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 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!
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
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, 2) The song Brother for Sale, 3) This picture exists:
Correction: This original version of this story misstated Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s birthday. They were born June 13, 1988.
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