I’m way too cynical to be superstitious.
Unless I’m on a craps table. I have a quick pre-roll habit of setting the dice to the point–in any configuration. Unless necessary, I’ll only turn one die (i.e., if the point is 6 and a 2 is showing, I’ll turn the other until I get a 4, not switch both to 3s).
If I’ve made a couple throws (not made point even, just hit a few numbers) I’ll call ‘same die’ if one goes off the table.
[quote=“SciFiSam, post:12, topic:576943”]
[ul]
[li]Saying ‘Good morning Mr. Magpie. How is your lady wife today?’ if I see a single magpie.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE]
I do this too. The wording is "Hello Mr Magpie, how are your wife and children?
I also “bless you” for sneezes but consider that more a politeness than a superstition - though it is of course completely arbitrary. I think we should say “bless you” after people fart, too.
I slap myself on the forehead (doh!) every time I have some tomato juice. Not out of superstition though. Because I could have had a V8!
I pick up all money I find. Even pennies. I don’t want the universe to think I have too much money and stop sending me some.
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.
See a penny, pick it up
All day long you’ll have good luck.
If you give it to a friend
Then your luck will never end.
I did this the other day.
I never make a modfication to a server after noon on a Friday. Otherwise, no superstitions.
I’m not getting it.
I dropped a little mirror once and it shattered. My first reaction was oh no! Look at all the broken glass! The maintenance man who saw the mess said, oh no! Seven years bad luck!
The only thing I am a bit superstitious about is if something good is being planned - buying a car or house or getting a job - I hate to tell people about it. I think I am going to jinx the prospect. Actually I don’t think it is superstition as much as I hate to tell people that I had a great job interview, then have to admit later that I wasn’t chosen. I would rather not tell people about the interview in the first place.
I wrote several term papers on superstitions (year after year.) Have you heard of this one? If you miss a belt loop putting on your belt, it is bad luck to redo it. Dumb, huh?
I actually light a cigarette to get the bus to come. Alas, the buses are getting so bad here, it doesn’t work for that anymore.
Does anyone else have this superstition?
I just can’t sleep in the coffin position, even when it’s the position that feels the most comfortable sometimes. Just no way.
Other than that, I don’t think I have any other irrational quirks.
I am convinced that the first 15 minutews of consciouness in the morning “set” my mood/outlook for the day, so I make a very great effort to be cheery, happy and observant. I married into a family of morning grouchies, so they find this quite annoying.
Giggle
Just sent my wife of to work by making her an omlette, toast, coffee - had a nice breakfast service set up with her vitamins, coffee in a go cup, and me sitting accross from madam grumpy.
She was jalfway to work, before she woke up enough to phone and appologize for her “grrr” - I just smiled ad told her I love her and to have a great day.
maybe its because Qin still believes in the big bearded guy in the sky?and is very vocal about it?
As long as it’s not during a performance or anything, feel free to whistle. Way way back in the day, the stagehands who were changing the scenery and messing about in the rigging of the stage house would communicate via whistles because that’s how sailors would communicate on board ships and when theaters needed stage crews, they liked to hire sailors because they already knew all the knots. Now stage crews communicate via radio and probably don’t even know the whistle commands.
I don’t really believe in these, but I love superstitions as a concept and wish I’d grown up with more of them. They feel fun.
Ones I do:
I throw salt over my shoulder if I spill some. I even imagine I’m getting the devil in the eye, because that is just an awesome concept, even if you don’t believe in the devil.
I always bless someone who sneezes, though that’s more politeness.
I always tie a knot in my straw paper to see if anyone’s thinking of me. If the knot pulls through, If the knot pulls apart, someone is.
I knock wood or something wood-like, if I can find it.
Never put shoes on a table. I mean, putting shoes on a table is unsanitary in and of itself; but I won’t put shoes on a table (or allow anyone else to do it) BECAUSE IT’S BAD LUCK, OKAY??!?!?!?!?!
The fact that it’s unsanitary is just a bonus.
Killing a cricket…especially in the house. I base this on an actual event. Many years ago I hung out at a nice neighborhood bar, a pleasant club-like atmosphere. One night a cricket crawled onto the bar; the bartender swatted it, wounding but not killing it outright. An old Irishman, a regular at the place jumped up from his barstool and berated the bartender for bringing awful luck down on our heads. The old fellow picked up the stricken bug, cradling it gently in his hands, carried it outside and released it in some weeds at the edge of the parking lot.
We all had a good chuckle at the Irishman’s reaction, but (I am not making this up) within a week the bar burned to the ground. The bartender was out of a job and the rest of us regulars were out a watering hole. Some folks say the bar owner torched the place for the insurance, but I still blame the cricket.
Anyway, it made an impression on me. To this day I will not harm a cricket, avoid stepping on them, do not spray them with insecticide, and if I catch one in the house I catch it and gently release it outdoors. One cannot be too careful about these things.
SS
Yep. I was originally going to respond to Curtis with: ‘Yes you do,’ realized it would have been too contentious for such a lighthearted thread, and fought tooth and nail to suppress the urge.
That’s funny, I was e-mailing a friend about that just a little bit ago. She had a frantic morning and now she’ got a bad headache.
I’m not sure it’s a superstition. There’s probably some real science behind it. Personally, I’ve found it to be true for at least the first part of my day. By lunch I could have taken on a completely different mood.
I sometimes knock on wood, and mostly say bless you, and usually pick up pennies (only abe-side-up though) but the ONE thing that i NEVER pass up on is staring down that first star I see and make a wish before blinking. It’s probably the craziest thing about me. I’ve stopped conversations mid-word to do this both in person and on the phone.