FUCK YEAH, STRANGE FINDS! - 20 Strange Superstitions

27th October 2009

Text with 507 notes

20 Strange Superstitions

#01

The number 13.

It’s just a number. Yet, people tweak on Friday the 13th. Many airports don’t have a gate #13. (Like the folks at 12A won’t figure it out.) Many hotels don’t have a floor #13.

I was always told that the superstition is based on the idea that Judas, the bad disciple, was the 13th man to sit down to the table at The Last Supper. I think a more rational superstition would be to fear bad disciples.

#02

An acorn at the window will keep lightning out.

That is some acorn.

#03

Spit on a new bat before using it for the first time to make it lucky.

Gross. Gross. Gross. In the spring of 2009, in fear of the Swine Flu, high schools all over the country forbade their athletes from shaking hands after the game. Pretty sure “not spitting on the bat” was implied.

And speaking in terms of basic physics, having a lubricated bat makes for less friction, and therefore, slippery balls … okay, now I’m just out of control.

#04

In order to write this article, I had to get a Ph.D. in butterflies…

The early appearance of butterflies indicates fair weather.
If the first butterfly is yellow, it will be sunny weather.
If the first butterfly is white, it will be rainy summer.
If the first butterfly is white, someone will die.
If the first butterfly is red, you will be healthy.
If a white butterfly comes, summer follows.
If a white butterfly flies from the southwest, expect rain.
If butterflies are found hanging from the underside of rails or branches, it’s going to rain.
If they are on the top of small branches, it will not rain.
If the first butterfly is dark, it means thunderstorms.
If the first butterfly is yellow, someone is going to give birth.
The dead are reborn as children who fly around as butterflies.
If a white butterfly enters your house and flies around you, you will die.
If a moth lands on the mother of a newborn, the baby will die.
If a butterfly flies into your house, someone you know will die.
If a butterfly flies into your house, someone will get married.
If you capture a butterfly, you will be struck dead.
If you see a butterfly at night, you will die.

There! Simple, right?

#05

A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck.

I used to live on a ship. A cat would have been a real drag. All of those spaces to hide in, poop in, pee in? All of that machinery to get torn to pieces in? And who exactly would have been in charge of cleaning the litter boxes? Litter boxes are never lucky.

#06

If three people are photographed together, the one in the middle will die first.

I can’t rationalize it, but this one just gives me the shivers.

#07

If you stick your hands in your pocket while walking past a graveyard, it will protect your parents.

Makes me wonder what happens if I turn my pockets inside out. Or, take off my pants and wave my arms around.

#08

Never take a broom along when you move. It is bad luck. Throw it out and buy a new one.

Isn’t that common sense? A used broom is kind of a nasty thing to box up with the linens. Like packing up used trash cans. A new broom costs like two dollars.

#09

If a candle blows out, evil spirits are nearby.

Or, there’s a draft.

#10

It is bad luck to light three cigarettes with the same match.

Yeah it is. And that bad luck is called cancer.

#11

Evil spirits can’t harm you when you stand inside a circle.

Oh, that explains all those people walking up and down the street wearing hula hoops.

#12

It’s bad luck to pick up a coin if it’s tails side up. Good luck comes if it’s heads up.

In this economy, a little bad luck is worth the nickel.

#13 – oops, should I have called this one #12A?

A cricket in the house brings good luck.

It will also bring cricket poop.

#14

If the palm of your right hand itches, it means you will soon be getting money.
If the palm of your left hand itches, it means you will soon be paying out money.

If the palm of either of your hands is itching, you might want to get that checked.

#15

A knife as a gift from a lover means that the love will soon end.
Who gives their lover a knife for a gift? What happened to roses or chocolate? Creepy!

and

A knife placed under the bed during childbirth will ease the pain of labor.
If I were the impregnator, I would be very nervous.

#16

Salty soup is a sign that the cook is in love.

Check the sodium content on any can in any grocery store and feel good about how much love there is in the world.

#17

Three seagulls flying together, directly overhead, are a warning of death soon to come.

Or poop on your head.

#18

Place a hand in front of your mouth when sneezing so that your soul cannot escape.

Now they tell us to sneeze into our armpits. I’ve got to feel sorry for any soul that gets sneezed into an armpit.

#19