20 Weird Superstitions

1. kevin - September 10th, 2007 at 4:38 am

great list, but numbers 6 and 20 are the same..

2. Mike - September 10th, 2007 at 4:42 am

It’s also bad luck to have the same entry appear twice. (6 & 20)

3. Mike - September 10th, 2007 at 4:43 am

It’s also bad luck to have the same entry appear twice. (6 & 20)

4. Cyn - September 10th, 2007 at 5:06 am

oh ain’t Mike funny? hey…what’s the one about spilt salt? spill salt and throw a pinch over your shoulder. not sure why. anyone know what that is supposed to prevent?

love this site..btw.

5. Mike - September 10th, 2007 at 5:10 am

the thing with the salt is to keep the devil or whatever off your back. really common in Greece. how funny is that?

6. Zdank - September 10th, 2007 at 5:31 am

“Three on a match is badluck” comes from the Civil War, and it WAS bad luck. When you lit the match, the enemy sharp shooter would see it. When the second guy used it, he would aim. By the time the third guy used it, the sharpshooter was ready to fire.

7. RobS - September 10th, 2007 at 5:33 am

Lighting three cigarettes on one match, I believe comes from the trenches of the first world war. Lighting three cigarettes off one match, gave an enemy sniper time enough to sight in on the light and get off a shot.

8. Yarr - September 10th, 2007 at 5:35 am

My buddy is in Iraq and tells me that (unlike here) they can smoke pretty much anywhere, but that smoking at night and/or lighing more than one at a time is dangerous and discouraged by the army.

9. RobS - September 10th, 2007 at 5:36 am

Zdank,
Really? Civil war, huh. I didn’t know that. I’d always heard WW1.

10. jfrater - September 10th, 2007 at 6:05 am

6 and 20 - oops - thanks. Fixed.

11. jfrater - September 10th, 2007 at 6:06 am

The war origins are interesting. Thanks

12. Morgaine - September 10th, 2007 at 6:33 am

(cyn)It’s said that salt represents friendship, so when you spill salt, you might lose a friend, but you can avoid it by throwing a pinch with your left hand over your left shoulder. (I don’t exactly know what happens if you do it with the right):P
I’ve also heard that when you lend a book to a friend, you lose both the book and the friend, that it’s real bad luck to drink a toast with water in your glass, that you can scare away wasps and bees if you bite your tongue….

13. Özhan - September 10th, 2007 at 6:34 am

I dont know if these also exist in western world:

A girl drinks salty water (lots of it) then goes to sleep. Superstition says she will see her future husband in dream as he’s giving her water.

If your right hand becomes itchy you will earn money, if your left hand then you will lose money.

hmm, how to describe it… If you start to stare into nothing that means a guest is coming.

Hichups means someone is thinking about you. And if you can name that person, the hichup will be gone.

Are those weird enough :P:P

14. Cyn - September 10th, 2007 at 6:45 am

thanks Mike and Morgaine.

you know how it’s said in any legend there is a grain of truth..wonder if there is something similar w/ superstitions. like at one time something happened that seemed to confirm it then it just became like a habit. the thing that amazes me is that they persist and in a lotta cases cross cultures.

15. Bonnie_ - September 10th, 2007 at 7:03 am

I just wrote about a sniper seeing a soldier light a match, and realized Zdank beat me to it. The sniper and three cigarette story always gave me a creepy shiver.

16. RobS - September 10th, 2007 at 7:16 am

Bonnie,

Just another way that smoking shortens your life…

(Thank you! I’ll be here all week! Try the chicken wings!”

17. Cat Skyfire - September 10th, 2007 at 7:31 am

I read the three matches for the Boer War. However, it does show how it fits for any war.

Of course, now we’d say lighting cigarettes is bad luck…

18. Che - September 10th, 2007 at 7:43 am

# 16 - in France, you never, ever give a knife as a gift. It’s like the kiss of death. Or it’s cursed, or something similar.

Not walking under a ladder - not a superstition, more like common sense.

19. Özhan - September 10th, 2007 at 7:50 am

I heard ladder thing is about Christian’s triangle (Father-Son-Spirit) So when you cross beneath it, you would broke it. Thats why bad luck.

