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Finnair Flight 666 Just Made Its Final Trip To Helsinki, Finland, On Friday The 13th
If you're superstitious then there a few things you likely avoid on days like Friday the 13th. This includes the number 13, letting a black cat cross your path, walking under a ladder, anyone in a ski mask, and opening an umbrella indoors. But what about flying? The world's creepiest flight, Finnair Flight 666, took passengers to Helsinki, Finland, on Friday the 13th, for the very last time — and it went exactly as you expect a flight to go, which is to say fine.
But you can't deny that this is basically the creepiest thing ever. The airport's abbreviation is HEL, the flight number was 666, they departed at 1 p.m. — which is 13:00 in military time — and the flight took place on Friday, Oct. 13, during Halloween Month. What's more is that a tweet from Flight Radar 24 claimed that the plane that transported the passengers to HEL was 13 years old. This is probably one of those situations where a lot of people raised their hands when they asked for volunteers give up their seats for an overbooked flight.
The irony of all of the symbolism about the numbers 666 and 13 was not lost on many people who took to Twitter to point out the coincidence. While some people said they would never board a flight to hell on one of the creepiest days of the year, plenty of people took their chances on the hour and a half long flight. And, according to BuzzFeed News, they all landed safely. In fact, the flight even arrived early.
While neither the devil nor Jason Voorhees proved to be in the pilot's seat of flight 666, it still feels pretty risky if you're at all superstitious.
However, not everyone was spooked by the numerology, and some people even took it one step further by sitting in row 13. Couldn't catch me doing that, but hey, glad everyone went to HEL safe and sound.
While these fliers seemed to have no fear, as a society, we are so superstitious about Friday the 13th that many multi-level buildings do not have a 13th floor. My old apartment building, which numbered apartments one through 15 on each floor, skipped the number 13 altogether and went straight from from 12 to 14. While the origins of superstition around the number 13 are unknown, National Geographic reported that the roots could be religious.
"It's difficult to pin down the origins and evolution of a superstition. But Stuart Vyse, a professor of psychology at Connecticut College in New London, said our fear of Friday the 13th may be rooted in religious beliefs surrounding the 13th guest at the Last Supper — Judas, the apostle said to have betrayed Jesus — and the crucifixion of Jesus on a Friday, which was known as hangman's day."
Associating the number 666 with evil is also rooted in Christianity. "In the Bible's apocalyptic Book of Revelation, John the Apostle refers to 666 as 'the number of the beast,'" National Geographic explained. "This 'beast' is often interpreted as being the Antichrist — and thus the number is a sign of the devil."
The website Ask Angels noted that the meaning behind 666 has been misinterpreted, and is not a bad omen at all. It actually signals a wake up call for those we see this number. "Have you been solely focused on material matters, and ignoring your inner voice and spiritual path? If so, it's quite likely 666 may appear with a message for you. 666 brings the guidance to listen to your heart not your head."
Apparently the airline, the pilot, and all of the evolved passengers who dared to board flight 666 already knew this. Over the past 11 years, flight 666 has flown on Friday the 13th 21 times, and there have never been any reports of a crazed man in a ski mask stalking the cabin.
But today, flight 666 made its last Friday the 13th journey as Finnair announced that they are changing their numbering system — unrelated to the superstition, as the official Finnair Twitter account confirmed.
Personally, I don't buy into the Friday the 13th hype, and I'm not at all afraid of flying, so I definitely would have voluntarily boarded this plane to hell just to see what would happen, which apparently is nothing. What about you?
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