Bizarre superstitions

[nothing]

I work upstairs in a shop and a little while ago, as I was walking down, a woman suddenly turned away from me, clung to the banister and started muttering "It's bad luck to cross on the stairs..." in a sing-song voice. For those of you that don't know, some (very foolish) people believe that if you pass someone on the stairs, you exchange souls.

What is the weirdest, most disturbingly stupid superstition you've encountered? Not just heard of, I want to hear actual experiences.

[Bob]

I work upstairs in a shop and a little while ago, as I was walking down, a woman suddenly turned away from me, clung to the bannister and started muttering "It's bad luck to cross on the stairs..." in a sing-song voice. For those of you that don't know, some (very foolish) people believe that if you pass someone on the stairs, you exchange souls.

What is the weirdest, most disturbingly stupid superstition you've encountered? Not just heard of, I want to hear actual experiences.

I once talked to this dude who followed the orders of a book so that some guy in the sky wouldn't be mad at him or something. He might have been retarded

[nothing]

monkeybutter - ooze comfy says:
I think the weirdest superstition I've ever personally encountered was when a Jehovah witness refused to talk to me because I was holding Harry. A black cat.
squishy - dreaming sweetly says:
oh, that one, heh.
squishy - dreaming sweetly says:
XD perfect!
monkeybutter - ooze comfy says:
So I dropped him, and he ran in front of me into the living room, and since he crossed my path, she pointed at me, screamed and ran away.

so says my girlfriend.

[jingi893]

have an ex that says that if you go barefoot and walk across cold floors while drinking cold drinks you would get sick

[Treayn]

Belief in chain mails = Utter stupidity.
I got one that was really hilarious. It goes like this:

"hello, my name is teddy. send this letter to at least 10 of your friends. If you don't, then at 10pm I will show up at your bedside with a bloody dagger and kill you"

[Lea]

My mom has superstitions.

If your palms itch, you will encounter money.
If your ears are ringing, someone is talking about you.
Opening umbrellas inside is bad luck.
When you talk about something bad that could happen, you have to knock on wood to make sure it doesn't.

She's also superstitious about things like Friday 13th, crossing black cats, and that sort of stuff. :p I don’t really find that stuff stupid though. The worst it’s done is made me subconsciously think about it frequently. I'll hesitate to open an umbrella inside because I remember my mom telling me its bad luck. I don't really believe it, but I just don't open it anyway. Haha.

[Chelsums]

The stupidest superstition I've heard (and encountered) is the Macbeth one. Supposedly if you say the name of the "scottish play" anywhere near the stage before a show, then bad stuff will supposedly happen. Well, I love Shakespeare and since he's basically the theatre god, I don't understand how saying the name of one of his plays is bad. Before one show (which was a Shakespeare show, btw), I was talking with my friend about Shakespeare. I asked her what her favorite play was and she said, "the scottish one." I was confused so I asked, "Macbeth?" Some of the other actors heard me and made me turn around three times and say some stuff to "undo" the curse. It was kind of ridiculous.

[Fuiru]

The stupidest superstition I've heard (and encountered) is the Macbeth one. Supposedly if you say the name of the "scottish play" anywhere need the stage before a show, then bad stuff will supposedly happen. Well, I love Shakespeare and since he's basically the theatre god, I don't understand how saying the name of one of his plays is bad. Before one show (which was a Shakespeare show, btw), I was talking with my friend about Shakespeare. I asked her what her favorite play was and she said, "the scottish one." I was confused so I asked, "Macbeth?" Some of the other actors heard me and made me turn around three times and say some stuff to "undo" the curse. It was kind of ridiculous.

Yeah i heard of that one, apparently an actor really died during the swordfight during one of performances...Heard this from my teacher, we're studying macbeth in English, still not sure if its true though. I myself don't believe in superstitions but its become a force of habit to try and avoid things like opening umbrellas inside, walking under ladders and stuff like that...although I once owned a black cat XD

[Bob]

Belief in chain mails = Utter stupidity.
I got one that was really hilarious. It goes like this:

"hello, my name is teddy. send this letter to at least 10 of your friends. If you don't, then at 10pm I will show up at your bedside with a bloody dagger and kill you"

Why does it matter if the dagger is bloody? And what if im not in my bed?

[mawande]

The stupidest superstition I've heard (and encountered) is the Macbeth one. Supposedly if you say the name of the "scottish play" anywhere need the stage before a show, then bad stuff will supposedly happen. Well, I love Shakespeare and since he's basically the theatre god, I don't understand how saying the name of one of his plays is bad. Before one show (which was a Shakespeare show, btw), I was talking with my friend about Shakespeare. I asked her what her favorite play was and she said, "the scottish one." I was confused so I asked, "Macbeth?" Some of the other actors heard me and made me turn around three times and say some stuff to "undo" the curse. It was kind of ridiculous.