And the mirror thing. It was thought mirrors are doors. When broken a bad spirit will come out of it. So usually they buried the broken pieces. I also heard Romans hated blurry reflections thinking it will have ill efect on their soul.

20. jfrater - September 10th, 2007 at 7:53 am

Wow - lots of good additions - keep it up

21. Che - September 10th, 2007 at 7:58 am

Actually Özhan, I think walking under a ladder vastly increases your chances of receiving a bucket of paint, or a hammer, or a piano, or a 1 ton Acme safe, on your head.
;+)

22. RobS - September 10th, 2007 at 8:06 am

Methinks you’ve been watching a few too many Warner Bros. cartoons, Che.

23. Özhan - September 10th, 2007 at 8:15 am

Actully ladder probably will act as cover… But nobody can know the actual reasons behind Super-Stitions

24. jfrater - September 10th, 2007 at 8:43 am

I was thinking of exactly the same thing as Che! And I definitely don’t watch cartoons!

25. Fe - September 10th, 2007 at 9:53 am

Here are a couple peculiar to my (highly supersticious) family. There’s an old well down in the field and family legend says that if you look into the well at dawn on your 16th birthday, you will see the face of the person you will marry.

The farm has been in the family since Texas was still part of Mexico. Family legend says that whenever a member of the family is born, a tree begins to grow and when that person dies, so does the tree. Needless to say, we take very good care of our trees.

26. jfrater - September 10th, 2007 at 10:02 am

Fe: that is great! How nice to hear about superstitions that are specific to a family.

27. Kwame - September 10th, 2007 at 10:29 am

My grandmother was very superstitious, and one that always stuck with me was that it’s bad luck to place a hat on the bed. I have no idea where that came from, but to this day, I don’t allow hats on the beds in my home.

28. jfrater - September 10th, 2007 at 11:03 am

Kwame: I have heard of that one - and shoes on the table or shoes upside down.

29. 9000 - September 10th, 2007 at 4:18 pm

Was watching “Mad Men,” a TV show about an advertising agency in the 1960s and they speculated that the “3 on a match” superstition was propagated to sell more matches (or zippos? they became popular during WWI…). I do believe this started around WWI though, since prior to that nobody had much use for sharpshooters (there were a few sharpshooter “units” in the civil war, tho). Remember, before the 20th century they all used to just line everybody up a hundred feet in front of each other and shoot. Targeting officers specifically was considered dishonorable. Not sure how they did it in the Boer Wars, tho.

30. zombiejorge - September 10th, 2007 at 4:34 pm

My dad always was weird about this one “Its bad luck to cut your nails on sunday” Go figure?

31. chadster - September 10th, 2007 at 4:46 pm

Next time I see a black cat, I’ll remember to tie it to my leg, so it’ll never have the oppertunity to walk away from me. Next stop, Vegas.

32. Yarr - September 10th, 2007 at 5:04 pm

9000– The Civil War is where snipers more or less started. The Confederate army, especially toward the end of the war, was full of country boys that carried their own rifles. (as the army had a supply problem) They were good at long-range hunting, and as the south was being decimated, kind of took whatever shots they could whenever they could.
Regardless, if you think about it it makes sense. The idea is to not have fire lit long enough for a sniper to get a bearing on you. A Zippo would cause the same problem- probably worse since a lighter’s flame is brighter than a match. Since the army still recommends not doing it (see comment #8) it’s probably for a good reason.

33. brennan - September 10th, 2007 at 5:24 pm

Chad’s gonna earn the nickname “Bloody Leg McLuckdice” in VegAS.

just say it’s a tumor on your calve.

i mee-arrrrrghing tumor.

34. purvislets - September 11th, 2007 at 11:27 am

Lucille Ball was a firm believer in #1. When her father died, there was a bird sitting on the sill of his open bedroom window. From that point forward she refused to even stay at a hotel that had a picture or painting of birds in the hotel room.

35. 9000 - September 11th, 2007 at 1:26 pm

Yarr- I have thought about it, and no, it doesn’t make any sense at all.

Yeah, there were snipers during the revolutionary war, too. And there were entire sharpshooter units on the union side during the civil war (as I already said). But they didn’t sit around in the dead of night waiting for someone to light a match so they could pick one guy off. They were rarely even that close to each other.

