Home Kindergarten Help How Mr. Rogers Helped Kids Be Less Scared of Friday the 13th Was Genius by Keiko ZollJuly 13, 2018 Search more like this biographybirthdaytriviapuppettelevisionfunafraidassociateexplainnameneighborpointrevealthink Advertisement Trending Now Celeb & Entertainment Serena Williams Announces Retirement: ‘If I Were a Guy, I Wouldn’t Be Writing This’ Celeb & Entertainment Melanie Lynskey Talks about Being Body-Shamed in Hollywood & ‘Starving Herself’ Viral & Trending Viral TikTok Explains Why You Don’t Owe Toxic Parents a Relationship with Your Kids Celeb & Entertainment ‘Bluey’ Season 3 is Coming to Disney+ This Week! Viral & Trending Dad Gets Shamed for Using a Leash with 5-Year-Old Quintuplets Advertisement With the release of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, an important but oft-overlooked bit of trivia from Mister Rogers history has resurfaced. Did you know Fred Rogers helped kids to be less afraid of Friday the 13th? (Not that 80s slasher flick—but that actual Friday the 13th calendar day, so often associated with bad luck.) His method for doing this was totally sly and may have slipped under your radar all these years.In a 1999 interview with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Rogers revealed a surprising bit of biography on one of the show’s puppets, King Friday. Turns out, his full name is King Friday the XIII: you guessed it—Friday the 13th. Here’s Rogers explaining the story behind the clever name. “We just thought that was fun,” Rogers explained, “because so many people are just so superstitious of Friday the 13th.”“We thought, let’s start children out thinking that Friday the 13th is a fun day and every Friday the 13th would be his birthday,” Rogers continued, pointing to his regal puppet pal. “We would celebrate his birthday every time Friday the 13th came.”My heart can only explode so much with love.Happy Friday the 13th, neighbors. —Keiko ZollFeatured Photo: mrrogersmovie via Instagram RELATED STORIESThe 15 Most Important Things We’ve Learned from Mister RogersMrs. Rogers Spills the Tea about Life with Mr. Rogers on Jimmy FallonTom Hanks Will Play Mister Rogers in New Biopic & All Is Right With the World Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Copy (Opens in new window) Search more like this biographybirthdaytriviapuppettelevisionfunafraidassociateexplainnameneighborpointrevealthink Welcome to our Tinybeans family! Be sure to check your email for new activities, recipes and parenting hacks – and to see if you’ve won! Do you have a dog or cat? Select YES below and click submit to start receiving FREE pet ideas and inspiration, news about new pet products, exclusive offers and limited-time promotions. Yes, I have a pet! Submit GET READY FOR SUMMER! Enter to Win a $250 Gift Card! Enter your email and zip code below for a chance to win a Mastercard Gift Card. We’ll pick one winner per month through August 31, 2022 – 5 lucky winners in all! email zip_code campaign_name Enter Now! I agree to the official rules and to receive email communications from Tinybeans. By providing my email address, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience possible. Accepting the use of cookies enables important site functionality including personalization and analytics. Accept Decline Create an account to save this content on Tinybeans Choose how you would like to sign up. Continue with Apple Continue with Facebook Continue with Google or Continue with Email By signing up, you agree to Tinybeans Terms of Service and acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Privacy Policy. Sign in to your Tinybeans account Don’t have any account? Create an account here. Forgot your password? Reset it here. Sign In or Continue with Apple Continue with Facebook Continue with Google Personalized recommendations Tinybeans uses personal information to share useful recommendations and ideas for your family. This may include your previous activity, family profile and your hometown. Tinybeans keeps your data safe and does not sell personal information to any third party. Learn more about your privacy and location choices. Close
Celeb & Entertainment Serena Williams Announces Retirement: ‘If I Were a Guy, I Wouldn’t Be Writing This’
Celeb & Entertainment Melanie Lynskey Talks about Being Body-Shamed in Hollywood & ‘Starving Herself’