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EP16 - Superstitions: Fact, Fear, or Folklore? · Oh And One More Thing

0:10
Some old friends facing our fears, laughing through the
0:13
chaos and drinking some beers. So here's to the laughs, the
0:16
crumbs and the cheers. All the awkward moments.
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And we're still here. Because in the end, we're just
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doing our thing. It's our crazy life. 01 more
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thing. One more thing.
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Welcome to Oh and one more thing, a podcast where 2 long
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time friends try to figure out what the heck is going on with
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this crazy thing called middle age.
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It's a mix of stories of how we navigate our lives and maybe
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some questionable. Advice.
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Some days we're wise, other days we're just trying to remember
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where the heck we left our phone.
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So join us as we laugh, groan, and maybe even learn a little
0:50
something about surviving in the second-half of life.
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Oh, and one more thing. Hey, I'm Brian.
1:05
Welcome to Owen. One more thing.
1:07
Hey, I'm Rob. What's the good word, my friend?
1:09
Oh, just trying to make it one day at a time, buddy.
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Just one day at a time. Knock on wood.
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Oh my God, that's a story. Sorry Knock, but that's OK.
1:20
Let's think I got the wood around there.
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Everything's still going well. Yeah.
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So of course you're taking it one day at a time.
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I mean, what else you gonna do? Like take it three weeks at a
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time. Sometimes I'd like to.
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Right. Did you ever wonder why we say
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knock on wood? That's again.
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Sorry, Knock. I know that one isn't.
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I know that one, as a matter of fact, The superstition of
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knocking on wood. It's a ritual perform to ward
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off bad luck, especially after making a boastful statement or
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expressing hope for a positive outcome.
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You're kind of boastful. Am I boastful?
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I think so. I want a positive outcome of
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this podcast. There you go.
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I want as many less screw ups as I possibly can.
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Right end of the words can flow out smoothly.
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That's why we edit, my friend. That's right.
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But it doesn't really do anything for you.
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It's just a superstition, right? Well, yeah, I mean, like, of
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course it is, but a lot of cultures, particularly the the
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Celts out of the belief spirits where they resided in the tree.
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So knocking on the wood was a way to appease those spirits and
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then ask for protection or thank them good luck and all that sort
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of stuff. But some associate the practice
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with the Wood of the Cross if you need it as a way to invoke
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divine protection. That's what I need, divine
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protection. Who doesn't?
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But I think ultimately knocking on what is an odd practice mean
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it's done to ward off bad luck or evil influences.
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OK, then, knock on wood. No evil spirits here.
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Thank you very much. There you go.
2:41
So what about that? Should we talk about
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superstitions? I.
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Think so? Yeah.
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Did you? Power up with any practicing,
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any superstitions. I don't know if it's a
2:48
superstition, but I count stairs.
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You count the stairs. Why is that?
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Like like every time. I don't know.
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It is like a number that you have to meet.
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Sure. No, I just.
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Come stairs like I start like 123 every time.
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It doesn't matter where I go, what steps I'm on, how short,
3:03
how tall. OK, that's crazy.
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It's odd, right? So I don't think it's a
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superstition though. So I grew up with my my grandma
3:11
would use the term bread and butter.
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If two people are walking together and you walk on
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opposite sides of an object, OK, you say the words bread and
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butter to bring your auras back together.
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That's and she always did that. OK.
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And I, and I to this day, I kind of do it now and then too.
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And I say it in my head. Bread and butter.
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I, I, I I've never heard that. Haven't you?
3:36
No, that's odd. I, I'm it.
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That's kind of like peanut butter and Jelly, right?
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Just like it. Where's that like?
3:42
It I'm more of a peanut butter and Jelly sort of a guy, not a
3:44
bread and. Butter.
3:45
So, OK, so you'll say peanut butter and Jelly to bring your
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oros back to OK. OK, I I, I.
3:49
Like salt and pepper? Sure, sure.
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I, I, I I won't do that now, but that's interesting.
3:55
Yeah, the. Ones I remember the most common
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would be like, of course don't walk under a ladder, Bad luck if
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a black cat crosses your path right?
4:01
Seven years. Bad luck if you break a mirror,
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right? Right.
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I mean, how many mirrors have you broken in your life?
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There's been a few. Right.
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And I don't, I don't remember 7 years.