Remember, the two sides would meet on a field, they’d all line up and shoot at each other, someone would retreat, the other side would move on. Sleep, march, fight, march, repeat.

I’m not saying that nobody ever got sniped. All I’m saying is I doubt the superstition was started back then, because of the military strategy of the time. Grunts weren’t afraid of being picked off by a sniper at night, because well, they hardly ever fought at night (unless the day’s battle was still going on) and when they were fighting, they were actually fighting, not sitting around, smoking.

You smoke in camp, or on the march, or while you’re lining up… there was really no time during the civil war when the average soldier sat around in the dark worried about a sniper. He was more worried about the vast army that could randomly hurl thousands of bullets in his general direction, or overrun the lines and stab him with a bayonet. At night they all had campfires and lanterns and stuff, anyway. Or they were marching somewhere. They lit their smokes with embers from the fire. This is getting ridiculous.

Yes a zippo is brighter, but you can light it, and put it out for as many cigarrettes as you have to light, unlike a match, which you have to leave burning for longer. The fact that the army recommends not smoking at night means nothing to me, since as of WWI this is obviously a wise policy.

Someone, PLEASE tell me I’m wrong. The best part of the internet is that there’s always someone out there willing to correct you.

36. Yarr - September 12th, 2007 at 8:37 am

9000-
There may have never been an instance in history where a sniper shot one of three guys lighting cigarettes off one match.
But…
Just the same as it is recommended (think special forces, etc) to be sure you use only one shot to kill a target because a second could give away your position to the enemy, putting a light on long enough to draw sniper fire, whether a match, a lighter, or whatever is kind of dumb.
And yes, there were sharpshooters in the Revolutionary war. And yes, armies lined up and faced each other during the Civil War…
However, in the Revolution, snipers were on the American side, and it was a new, rarely used, and controversial tactic. In the Civil War— I was talking about the END of the war, when the Confederate army had no shoes, food, etc. Lots of the men had been scattered and separated from their units. In other words, bands of 3 or so rogue soldiers that killed whoever, whenever, however they could. These guys weren’t standing on a field waiting to face an army. They were hiding in the woods waiting for a clean shot. (Again, might not have anything to do with cigarettes, but alot to do with snipers.)

37. Kelsi - September 12th, 2007 at 9:28 am

I’m definately going to try 10 on the equinox. Anything to help! Ugh. Also, 12….I hope that’s not true, or there’s a lot I don’t know about my family.

38. 9000 - September 12th, 2007 at 1:43 pm

Yarr-

Dude. Are you seriously telling me that there was a pervasive fear among union soldiers at any point in the Civil War that they could be shot by a sniper if they lit a pipe at night? Just how often do you think union soldiers found themselves concealed in absolute darkness in a battle zone? I don’t care if it was possible, I don’t care if it ever actually happened, but do you honestly think that this was something that soldiers were even thinking about?

Dude, please find ANYTHING to back that up and I’ll send you $100 by paypal. I’m serious.

And you’re wrong about snipers only being on the American side of the Revolutionary war, too.http://www.americanrevolution.org/ferguson.html

You keep bringing up the modern army, and special forces, and Iraq and all that crap. We’re talking about the Civil War here. It was like ‘Braveheart’ with muskets. I can’t believe we’re even arguing about this.

I know wikipedia shouldn’t ever be considered the final authority on anything, but whoever wrote this article obviously knows more about it than either of us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_on_a_Match_(superstition)

OK, and if all that isn’t enough to shut you up, Yarr, there’s the fact that the Union taxed matches during the civil war, so most soldiers probably used campfires to light their smokes. Or ‘permanent matches’ (an early form of lighter, using oil and a wick on a metal rod) if they were well-to-do.

Oh, wait, I know I know I know! They made their own matches from twigs and sulphur, wandered away from camp to go smoke in the dark, toward rebel lines, and then some wayward starving, shoeless rebs would see them from over yon’ forest and decide to take a shot. Upon hearing about this, Union soldiers became terrified, and a superstition was born.

