Question: What are you afraid of if you suffer from heptadekaphobia?
Answer: You are afraid of the number 17, in the same sense that Americans consider the number 13 to be ill-fated. This is particularly true in Italy, where the date Friday the 17th is considered especially unfortunate. Some believe this started in Ancient Rome: When the number 17 is viewed as the Roman numeral XVII, and then changed anagrammatically to VIXI, it reminds Italians of the Latin language phrase that translates to “I have lived,” which can be understood as, “My life is over.” Happy September 17!