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Bad luck. So when I was a kid, we blamed
4:11
breaking a mirror for my sister's seven years of bad
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lucks. So she she seriously had bad
4:17
luck all the time. She had knee surgery, then she
4:21
broke her or her arm or her wrist or then she was in cast
4:24
for this and for that, and then her leg was wrapped up for this
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or that, right? Yeah, It was just one after the
4:29
other, right? So we were like, oh, you broke a
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mirror. What you did or not?
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You broke a beer, right? That makes sense.
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Isn't it crazy how things from the past can influence us today,
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though? Yeah.
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So what are those other superstitions that I just
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mentioned if we talk about them? Yeah.
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So like walking under a ladder maybe.
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Yeah. So that's that's pretty widely
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known as bad luck. I mean, most people know that,
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right? Yeah, and I think about it when
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I'm about to do it right. Yeah, I still do it.
4:55
Yeah, of course. Because I'm an adult.
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Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes I'm an adult.
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So I whereas my research goals or actually your research, I'm
5:04
just reading if you wrote thanks Brian.
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I know, How's the writer, right? So they believe it's thought to
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have originated in ancient Egypt where the triangular space
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formed by a ladder and and and a wall was believed to be a sacred
5:16
area inhabited by spirits. Which to me or you make sense
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because pyramids. Tri pyramids makes sense like
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the. The all knowing I right.
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Yeah, the, I, yeah, the. Triangle.
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Yeah, it's very. Egyptian thing so disturbing
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these spirits by walking under the ladder was the bleed to
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incur the wrath and bring this fortune.
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I know, right? OK, I got shivers down my spine
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right there, just that at that moment, OK?
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But wait, there's more. Oh no.
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Yeah, so in medieval times the superstition evolved with
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ladders being associated with gallows.
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Walking under a ladder was seeing this tempting fate and
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inviting one's own death by hanging.
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This is getting creepy, right? Yeah, I, you know, I just
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watched Braveheart. Oh, you did?
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Yeah. There's, there's, there's a lot
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of hanging in that movie. I don't remember in a long time.
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It's like the. First scene in the movie they
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hang like 15 I do. Remember at the end of the movie
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when they they pull all his innards out?
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Right. Yeah, yeah, right.
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Yeah, so. On spoiler alert, he dies.
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I don't know why. I thought about.
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That but just gallows. And hangings, anyway.
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So while some formless belief still exists, it's also
6:16
recognized that walking under a ladder can be an unsafe
6:18
practice. Duh, as it increases the risk of
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being hit by falling objects or the ladder itself.
6:23
Yep, makes sense. What about the other two Black
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Cats and breaking mirrors? OK.
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So the black cat 1 cats bring bad luck, particularly if it
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crosses the path that one has its roots in folklore and
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historical events. So the superstition is
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particularly strong in Western cultures of.
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Course Western. Because we're weird like that,
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and it's often associated with rich craft, witchcraft, and
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evil. Yes.
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But the association of black hats with bad luck is not
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universal. Some cultures view it as symbols
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of good fortune. OK.
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Yeah. And the mirror thing, that's
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seven years bad luck. So we.
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The belief stems from ancient times when mirrors were
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considered to be reflective of one soul.
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Soul. Yeah.
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I've heard that I've. Heard that, Yeah.
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Yeah. And breaking one's thought to
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shatter the soul leading to misfortune So the seven years
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part that was from the Romans by their belief in the concept of
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bodily renewal every seven years or so so breaking the mirror
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reflection of the self was believed to bring seven years
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bad luck until the body renewed itself which.
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So the body renews itself. That's their belief.
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Well, it makes. Back in medieval times, it was
7:18
tough to get past the age of seven, so that kind of makes.
7:22
Sense Well, of course we know that cells regenerate.
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I get that. But that's interesting that that
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that's was their belief that a whole new body every seven
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years. Yeah, yeah, right.
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So wow, that's a lot to take take in.
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I certainly didn't learn that in school.
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No, no, I never tell you I had a black cat once.
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You had a black cat? I had a black cat once.
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Yeah, Yeah. Crossed my path all the time.
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And. Like on a daily basis it does.
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I'm still here today. You are no bad luck.
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Yeah, no bad. Luck.
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I had a black and white cat. Oh, OK.
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OK, so you had half bad luck like 3.