39. Yarr - September 13th, 2007 at 8:04 am

9000-
I wasn’t arguing about matches, pipes, cigs, etc anymore and I said that in my comment. And, I misspoke about sharpshooters being only on the American side. Mybad.
And I’ve gone on to other lists so…
My one last shot in expaining my statement about the Civil War being more or less where SNIPERS began is this:
Sharpshooters were trained marksmen, part of the line, whose job it was to pick off specific targets on the enemy side of the field. They were part of the group with a function. Modern snipers are basically the same with the difference that they are often sent out on their own or in small groups to take specific targets. Unless they smoke, they don’t have much to do with cigarettes.
The sharpshooter had a place in the line. He didn’t hide in the woods so much and take random targets.
The hidden in the woods (or cave, or house, etc) SNIPER as we know it picked off random targets, day and night, whether the army was camped or in battle. This was the rogue Johnny I was talking about, and I’m pretty sure Union troops were a little anxious about it whether they smoked or not.
And for every example given, there are just too many “what ifs” and “but rathers” involved. The shoeless Reb was obviously not the first guy to ever shoot another guy from deep cover. Lighting a match is surely not the only way to give one’s position away to an enemy.
Like I said in my last comment, there may never have been an instance of a sniper shooting a guy that was lighting up, but if I thought it would draw the attention of one, I would be careful anyway.
The entire argument is useless anyway. The ‘3 on a match’ is a superstition that came from somewhere, and the sniper bullet is the most obvious explanation. Maybe everyone is wrong and there is some goblin out there that for some reason causes people who light 3 on 1 to get jock itch or have back hair. Whatever. I’m going to college humor to look at some boobs.

40. Ravyn - September 28th, 2007 at 2:51 pm

Wonderful list…

There are many superstitions about black cats depending on the tradition. One goes that is a black cat crosses your path extend you hand out to attempt to pet it. If it stays you will have good luck. If it runs it means bad luck.

I follow #8 as best I can. So much as it is habit and I don’t even think about it anymore.

My mom works in a nursing home so she sees death all the time. The ladies there follow #13. When one of the patients die they open all the windows in that room for 3 days. Some of the newer RN’s think they do it to rid the smell, but they learn quickly.

41. Ravyn - September 28th, 2007 at 3:10 pm

I forgot to add…

My fiance has a superstition that if your nose itches, you will kiss a fool. (I still find it funny that my nose itches on a regualr basis)

I also have my own superstition. I will never sleep on the side of the bed nearer the door or with the door open. Bad things always happens when I do.

Also when I have bad dreams I will make sure to tell at least one person. This stops it from coming true. (Kind of like making a birthday wish and blowing out your candles or breaking the wishbone then telling what you wished for cancels the wish.)

42. jfrater - September 28th, 2007 at 10:00 pm

Ravyn: Thanks for the comments - it is interesting to hear about the nurses doing that. What country are you in if I may ask? The dreams one is interesting too - I don’t do it for the reason you cite, but I do always tell someone about my nightmares.

43. Ravyn - September 28th, 2007 at 10:22 pm

jfrater: I live in the U.S. I am not sure if all nurses do that but I know that the ones at my mom’s work do. About the dreams one, I did state that I tell someone about bad dreams or nightmares. I have had a history already of bad dreams coming true when I had not said anything for appearing foolish or mental. You can only take so much. Ever since I started explaining them, the dreams stopped occuring in life. I know it probably makes me sound weird.

44. jfrater - September 28th, 2007 at 10:32 pm

Ravyn: Ah interesting. As far as the dreams - if telling other people the dreams sorts out issues in real life, I say go for it! You can feel free to speak your mind here

45. Ravyn - September 29th, 2007 at 9:54 am

thank you jfrater. I am absolutly loving this site. I was coming about once a week to look around for a while and as the short time has moved on my visits get more and more frequent. I love it. Keep up the great work.

46. Sean - September 29th, 2007 at 1:33 pm

I wonder what were the developments and origins of those.

Some of ‘em seem to make sense — don’t return your friend’s gift of a knife, nearly enough in kind, and some acrimony would probably set root, to you. Perhaps the one would be so naively generous, but it should be better off to return on the gift — kind of a practical moral, there.

If the groom drops the ring, he’s a putz, distracted on something during the pivotal ceremony — distracted by another woman, perhaps. Whatever the cause to his clumsiness would be, it certainly would not bode well, for the new wife’s sake.

