I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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AskBeehaw
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I used to work in theatre and every single time somebody said Macbeth before a performance something went wrong. It's a centuries old superstition.
That's why they have to gtfo after they say it until someone lets them back in! 😆
I wouldn't consider myself a generally superstitious person, but there's a couple things I hold true to.
I always "knock on wood" to avoid jinxing myself when I've just said something that could go wrong. I also toss a pinch over my left shoulder whenever I spill or pour too much salt.
"Knock on Wood" is the one superstition I always follow. I am very rational/skeptical, but I just follow that rule.
On the other hand, I'm very loose with what I interpret as "wood". Most of the time, I'll just knock on whatever paper I have with me, such as a paper receipt or something in my purse
I agree, in a pinch paper counts as wood.
Flexiwood
I'm pretty much the same wrt avoiding jinxing myself, I always "knock on wood" and/or "cross my fingers" once I've said something that could go wrong.
One thing I do close to this is refusing to walk on street grating. As a child I heard about someone and their dog getting electrocuted by one when a light post had bad lighting and I have seen so many videos of grating giving way because of street failures. 😅 Looking the story up, I can't find it (would have been a long time ago) but some people did talk about electricity in cities being a risk to puppers at least.
You may have heard about Jodie Lane's death in 2004. https://www.villagepreservation.org/2018/01/16/remembering-jodie-lane/ I was fortunate to have met her a few months before Con Ed killed her through negligence. Her dogs Miko and Riley survived (since passed from age), but her fiance Alex was never really himself again.
Thank you for that article. I am usually a pretty logical person, so I swore there had to be something to it, but my memory isn't what it used to be and I was willing to give I was misremembering.
It was such a horrific example of malfeasance.
I always stand to the side of the elevator since I read the ama with the elevator repairman. He said that the steps are just thin cast aluminum and the center can crack and break out. Then your leg would get caught in the mechanism underneath and grind it off.
Oh gosh, kind of thank you but also kind of not. New fear unlocked. 😱
Sorry 😐
It's alright, i have to use surprisingly few elevators. And hey, maybe i should take the stairs more often. 😂
I do this and I don’t even have a reason like you do.
I think it’s just become so ingrained in me now that it’s not even a conscious choice 😅
When i was little i didn't like to walk on cracks. Not for any reason or even the old kiddy superstition. I still have to catch myself not walking funny to avoid the pattern cracks in sidewalk! 😂
I absolutely relate to this - I worry my stopping to let people pass so I don’t have to walk on grates makes me look totally unhinged
I will say i have some rules where i can walk on the sides with one foot if i have to, but never the middle! 😂 It doesn't come up as much but one place i go every week sometimes i just walk in the dirt around the sketchy parts of the grating. I live where the ground is really soft so a sink hole from water draining isnt unheard of.
Professionals tell me we only have to worry when we cant work around it anymore, apparently this isn't enough (alone) to be considered disordered! 😁
I work in a bus control room. The word "quiet" is banned because as soon as someone says it things invariably kick off
My mom believes that you must open the window in the room someone dies in so that their soul can get out.
Whenever feasible (which is most of the time, tbh), I carry two silver dollars around in my pocket to pay the Ferryman in the event that something happens to me and I get killed.
That's a good one, I might start doing the same.
As a TTRPG player, dice. I make fun of my players for being superstitious about their dice but I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me too
Yeah I've seen people have little rituals with their dice, and I get it.
Don't eat breakfast on the day of a test or anything similar. I guess I had an upset stomach once.
It's bad luck to whistle at sea, and there's songs to avoid at certain times. It would be dreadfully unlucky to sing 'Leave Her Johnny' while underway for example.
As a lover of sea shanties, yes indeed!
I’m not superstitious at all but out of habit I do tend to (moderately) follow a bunch
Don’t put new shoes on the table Don’t open umbrellas inside Don’t walk under ladders Don’t walk over 3 drains Don’t pass people on the stairs Throwing salt over my shoulder if I spill some) Pointing out the good luck of being poop on by a bird Greeting/saluting a magpie
…..
Oh dear that’s a lot… maybe I am superstitious!