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Only 3 1/2 years of bad luck, right?
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That's about how long you lived? Yeah, pretty much.
7:58
So before we go too much further about superstitions, let's hear
8:01
from our favorite sponsor, Spring Green.
8:03
Yes, Spring. Green is our only sponsor.
8:05
Well, of course there's my favorite, obviously.
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Mind you, so, but we're going to change things up a little bit.
8:13
So our long time listeners, thank you for listening.
8:15
We're going to do a spring green minute, so we're going to talk
8:18
about. What's a spring green?
8:19
Yeah, we're. Going to talk about that.
8:21
So I think it would be good to shoot up some free advice for
8:24
loyal listeners of, you know, lawn care, OK, instead of just
8:27
doing the same thing over and over and over, let's give us
8:29
some tips. So today we're going to talk a
8:30
little bit about watering. OK, when am I supposed to water?
8:34
So here is the deal. So for a pristine, beautiful,
8:38
perfect lawn, you want about an inch of water per week on your
8:41
lawn, including rainfall. So this year in Minnesota we've
8:45
gotten a crap ton of rain. So pretty much 0 watering as
8:49
needed this year. That's good.
8:51
Last two years we had a drought. So that's where you want to do
8:53
the whole inch week sort of thing.
8:55
Is that why my grass was brown and crunchy?
8:58
Yes. So it goes dormant because it
9:00
just gets hot and dry. It doesn't know what to do.
9:02
It's not dead, it just kind of, it kind of just pauses itself to
9:05
say. Help.
9:06
Help me. That's what my grass is like.
9:10
And then once we get cool tamps, we get some rain, it pops right
9:12
back. So very normal.
9:14
The thing that probably comes up the most is folks with
9:16
irrigation systems. They people with irrigation
9:19
systems overwater the heck out of their yards.
9:21
Is that because they're on a timer and just keep going
9:23
without without regard Don't. Think about it.
9:25
Or the irrigation guys you know love you guys, you're great, but
9:28
they don't know a thing about turf and lawn care so they
9:30
decided up to run however long for every other day, blah blah
9:33
blah. So if you have an irrigation
9:34
system, here is your tip of the week.
9:36
Take a tin can, a tuna can, put it out in your yard, run your
9:40
system and see how much water gets in there.
9:42
That will determine how much you want to water.
9:44
Also switch your system to run every 4th day night every other
9:48
day. OK.
9:49
And you're saying, Gee, Rob, why?
9:51
Gee, Rob, Why? Well.
9:52
Let me tell you, because watering longer less frequently
9:57
gets that the, it gets a deeper, it makes a deeper root system
10:00
which is healthier for the grass.
10:01
Whereas you water all the time, it makes a shallow root system.
10:04
So the grass doesn't have to like stretch to get that water.
10:06
So there's always water there. So kind of thing.
10:09
If your grass is just it grass is a plant like any other plant.
10:11
And if you give it too much water, what happens?
10:13
The leaves turn yellow, right, Right.
10:15
So it'll get thin, it'll turn yellow, and people call us, say
10:18
you're ruining my yard or my gosh, you're putting too much
10:20
fertilizer down, blah, blah blah.
10:22
No, you have an irrigation system, you're watering all the
10:24
time. Stop it.
10:25
Stop watering so much. Yep.
10:27
So that's your tip. You want about an inch water a
10:29
week. OK, All right, good.
10:31
So you know the spring green is over to my house today.
10:33
They were. Yeah, little mosquito control.
10:35
Oh nice, how's that working out for you?
10:37
No mosquitoes. Awesome.
10:39
Yeah, it's great. Yeah.
10:40
It's great. Yeah, we, yeah, we do it too.
10:41
It's love it, Love it. Love it.
10:43
Couldn't hang out. Couldn't hang out in Minnesota
10:44
outside without it. They're the best.
10:48
So we'll get back to this topic of crazy superstitions from
10:51
around the world. So many cultures from around the
10:54
world have unique and sometimes strange superstitions.
10:57
Some include the belief of bird droppings are good luck.
11:00
Eating 12 grapes at midnight at New Year's gives prosperity and
11:04
the custom of hiding your thumbs when passing a funeral
11:07
procession? That's crazy.
11:09
I have lots of go and finish, go and finish your finish the
11:12
section but I have so many questions.