Some of those superstitions could be whimsical to hear the origins of, I expect.

Anyhow, quaint stuff. Kudos & whatnot

47. wombat - October 3rd, 2007 at 9:24 am

i think the 3 cigs off the same match is only bad luck for the guy holding the match, cause by the time hes got to the 3rd ciggy, his fingers are burning. lol

48. Sean the pyro - October 6th, 2007 at 8:50 pm

Since there is another Sean on here, I have added a title to my name. Alot of superstitions were started by people with agendas. You may have heard of the curse from taking rocks from a volcanoe in Hawaii. It was started by a bus driver that was tired of sweeping rocks off of the bus every night.

This gives me an idea for a list. How about common sayings and their origins. I’ll start it off with “the whole nine yards” and “balls to the wall” both of which were coined by WWII fighter pilots.

49. wombat - October 7th, 2007 at 6:55 am

heres mine, freeze the balls off a brass monkey, a brass monkey was the device used to hold cannon balls on a ship, when it was really cold, the copper would contract and the balls would fall off.

50. karlontxo - October 12th, 2007 at 7:22 pm

30-zombiejorge- i don’t cut my nails on tuesdays, i did it a couple times and things went wrong…

51. lydia - October 17th, 2007 at 3:35 pm

I dont get the one about the acorn and lightning i mean .. lightning never hit my house befor! i mean i think thats just wierd , do any of u think so??

52. jfrater - October 17th, 2007 at 9:25 pm

lydia: I think as far as science is concerned, the acorn will do absolutely nothing to stop lightning entering your home.

53. Chaz - October 24th, 2007 at 6:21 am

the lighter one does come from WW1 the story was
cigarette 1: attracts the snipers attention
cigarette 2: the sniper takes aim
cigarette 3: the sniper fires

there are ones I use.
-the first cigarette you take out the packet must be turned upside down and put back in and you then smoke it last if you smoke it earlier it’s bad luck.

-when getting off a bus always step straight onto the pavement(sidewalk) never step in the road first… this has led to some fairly amusing sights as I try and step the 2 feet to the pavement

the cat one I know know is if a black cat crosses your path it’s good luck but if a white cat does it it’s bad

one I was told when I was little is that when you eat a boiled egg you have to smash the shell up so the devil can’t use it as a boat.

54. StewWriter - October 28th, 2007 at 1:33 pm

OK, number 12 instantly gave me the willies! Just the other day it was raining when I took my son to the bus stop and when I came back up the stairs I just closed the umbrella and tossed it on the floor. I’d better hide the knives…

55. jfrater - October 28th, 2007 at 2:28 pm

Chaz: very insightful comment - thanks Of course, smashing the egg shell makes it much easier to get in to the egg - so it has two benefits

StewWriter: oh no! And it is Halloween this week! I would buy some new locks for the doors too - just in case Jason comes a knockin’

56. Ravyn - October 28th, 2007 at 2:39 pm

I think with the egg shell he means to completly smash it no just peel it off the egg. I always mine off in one piece but shattered….hehe

57. jfrater - October 28th, 2007 at 3:00 pm

Ravyn: oh - I see!

58. Ravyn - October 28th, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Jamie:

59. alisa - November 1st, 2007 at 3:19 am

I am so glad I found this site. Its PACKED with interesting things to read.

60. jfrater - November 1st, 2007 at 3:20 am

alisa: I am glad you did too! The more the merrier. Often the comments are full of very interesting and useful extensions on the original lists too - user contributions are a big part of the site.

61. NSEW - November 25th, 2007 at 9:17 pm

how about saying “god bless you” when someone sneezes?

i guess thats not really a weird superstition but i think its odd that it is expected to be said whenever a person sneezes.

