Friday the thirteenth is a legendary day of bad luck, ill omens, and unfortunate happenings. Many of the nonsuperstitious will deny that the day is unluckier than any other day, but in 1951, the Missouri and Kaw Rivers combined to make believers out of many residents of Kansas City. The flood-swollen Kaw combined with the water-jammed Missouri early that morning and at 5:20 a.m. the suffering began. The rushing waters crested the levee at Kansas City then roared eastward.
