Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. Now try saying it
Listen
• 0:50
A calendar page for Friday the 13th falls to the ground.
(
picture alliance via Getty Images
)
We admit it. Some of us feel a little ... unsettled when we look at the calendar today and see that it is Friday the 13th. We can't quite explain why. It's just kinda lurking there.
And all those Friday the 13th movies aren't helping, either.
Is the fear real?
Here's the deal. We can't help you with your fear of Friday the 13th. (And who are we to judge? Some of us are afraid of cantaloupes or crumpets. Or holes.)
Support for LAist comes from
What we can do is tell you that your fear has a name: paraskevidekatriaphobia — and we can teach you how to say it.
How do you pronounce it?
Will it help? Supposedly, if you learn how to say it, that will help with the fear. But who knows? Keep repeating it and your mind will be so occupied that before you know it, you'll land on Saturday the 14th!
So here goes:
"Break it down into syllables," says Korva Coleman, NPR newscaster and our resident expert on pronunciations. "When you take a look at that middle "i" after the "v" ... it's pronounced like a double "e."
So, something in the neighborhood of: para-SKEVY-decka-try-a-phobia
Still need more help?
Us too. (We're not all Korvas.) Here an audio assist:
Support for LAist comes from
Listen
• 0:50
Learn to say paraskevidekatriaphobia
Happy Friday, y'all!
Copyright 2024 NPR
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
-
Hexavalent chromium is the same carcinogen Erin Brockovich warned about in the 1990s, but researchers say more study is needed on the potential health effects of nanoparticles detected earlier this year. Experts will answer questions at a webinar this evening.
Best of LAist