62. roxy - November 28th, 2007 at 7:12 pm

another fun list! my mother is EXTREMELY superstitious! it made for a rather unusual childhood…
here are some of my chilhood faves that i find myself performing or saying without any conscious effort…

1.) a cat born in May will be a poor mouser
2.) when a cat sneezes 3 times indoors, it will rain in 24 hours
3.) having a black dog will always ensure your safety at night (don’t ask… i never did!)
4.) if a cow is left in the pasture overnight and it storms, her milk the next morning will never make good cream
5.) if you find a buck’s shed antler in the woods, leave it alone. if you take it home, the deer will follow you and eat the young veggies in the garden.
6.) if you stand in front of a window during a thunderstorm, you attract lightening to the house.
7.) if you eat the last piece of something (cake, pizza,chicken) you will have an upset stomach later because you didn’t offer it to others first.
8.)staring at the full moon will change the color of your eyes for one month.

needless to say, i grew up on a farm in Oklahoma for a few years, and my mother bred manx cats. or she used too… now she breeds corgis.

63. davo - November 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pm

its funny how superstitions stay with us throughout history. even as a kid I was never dumb enough to believe any of them.

64. Mark - November 30th, 2007 at 5:30 am

im not very superstitious but this is the only one i follow..
When you see an Ambulance go past with sirens on..Touch your t-shirt collar…if you dont, you or someone close to you will be in the next ambulance you see.

65. Leah - December 1st, 2007 at 6:10 pm

I don’t follow any superstitions really but my mother used to. One in partiular is that at the end of every new year you have to open the windows and doors and sweep out all the bad things of the past year so that they don’t carry over to the next year.

66. kia - December 6th, 2007 at 10:56 am

this is crazy

67. AndyB123 - December 11th, 2007 at 10:48 am

12. Dropping an umbrella on the floor means that there will be a murder in the house.

Who the hell came up with that one ? What does it mean ? Weird.

68. Brian - December 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 pm

I liked it. But I don’t like these kind of things. I don’t like supersticious things, they scare me.lol.=].

69. SuperLyndsey - December 28th, 2007 at 1:50 pm

My favorite is holding your breath as you pass a cemetary. I do this frequently.

70. HexenBexen - January 11th, 2008 at 8:31 am

Great list! I love anything supersition/occult-related. I was suprised you didn’t include one common supersition: Putting a hat on a bed is considered very bad luck.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

71. Nibhroithe - January 22nd, 2008 at 5:08 am

People almost always forget the whole mirror superstition. I know that here (Ireland) it’s only bad luck to break a mirror and throw it away. If you keep using it, even a shard, there’s no bad luck involved.

72. davross23 - January 28th, 2008 at 3:23 am

@ spilling salt: apparently the devil is constantly behind you and when you spill salt he comes right over your shoulder so you throw the salt over into his eyes to make him back off again.

73. melloyello - January 28th, 2008 at 3:56 am

My family follows these 2:
Don’t open a umbrella indoors - bad luck.
Don’t rock an empty rocking chair- brings death…or something to that extent.

Also i just found online while checking on the popularity of the rocking chair one:
“Smell dandelions, wet the bed.”

74. ds5000 - January 29th, 2008 at 9:42 am

I’ve always heard… if you dream your teeth fell or were taken out, someone you know will die… its actually happened to me twice!

75. Sensei - January 30th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

melloyello, I remember the dandelion one. In fact, growing up we called them Pee-the-Beds.

76. cryndigo - January 30th, 2008 at 2:11 pm

It’s good to know these things.

77. andy one eye - February 1st, 2008 at 12:23 pm

hi im from the uk,and we have some pretty bizarre superstitions.
like always salute a single magpie,we have the cat and the ladder thing also.but the most bizarre is the ones trawlermen have,when i was younger,i used to work at sea,my word!!!
no woman on board ship
dont wear anything green
never whistle on board ship
dont mention any animals apart from fish
(this was my faveourite,as i quite ofton used to ask my skipper for a monkey wrench,hee hee)
and always make sure you get lucky when you are ashore between trips!!!!

78. Andy - February 14th, 2008 at 9:21 am

(Scotsman living in France) Hi there, to reply to Nsew, my Bro told me that we say bless you after sneezing as long ago before modern medicine any sign of illness usually meant death was imminent. The nursery rhyme “a ring a ring of roses, a pocket full o’ posies, atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down” is believed to be a similar example of sneezing = death.
Now, new shoes on a table - my Mother is adamant about that one and believes it claimed the life of a relative - though I think it’s irrational I do it anyway !
Dandelion in French is literally ‘pissenlit’ which means pee the bed. Dandelions are considered by herbalists as a powerful diuretic - so there’s definitely some truth in there.
Superstition and belief draw a fine line in the practise of Feng Shui. E.g. a mirror in a bedroom will reflect the negative energy one exudes during sleep. Yet, having a clutter-free room allows the (Chi or Qui) energy to flow more easily. This to me is common sense, having a tidy and clean living space is bound to make us feel good.

