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Frano Selak is often called the "luckiest unlucky man in the world." He dodged death a total of seven times: in a bus crash, a train crash, a plane crash, two car crashes, yet another bus crash, and finally a truck crash.

In his 70s he entered the lottery - and won £700,000.

Selak's luck brings a little hope as we reach Friday 13th, a day which superstitiousBelieving in old ideas about luck and magic, instead of ideas based on human reason or scientific knowledge. people think is unlucky.

There is even a name for this superstition: paraskevidekatriaphobia, which is a fear of the number 13.

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Plane tickets tend to be cheaper when the 13th falls on a Friday, and some planes even have no Row 13.²

Nobody knows exactly when people began to think that Friday 13th is unlucky. But the number 13 has been considered unlucky for much of history.

In east Asian societies, the number four is thought to be unlucky, because in Chinese it sounds like the word for "death".

Yes! Superstitions are silly. We now have scientists to tell us why most things happen. We should not let ideas like this control how we live.

No! Superstitions are a key part of many cultures. And some studies have shown that believing in good and bad luck can make you more successful!