Most British sailors have a superstition that Friday is an unlucky day, and Friday the 13th  — particularly so. There is a legend about how the British Admiralty decided to expose the absurdity of this notion (30) ______. Most likely, it is untrue, but it doesn’t stop the sailors from religiously believing in it.

Sometime in the 1800s, as the story (31) ______, the Royal Navy decided to demonstrate the falseness of the belief that beginning a voyage on Friday would bring you bad luck. They commissioned a ship and named it the HMS Friday. Her keel was laid on a Friday, she was launched on a Friday, and she (32) ______ sail on her maiden voyage on Friday the 13th, under the command of Captain James Friday. She was never (33) ______ or heard from again.

As you can imagine, the Admiralty has consistently (34) ______ the truth of this story. They claim there has never been a Royal Navy ship named Friday, or any other day of the week, (35) ______.

But the Navy’s claims are unimportant because generations of British seamen have (36) ______ every word of the story as true. It confirms their superstition and superstition cannot be overcome by logic.