Can anyone explain why lighting a cigarette from a candle kills a sailor, please??
love the site.

79. john jacob jinggle hiemer schmit - February 25th, 2008 at 11:48 am

i think all of those things only work if the person experiencing them believes they will

80. Denise - February 25th, 2008 at 4:24 pm

In most parts of the world a black cat crossing your path is bad luck, but in Wales its a white cat. And For a Miner to see a white rabbit on the way to work was a sign of bad luck.
My mother would never let us rock an empty rocking chair, she said if you did there would be a death in the family. Her other worst was for a bird to fly into a window hitting it. If the bird lived things would be fine, if it died there would be a death.

81. Carol - February 25th, 2008 at 8:56 pm

Having great fun reading all these posts. About the “God Bless You” when you sneeze: I was told that when you sneeze the heart contracts and stops for a beat so you are closer to death, thus you ask for God’s blessing.

82. Alyx - February 25th, 2008 at 9:51 pm

An alternative to the hand-itch: If your left hand itches, you will receive money; if the right hand itches, you will shake hands with someone. One I didn’t see mentioned: the dropping of silverware - company’s coming - a knife is a man, a fork is a woman and a spoon is a child. From my own experience…the unluckiest day of the week is the one on which you were born - mine is a Wednesday!

83. grace1129 - March 5th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

These comments are cracking me up. Especially the one about the egg shell and the devil’s boat! Haha! Cracking me up! Get it? =P

84. dd - March 14th, 2008 at 3:22 pm

How are 6 and 20 the same? They are not :S

85. Emily - March 15th, 2008 at 4:39 pm

I once knew a man who walked around a ladder instead of under it (because he was superstitious), and he fell off the curb and broke his collarbone.

86. Shanzy - March 24th, 2008 at 6:51 am

i heard that if you hang a horse shoe upside down(like an a upsidedown u) all the luck will drain out the ends, therefore no more luck left in the horse shoe and it becomes bad luck because you wasted all the good luck.

87. secondg - April 14th, 2008 at 3:07 am

a friend of mine has some interesting superstitions. while wating for a train to pass i would count the cars. she says that is very bad luck. and she says knocking on a persons window is bad luck. also indians are afraid of owls and i dont know why. i love them.

88. tori - April 15th, 2008 at 7:23 am

i think these are very true

89. jes - April 26th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

1) knocking on a persons window can scare them, they may shoot
you.

2) a ladder in your path means someone is working above. If they drop somnething as your under it, it will hit you on the head. A ladder in your path should very rightly cause caution in general whether walking around or under. duh.

90. Lj - May 5th, 2008 at 11:08 am

Apparently:

The sneeze one is that someone replies with ‘bless you’ and the sneezer says ‘and you too’ if they say ‘thankyou’ then this allows a doorway for the devil, think its something about bein selfish.

Black cats down an alley is bad luck.

A ring a ring of roses nursery rhyme is about the black death in England. Posies were something to do with the smell, I think…

Magpies:
1 for sorrow
2 for joy
3 for a girl
4 for a boy
5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a story never to be told!
lol cant remember the rest! haha

Dont step on cracks in the pavement it brings bad luck.

Stand on 2 attached drains goodluck, 3 is bad luck

Touch red for a postman passing, blue for an ambulance!!

If any1 knows the history or different versions of these let me no!!

Great website btw!

91. Rinneganleks - May 10th, 2008 at 11:00 am

Homer Simpson

92. Taija - May 11th, 2008 at 7:52 am

No matter what happens, it always seems to mean that someone is going to die.

93. Taija - May 11th, 2008 at 8:02 am

Haha, I just remembered one from my own childhood.
When I was young, I was really scared of zombies. Even though I didn’t believe they were real, I still felt like one was going to come from my parents’ room’s window and kill me if I didn’t sleep facing my own window. It’s really weird, now that I think about it.