11:13
Other superstitions include avoiding certain actions like
11:17
whistling indoors, trimming fingernails at night and placing
11:21
shoes on the table, which is believed to bring bad luck.
11:24
OK. We're going to talk about these,
11:25
right? Because I have questions on
11:26
every single one. Of them, I know, they're weird,
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aren't they? They're weird.
11:30
So yeah, in Russia, Turkey and Italy, it's considered good luck
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if a bird poops on you or your or your property.
11:38
OK. Similarly, in France, stepping
11:42
in dog poop, you will with your. OK, let's clarify with your left
11:47
foot. Your left foot is considered
11:48
lucky. What?
11:50
Don't back up. So what?
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What happens if I step in with my right foot?
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That's unlucky. As far as I can tell, maybe OK
11:56
or it's just gross. Well, both of them are gross and
11:59
unlucky because you and every. Time I get pooped on a hybrid
12:02
ethic. How unlucky.
12:03
Yeah, OK, So apparently you're not any of those countries,
12:05
Russia, Turkey or Italy, right, Right, OK, right.
12:08
So the the bird pooping thing now, I think I remember that if
12:12
it's your wedding day and you get pooped on by a bird that's.
12:14
Good luck. Is it really?
12:15
I've heard that somewhere. OK, I.
12:17
Don't know if it's true. But you'll have to Fact Check
12:19
that but. Yeah, but maybe that makes sense
12:21
with the the Russia, Turkey and Italy thing.
12:23
It's good luck if a bird poop on you, so that falls in line and.
12:26
Suppose and it's gotta hit something so it hits you.
12:28
Right. That's good.
12:29
That's good luck. Yeah.
12:30
I mean, again, you know, we just had, we talked about spring
12:32
green like 30 seconds ago. We step in dog poop all the
12:35
time. It is not lucky.
12:37
It smells and it's gross. It is not lucky.
12:41
It's in the. Crevices of your shit, right?
12:43
Right, it's Ewa. So in Spain and Portugal, people
12:46
eat 12 grapes one after the other at the stroke of midnight
12:50
on New Year's Eve, believing it brings prosperity and good luck
12:53
for the coming year. OK.
12:55
This is so funny I for the life me.
12:57
I cannot remember what show this is, but my wife and I were just
12:59
watching a show within the last week where this came up like
13:03
this, this thing come on. And I thought they're just just
13:05
feeling time in the movie and just whatever it is, this is
13:09
real. Yeah, I I guess.
13:11
Yeah, it was in Spain. And they eat, they eat, they
13:14
eat. 11 grape under the stroke, Yeah.
13:16
I don't know if you have to eat them fast.
13:18
I don't know. I mean, it's it's like a like.
13:20
A 'cause it, well, it gongs for does it gong for the full
13:23
minute? I mean, it's like.
13:24
Joey, it's like Joey Chestnut on the 4th of July kind of a thing.
13:27
Or you take your time. I don't think you take your
13:31
time. Yeah, you got to do it in the 12
13:33
strikes. Right.
13:34
Yeah, that's that one's weird. I got to get to one of those
13:36
countries so I can do that. Yeah, right.
13:38
Yeah. How about in Turkey, India and
13:40
South Korea? Cutting your nails after dark is
13:42
believed to bring bad luck, with some even linking it to death.
13:46
Well, yeah, if you can't see what you're doing and you cut
13:47
your fingers and you bleed to death, you got a.
13:49
Bleeder, right? Exactly.
13:51
OK, that's cutting your nails. I always cut my nails before I
13:54
go to bed. Do you really?
13:55
Yeah. Interesting.
13:56
Just because that's when I'm getting.
13:57
That's when you're grooming yourself.
13:59
I'm grooming myself before bed 10:00 at night, right?
14:02
And they're like, oh, look at those nails are long.
14:04
Yeah, I should trim those. I should do it like.
14:06
Kind of right before my shower, usually.
14:07
Yeah, I'm not consistent with anything.
14:11
Come on, Rob. Is that when you're sitting on
14:13
the couch for three hours watching TV and your nails are
14:15
long and you're picking at them like I got a?
14:17
Crap, those are long nails. No wonder that hurts.
14:20
These sucks, that dries. That dries all right.
14:24
How about opening umbrellas indoors?