Oh. They must be Blackadder fans. Well, Bruce Lee... his son who died because some idiot left a real bullet in one of the guns during filming of "The Crow", there was talk of a curse, there.

The real reason you don't open umbrellas inside is because you can carelessly poke someone's eye out doing it. The real reason you don't walk barefoot on a cold floor and drink a cold drink at the same time is because your body does not appreciate the activity. The real reason you don't walk under ladders is because people generally are careless and might bump them, knocking the ladders down on their own heads.

And don't say "candyman" three times in front of a mirror. *heheh*

[BlueNile]

And don't say "candyman" three times in front of a mirror. *heheh*
I've heard that saying "My name is Bloody Mary" three times in front of a mirror will summon her spirit to possess you at night. Then the only way to save them is to get bloody mary to say her name while facing a mirror.
What does the candyman do?

[Idlethought]

kinda weird lol i own a black cat and ive had more luck than ever XD

[Mechs]

I've heard that saying "My name is Bloody Mary" three times in front of a mirror will summon her spirit to possess you at night. Then the only way to save them is to get bloody mary to say her name while facing a mirror.
What does the candyman do?

You don't know what candyman does :eek:?!?!

Ok let me put it like this: He has a hook for a hand (I think anyway). Now just use your imagination ;).

[Idlethought]

He chases Peter Pan?

[nothing]

nah, I reckon he works in an abattoir

[Roxie]

I used to open my umbrella in doors all the time, just to freak people out.

[whispering]

When you talk about something bad that could happen, you have to knock on wood to make sure it doesn't.
Eventhough its more as a "joke", that is really popular around here. Usually at work talking about the projects, e.g. "This project should go smoothly, but if something bad happnes *Knocks wood*..."

[psychicstooge]

The stupidest superstition I've heard (and encountered) is the Macbeth one. Supposedly if you say the name of the "scottish play" anywhere need the stage before a show, then bad stuff will supposedly happen. Well, I love Shakespeare and since he's basically the theatre god, I don't understand how saying the name of one of his plays is bad. Before one show (which was a Shakespeare show, btw), I was talking with my friend about Shakespeare. I asked her what her favorite play was and she said, "the scottish one." I was confused so I asked, "Macbeth?" Some of the other actors heard me and made me turn around three times and say some stuff to "undo" the curse. It was kind of ridiculous.

A good majority of people who participate in drama and theatre will NEVER refer to Macbeth by name when it is being rehearsed or performed. Numerous deaths have been reported throughout the years that were connected to the play. I've even heard reports (which I can't corroborate at the moment) that there was a death during the very first performance of the play.

Some of the reasons for this superstition:

1.) The play is generally dimly lit, which can lead to a increase in accidents occurring on stage, which has been associated through the years as bad luck.

2.) Some people used to believe that the witches' spells were real incantations (this was quite some time ago, of course).

3.) Over time, many theatre stock companies have struggled financially. To try to break even, they would do a production of Macbeth (which was fairly short, easy to produce, and a crowd favorite). However, most of the time this didn't work, and the end of the company's season (and often the company itself) would soon follow, which is how Macbeth gained much of its negative connotation.

Nowadays, I think it's as much a tradition as it is a superstition. Much like telling someone to "break a leg" before they go on stage. The logic behind this being, if you wish for the worst, the opposite will happen instead. I don't really understand why it continues, but it does. Remember, actors are some weird fucking people. I should know.

[Kenshin]

...Much like telling someone to "break a leg" before they go on stage. The logic behind this being, if you wish for the worst, the opposite will happen instead...Heh, I was actually wondering about that some time ago. Thanks for mentioning it.

I'll post something about the superstitions later. I have to go eat...:p

[Lea]

Eventhough its more as a "joke", that is really popular around here. Usually at work talking about the projects, e.g. "This project should go smoothly, but if something bad happnes *Knocks wood*..."
Hm, it's not a joke with my mom. :p

[co_delphi]

What does the candyman do?

The candyman can cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

[Psychochink]

Nowadays, I think it's as much a tradition as it is a superstition. Much like telling someone to "break a leg" before they go on stage.

Exactamundo. Theatre traditions aren't supposed to make sense, that's why they're traditions.

Aside from the dim lighting, there's a lot of 'action' scenes in the play. I remember during rehersal during the fight between Macbeth and Macduff, the guy playing Macbeth (6'6", 350lbs) split his opponent's shield in half with his axe. Could have been nasty...

