# Got any supernatural quirks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047 "2006-12-06T08:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/21 "2006-12-07T03:18:58Z")
[QUOTE=Jackknifed Juggernaut] Me three! I act like I’m just touching it for balance when entering the plane. But now that this appears to be common, flight attendants already probably know what I’m doing. This is something that a bit too weird to be this common, don’t you think? I thought I was the only one. [/QUOTE] Holy shit! Me four or whatever the unexpectedly common number is up to now. I had no idea that anyone else did that I don’t know why I started. I have never missed a good feel on the side of any of the countless flights I have ever taken. I will reposition around people to do it too and would be distressed if I somehow couldn’t. I don’t have hardly any other quirks of that nature. I wonder why commercial air travel induces that specific compulsion? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/22 "2006-12-07T06:19:42Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Holy shit! Me four or whatever the unexpectedly common number is up to now. I had no idea that anyone else did that I don’t know why I started. I have never missed a good feel on the side of any of the countless flights I have ever taken. I will reposition around people to do it too and would be distressed if I somehow couldn’t. I don’t have hardly any other quirks of that nature. I wonder why commercial air travel induces that specific compulsion? [/QUOTE] I’m absolutely stunned that this is so common. I can’t seem to remember when I started doing it. But I’m the (probably annoying) type of person that always poo-poos any type of superstition, including religion. But I still tap the side of the plane. This must be explained. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/23 "2006-12-07T06:23:19Z")
[QUOTE=Surly Chick] I’m ashamed to admit it, but I “knock on wood” (or say “knock wood” if there’s none available). Pathetic, I know, but I can’t help myself. [/QUOTE] I do this too, and get quite neurotic if I make a boast about good fortune without some wood around to knock on. Just saying “knock wood” doesn’t do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/24 "2006-12-07T06:33:11Z")
I touch the side of the plane, too, but not really for any reason. It wouldn’t bother me at all if I wasn’t able to. I just like the thought of planes–despite physics, the whole concept just seems impossible. I like to touch things in general (not people, though. Only my husband). When I’m shopping, I tend to touch or pick up the item’s I’m looking at. As to the OP, my husband and I often are thinking the same thing at the same time, more than would seem likely, but that’s all I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/25 "2006-12-07T14:52:18Z")
I really, really don’t like Jo. She’s too much like Dean and she’s just redundant, she doesn’t add anything to the show and she’s not interesting, and– –oh. _That’s_ what you mean. I always think, completely irrationally, that the pictures are alive (I tend to turn the book spines and DVD covers with faces on them into the wall) but I’m just nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/26 "2006-12-07T15:38:45Z")
The streetlight thing happens to me too. They just turn off when I go by. Maybe that’s a GQ. I also have this thing when it’s windy that I’ll insist (usually just in my head) that the wind should get even faster RIGHT NOW, and sometimes it does. Hooray for selection bias making me feel powerful! ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/27 "2006-12-07T16:01:30Z")
[QUOTE=Zeriel] The streetlight thing happens to me too. They just turn off when I go by. Maybe that’s a GQ. [/QUOTE] I believe that one is addressed in one of the Straightdope books. I will check the archive, perhaps it is also online. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/28 "2006-12-07T16:06:18Z")
[Can some people extinguish streetlamps by means of their bodily emanations?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_047.html) ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/29 "2006-12-08T23:13:22Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] I pick up all money I find, even pennies. I’m afraid if I don’t, the universe (or God) will think that I have too much money and stop sending me any. [/QUOTE] I love to find pennies. I keep some in the car at all times, and every time I stop somewhere with a fountain, like the local mall or cineplex, I toss them all in. It’s free entertainment. I’m not worried about gods and universes keeping score though. Just the sense of childish fun beats concerns for karma any day. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/30 "2006-12-08T23:31:17Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] I always think, completely irrationally, that the pictures are alive (I tend to turn the book spines and DVD covers with faces on them into the wall) but I’m just nuts. [/QUOTE] I do that! I don’t want Phil Collins to see me getting dressed etc. So, any CDs, DVDs etc are face down. So, of course the whole Harry Potter thing just feeds it… ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/31 "2006-12-09T00:27:53Z")
I hate planes and bridges, and whenever I get one one I have a habit of starting to graphically imagine a crash or engineering failure. That’s the normal part-- less normal is that I stop myself quickly because on some level I fear that I might have some power, like Carrie or something, to CAUSE it if I imagine it vividly enough-- like will the accident to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/32 "2006-12-09T00:54:58Z")
I throw a pinch of salt over my shoulder if I spill any. I try not to step on sidewalk cracks (don’t want to break my mother’s back) I don’t ever set a hat on a bed. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/33 "2006-12-09T01:38:04Z")
[QUOTE=madmonk28] I travel a lot and I always like to touch the fuselage of the plane as I get on. It’s stupid and superstitious, but I it makes me feel better. I’d be completely embarassed if anyone I know found out about this, so when I’m traveling with someone I like to let them get in front of my in line so I can do it on the sly. [/QUOTE] I ALWAYS do this!! As I board I let my right hand touch the fuselage. No one would notice it at all. As I do it I think…“there’s a good girl…” like its a horse or something… Thought I was the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/34 "2006-12-09T01:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] My superstitions seem to all be tied to baseball and nightmares. For baseball, I do not talk specifically about a no-hitter as it is happening. [/QUOTE] Hell, if that counts, then I claim theatre traditions–I don’t mention by name or quote from that Scottish play backstage, nor will I whistle. If I am involved with a show and someone transgresses, I’ll force them to leave the greenroom and do the ritual for readmittance. Also insist that the theatre maintain a fully functional Ghost Light. So mote it be. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/35 "2006-12-09T02:27:38Z")
I don’t look in the mirror in the dark. I frequently invoke the traffic gods to give me a good AM commute, and don’t say thank you until AFTER I’ve gotten to work. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/36 "2006-12-09T02:33:54Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] I do that! I don’t want Phil Collins to see me getting dressed etc. So, any CDs, DVDs etc are face down. [/QUOTE] I swear, I thought I was the only one! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/37 "2006-12-09T02:36:20Z")
I have seven dicks. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/38 "2006-12-09T06:09:37Z")
[QUOTE=Cowgirl Jules] Most of these sound more like \*superstitious \* quirks, rather than \*supernatural \* quirks. Wouldn’t that be more like a tendency to levitate when you get anxious, or a habit of walking through walls? Clearly, my supernatural quirk revolves around nit-picking at 100 yards. [/QUOTE] I think superstitions are just hopes of invoking the supernatural, so let’s call it a wash. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/39 "2006-12-09T07:15:05Z")
I expand the fabric of my personal energy to fill my home. I sometimes surround people I love with it too. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047/40 "2006-12-09T07:47:06Z")
Hah, well if I ever invent a time machine, first thing I’m going to do is pose in a bunch of photographs with anachronistic objects. Maybe even hold up a sign that says “Hello, Dr. PoopyPants. I know you’re watching.” in one. But no, I don’t have any superstitions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-any-supernatural-quirks/383047.md?page=3)