14:27
OK, this superstition dates back to ancient Egypt and is believed
14:32
to be unlucky in many cultures. OK, I've heard that was before.
14:34
That brings up a question. For me, OK.
14:36
They had umbrellas in ancient Egypt.
14:38
Oh, I never thought about that. You're right, I know that.
14:41
Palm leaves. Yeah, What were they made out
14:44
of? I suppose I don't know.
14:46
So what? I wrote you some some notes.
14:48
Oh. Look at that.
14:48
You did. Hey, OK.
14:50
Hey, I have the answer to your question, Brian.
14:52
Great. Thank you.
14:53
Because this is not reversed at all.
14:54
No, not at all. The an umbrellas in ancient OK,
14:58
so the earliest documented use of umbrellas, primarily a sun
15:00
shades or parasols dates back over 4000 years ago in ancient
15:04
civilization civilizations like Egypt, Assyria, Greece and
15:08
China. The the.
15:09
Concept of a. Portable foldable umbrella as we
15:11
know today is created is credited to Jean Marusse, A
15:14
Parisian merchant who invented the broken umbrella in 17 O 5.
15:18
This design is similar to modern umbrellas featured a foldable
15:20
canopy with metal branches connected to a central mast.
15:24
Did you know that Gene wanted to name it Brella, but he
15:28
hesitated. That's a joke from the.
15:32
There you go. There you go.
15:34
From the dad jokes. That is podcast.
15:36
I had to say it again. I love that one.
15:37
That is, that was a long time ago.
15:39
We should listen to that again sometime.
15:42
No, I guess that makes sense. You know they had to shade
15:44
themselves from all the hot sun in Egypt.
15:47
Yeah. So you know, here I thought
15:48
umbrellas just came from Target. Didn't realize Amazon come from
15:53
Amazon is what? That 4000 years ago.
15:55
All the umbrellas come from the back of my car for some reason.
15:58
It's like there's you. You reach back and like.
16:00
Oh, here's an umbrella. I it's funny, if we go somewhere
16:03
it's raining, we always just, you know, get out of the car and
16:04
run and like just you're trying to stay as dry as possibly can.
16:07
But yeah, under our back seat we have an umbrella.
16:09
I don't think it's ever been used.
16:10
I think it's been in the last five vehicles I've owned.
16:12
Yeah, I think it's still in the package.
16:13
I have three of them in my truck, Yeah, and there's two of
16:15
them in the car. Yeah, and never use them.
16:17
Never come out. I know isn't.
16:19
Yeah. Why is that?
16:20
It's weird. Kind of like socks in the dryer.
16:22
They just multiply. Or they disappear or disappear
16:24
only one at a time. Yeah, that's true.
16:26
They are. However, with the extra lid for
16:29
from Tupperware, it's like, where's this lid?
16:32
I don't know. It's with the sock.
16:33
Right there is that, Yeah, we here's all anal.
16:38
I am. We actually made a drawer, you
16:41
know our Tupperware drawer, right?
16:42
But we bought little pull up drawers and dividers for all of
16:44
our lids because I got tired of losing lids.
16:46
Tired of looking for them and looking for them sifting.
16:48
Through it was horrible. It was horrible.
16:50
So we. Doesn't that take up a lot of
16:51
space? It doesn't if you do it right.
16:53
Ohh yeah, yeah, OK, yeah yeah. We have whole shelf with little
16:56
pull up thingy and then a little divider thing and it's very
16:58
organized and it's to my point very anal.
17:01
So do we have to have an organizing podcast?
17:05
That that's not a bad idea. Yeah, it is.
17:07
Yeah, because I am not organized.
17:09
Oh, you're not Oh, then we should definitely talk about.
17:11
I could set you so straight. Oh, I could put you on the path
17:14
of the right and arrow Rob you've.
17:15
Already set me so all right. OK, how about this one?
17:19
Placing shoes on the table. Is that bad?
17:22
Let's see, yes, why in the UK and the US and Ireland this is
17:28
considered extremely bad, unlucky and associated with
17:31
death? Oh, and and gross, I suppose,
17:34
but. I suppose gross, but I don't
17:36
have the actual reason why. I kick my feet up on my desk all
17:41
the time. Really.
