridaythe13th.htm)  Actress America Olivo arrives at the premiere of Warner Bros.' "Friday the 13th" Kevin Winter—;Getty Images **And most importantly, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen were born June 13, 1986** I have three rebuttals for the haters out there who think that this is anything but a good thing: 1) [_Passport to Paris_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202521/)_,_ 2) The song [_Brother for Sale_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3l3-B3vW0w), 3) This picture exists: > [](https://twitter.com/aguywithnolife/status/439827207645454336) **Correction:** This original version of this story misstated Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s birthday. 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