The world can be a superstitious place. If you've ever knocked on wood or aimed to protect yourself from the evil eye (or been advised to) then you've run into one or two throughout your lifetime. But we say these things in jest, right? No one actually believes this stuff, now do they?
That's what you think.
It's all thanks to Redditor SlayerofKronos, who asked the online community,
"What is the stupidest superstition in your country/culture that people actually follow?"
"Not sure..."
"Not sure if this has been mentioned but my Russian parents are very adamant about their not going back rule. If you forget something at home under no circumstances were we allowed to go back because they believed you would get in a car crash or die in some other way on the return journey. I once called my parents to let them know I was coming back to pick up a charger I forgot and my dad told me to stay where I was and made my sister drive him to bring it to me because he had been drinking."
That's... a bit much, no? What if it was super duper important? What then?
"Looking other people in the eye..."
"Looking other people in the eyes when toasting, because if you don't you'll have 7 years of bad sex."
Ah... so that explains it.
Thanks for letting me know.
"I was walking into work..."
"I was walking into work with some coworkers and a girl said "don't split the pole" as we were walking towards a sign in a parking lot. I had no idea what she even meant and she guided me to her side of the pole we were passing so we wouldn't have bad luck. That stuff is really weird to me."
Pretty sure the first and only time I've ever seen this in action was while watching Scary Movie 2 for the first time.
"It's so ridiculous..."
"The number 13. It's so ridiculous to avoid labeling the 13th floor of a building. We even had a project at work once skip versioning from 12 to 14."
"I couldn't believe..."
"I was married in 2013. The venue cost almost a thousand pounds less than the same time the previous year, because apparently, people didn't want to get married in an "unlucky" year. I couldn't believe it was a thing anyone would actually consider."
"This is so weird..."
"In Italy, to ward off bad things, some men will touch their genitals, and women their breast. This is so weird when you see it happen for the first time (I saw it when a hearse passed by). I am not sure how prevalent this actually is, but I witnessed it a couple of times."
Why, though? What's the big deal?
"In Russia..."
"In Russia, it's common to sit down for a little bit right before going on a big or important trip (another city or especially if you have packed bags). I don't mind it, but the fact that parents force you to do it even though you are 20 minutes late to the airport already, just grinds my gears."
"Well..."
"Well... In EMS culture, it's a big no-no to say "quiet" lol. Saying "man it's quiet today" will get a lot of medics mad at you."
I mean, I can understand that. When I worked in a restaurant, it was bad order to say that the shift was "slow." Saying that meant you jinxed it!
"For the rest of the night..."
"Try playing Blackjack in any casino and make a single non-standard move like hitting on 17. For the rest of the night the whole table will blame you for "messing up the cards" and causing them to lose money."
Where do people get this stuff from?
Wild, huh? It's these kind of stories that remind us what a quirky world we all actually live in.
Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments below!
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
@WhiteHouse/X