[Drewbert]

I think astrology is pretty weird. Your personality is determined by stars? wtf?

[Komachi Angel]

Bloody Mary is an old tale - if you speak her name into a mirror thirteen times under light of a candle, she is said to appear and scratch your eyes out with her nails. Maybe it's changed in recent times, tho. :/

As for the barefoot, cold drinks thing - there is actually some truth to that. The human body is very suceptible to changes in temperature, and even a change in a degree or so can lower your resistance. Remember - the body raises its temperature as a defensive measure, and colds are easily caught due to the cold temperature. There was a whole book on this in Japan - it's not a given that you will get sick, but a change of even .5 degrees lower than average can have a wide range of effects on your body.

[erbiumfiber]

I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. I also turned 30 on Friday the 13th. Every 7 years, Friday the 13th and every 7 years, Mother's Day. So, not a birthday I can recommend.

I had a lot of bad luck after I turned 30, then 2 years later some fantastic luck so, whatever.

[akitaka]

Mountain Dew. One of my interesting friends though that the coloring would make a testicle grow/shrink, and kill his sperm. He drinked Pepsi, instead.

Where he learned the info: hearsay. Same manner in which all superstitions come to power. Only this one is just...strange.

[ShadowTiger]

... I live in New York, (A little bit east of Manhatten.) and you hear some pretty strange things. I keep hearing (aside from all the alligator in the sewer comments.) that if you stuff an ice cream cone in your pocket on Sunday, you'll die.

I swear, I laugh each and every time I hear that.

... ...

Oddly enough though, there's a law against that very thing. ._.' It's actually illegal to have an ice cream cone in your pocket on Sunday. Chicken or the Egg thing, I guess.

[Unactuality]

What gets on my nerves are statistical superstitions.

Suppose Jack flips a coin 10 times, and gets heads every time.

A truly astounding number of people will tell you that the odds are REALLY, REALLY LOW that he'll get heads again on the 11th toss. And no matter how many times you explain the truth of the matter they just... won't... believe.

[ShadowTiger]

What gets on my nerves are statistical superstitions.

Suppose Jack flips a coin 10 times, and gets heads every time.

A truly astounding number of people will tell you that the odds are REALLY, REALLY LOW that he'll get heads again on the 11th toss. And no matter how many times you explain the truth of the matter they just... won't... believe.
Ugh. Very well said. People are generally closed minded about things like this, in that they'll somehow "invent" a statistical process which "must" happen. It's usually maintained solely through their own heads as well. I mean, sheesh, where else are you going to believe some odd facts about a coin's physics, when you yourself do not control said physics?

The real miracle would be if the coin fell on its side (the thin part, not on a face... Y'know.) more than once in a row. That would just be cool. Or would involve strong magnetics. Hehehe.)

[Ichisan]

So there would be nothing odd if you got 100 heads in a row? Shades of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

[ShadowTiger]

So there would be nothing odd if you got 100 heads in a row? Shades of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.lol. Touche. :p Well, "nothing" is a little bit of an overexaggeration, I'd suppose, but you certainly have a point. Although it is -quite- possible to get 100 heads or 100 tails in a row, ... ... is it really that likely? :p

However, the knowledge of its potential may serve as the reinforcement of the normality of such an event. It can happen, and there's little stopping it from happening other than the odds. If it does happen, it's really just our own human nature telling us something is odd. If we do investigate and find some sort of interference, well, .... then you've done a great sleuthing job. :p

[Unactuality]

The odds of getting 100, or even 10 heads in a row are indeed low.

However, flipping 10 in a row does not alter the fact that the probability of heads or tails on any given toss remains 50% (assuming we ignore the chance it lands on its edge).

It would make sense to be amazed if you did flip 100 heads in a row.

It would NOT make sense to then be convinced, as many people are, that they will inevitably get tails on the next toss.

Gamers will notice this phenomenon in particular. I cannot count how many times people have bemoaned a "wasted" good roll of the dice, and been utterly convinced that because they rolled a six three times earlier the chance of rolling a six on their next toss is somehow less.

[ShadowTiger]

However, flipping 10 in a row does not alter the fact that the probability of heads or tails on any given toss remains 50% (assuming we ignore the chance it lands on its edge).



Gamers will notice this phenomenon in particular. I cannot count how many times people have bemoaned a "wasted" good roll of the dice, and been utterly convinced that because they rolled a six three times earlier the chance of rolling a six on their next toss is somehow less.I think that's called the Gambler's Fallacy. :) I could be wrong though.

It really is amazing to see how many people think this way though. ... ... But ... ... Does it still kinda feel like your fate is in the hands of the dice or coins anyway? XD