A visiting friend's luggage mishaps Friday confirmed Laura Tarditi's sneaky superstitions about Friday the 13th.

Tarditi (sophomore-accounting) said when her friend changed buses her luggage continued on, in the opposite direction.

"I knew it was going to be a bad day," she said.

But when the traveler recovered her luggage, she also regained her luck, finding a $10 bill in a nearby bush.

Friday the 13th's poor reputation stems from Scandinavian legends which tell of 12 gods who, when feasting together, encountered a thirteenth visitor who cut their numbers to 11.

University students attributed strange -- but not necessarily unlucky -- occurrences to the date. Arriving at class on time topped the list of strange happenings. Staying awake during that class, and cleaning apartments or dorm rooms are other strange phenomena reported by students.

"It was kind of a weird day. I'll bet that strange mid-day snowstorm had something to do with (the date)," said Elizabeth Brown (sophomore-economics).

"I'm not usually superstitious though," she added.

According to Popular Beliefs and Superstitions, A Compendium of American Folklore, legend states that children born on Friday the 13th bring bad luck to their families.

To cure this curse, the book states, a cross-eyed farmer must kill a rabbit at midnight and cut off its foot. The child must carry the foot always to counter the bad luck.

Lee Ann Jones (senior-foreign service) discredited this story, however.

"My grandfather was born on that date," Jones said. "He didn't do that and he was extremely lucky. He also died on Friday the 13th."

The theme to "The Twilight Zone" seemed conspicuously missing as she finished her comment Friday on the Mall.

Others did not realize that the fifth day of classes was the infamous Friday the 13th. "It was a really ordinary day," one student remarked.

According to A Brief Dictionary of American Superstitions, there is a National Society of Thirteen Against Superstition, Prejudice, and Fear. The group -- founded in 1946 -- meets every Friday the 13th.

The traditional luncheon meetings end with mirror breaking and salt-spilling ceremonies. Black cats are, of course, welcome.