# What are your superstitions?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-superstitions/576943>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 2, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-superstitions/576943 "2011-04-02T14:13:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-superstitions/576943/61 "2011-05-18T20:08:03Z")

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> [@brujaja](#):
>
> and then “bread and butter” if you’re walking with a friend and are separated by a lightpost or something. (to prevent the friendship being symbolically separated, I guess bread and butter are the ultimate duo?)  
> And of course I pick up a lot of pennies. Really, I just have a thing for copper. (Plus if somebody needs me to make them a charm of some kind, I always have their birthyear.)

I do the “bread & butter” thing. It’s ingrained and I don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to.

I don’t do the ‘knock/touch wood’ for prevention against bad luck, but I do have to rub my left palm against some wood if it itches (left palm = loss of money; right palm = coming into money, rubbing on wood ‘erases’ the loss).

I also can not pick up scissors if I drop them. It’s bad luck to pick them up yourself. It’s also bad luck to pick up a penny that is tails up.

No shoes on the table, or hats on the bed. Shoes on the table, I believe means you won’t get married for a year (too lazy to look up, but that is what I remember) and hats on beds mean death (in the family?).

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**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-superstitions/576943/62 "2011-05-18T20:56:05Z")

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> [@BrotherCadfael](#):
>
> I’m a big believer in “The Unspeakable Law”: As soon as you mention something: If it’s bad, it happens, if it’s good, it goes away.

Heh, that’s just how the universe works! I know lots of cops who are completely superstitious about this, seemingly for good reason. Just the other night, the sweet little rookie cop in the town where I work dropped in to chit chat… made the observation that it was really slow for a Saturday night. I didn’t see him anymore that night, except running code over and over again past the hotel, until daylight. Called him after his shift, and 'splained that he had jinxed himself!

Otherwise, I do knock wood and say bless you, mostly out of habit. I don’t think I have any other real superstitions or superstitious habits.

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**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-superstitions/576943/63 "2011-05-18T21:50:00Z")

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I don’t eat the last M&M in a jar or large bag. (Eating the last one in a 2 oz. bag is OK.) This is because whoever eats this last M&M will die in a short time (e.g., within a couple of weeks).

Whenever I play Battleship, I NEVER put any of my boats on the B row (not even the boats I position vertically).

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