17:42
You're. Lounging like that all the time,
17:44
OK. All the time made it be a
17:45
stretch, but if I take a 5 minute break and, you know,
17:48
pretend that I'm awake and paying attention and my eyes are
17:51
actually closed, yeah, I do it all the time.
17:53
And your hands behind your head. Behind your head, Right.
17:55
Exactly. I do realize it's associated
17:58
with death of all. That's interesting.
17:59
Yeah. You're gonna die.
18:00
I'm. Gonna die because your shoes are
18:01
on the table. So the belief stems from various
18:04
superstitions, including mining traditions where a deceased
18:09
miner's shoes were placed on the table and the concerns about
18:12
hygiene as the shoes carry dirt and germs.
18:14
OK, that makes sense. But he's already dead, so yeah.
18:17
But. It was the germ on the shoes
18:19
that killed him. No, no, you don't know that.
18:22
No. Oh my gosh.
18:25
I go on for everybody I don't know.
18:26
Right, All right. Whistling indoors.
18:30
Yeah, So in Russia. Can't whistle indoors.
18:32
Well, apparently in Russia and Baltic states, whistling indoors
18:35
is believed to invite evil spirits and cause financial
18:37
loss. I must be listening whistling
18:39
all the time. Recently I just watched Big Bang
18:44
Theory, one of my favorite shows by the way, and Leonard was not
18:47
allowed to whistle in the apartment, right?
18:49
That's a Sheldon, Sheldon. Didn't let him.
18:51
And then Sheldon was gone. They they they whistle the The
18:54
Andy Griffith Song. Oh yeah, can you whistle the
18:58
Andy Griffith? I totally can.
19:00
If it wasn't a copyright violation, yes, totally good.
19:02
Well, I don't think it would be. Yeah, I don't.
19:03
I don't think it would be either, but.
19:07
Good job. I got.
19:09
Okay, what's better than I can do?
19:12
Have you heard of this one though?
19:13
So in Japan people hide their thumbs in their fists when they
19:16
pass a funeral possession or a hearse.
19:19
As the thumb is known to be the parent finger and hiding it away
19:25
protects ones parents the. Parent finger.
19:29
Right, so think of your hands holding my hands up here if I
19:32
didn't have my thumb, right? You can't grab hardly anything
19:35
or do anything, so I understand why the thumb is considered the
19:37
parent. Yeah, the imposable thumb, yeah,
19:39
I get that right. OK, but but if you so they hide
19:42
it. They hide it.
19:44
There's their parents. Interesting.
19:45
I'm gonna start doing that. Yeah.
19:47
What? About the middle finger.
19:48
I think that one flies all the time.
19:51
Well, you know you are #1. You are #1 yeah, especially when
19:55
we're driving, right? What about horseshoes?
19:58
What about horses? So in some cultures, hanging a
20:00
horseshoe above a doorway is thought to bring good luck and
20:02
protection. See, I always thought that and I
20:04
think we had one when I was growing up over our garage door,
20:07
OK. See, I I wouldn't think, I
20:10
suppose, yeah, good luck, but protection and wouldn't be
20:12
scared it would fall and hit you on the head.
20:14
OK. Is that good or bad?
20:15
Luck, the opposite of protection.
20:16
In the cartoons it falls on his the one head and the big knob
20:19
rises out. Wiley, Wiley Coyote all the
20:22
time. Yeah, absolutely.
20:23
Yeah, I think it happened to Elmer Fudd.
20:25
That's true. So horses are considered good
20:26
luck for several interconnected reasons and stemming from
20:29
historical beliefs in the protective power of iron and the
20:32
symbolism of the Crescent shape. Many cultures associated iron
20:36
with warding off evil spirits, while the horseshoes Crescent
20:39
shape was linked to the moon goddesses and symbols of
20:42
fertility. Well, that's a lot more than I
20:45
thought. Right.
20:45
Yeah, maybe somebody struggling, you know, they want to have kids
20:48
and struggling to get pregnant, they just put a horseshoe over
20:50
the bed. Yes.
20:53
Lucky and fertility. Lucky and.
20:55
Fertility. Yeah, you ever drop a horseshoe
20:58
on your foot? I have not.
20:59
Yes, that's not good. That's not good.
21:00
That's. Not good look.
21:03
Refer back to Elmer Fudd and the horseshoe head.
21:05
True, but finding A4 leaf Clover?
21:07
Oh that's lucky. This is well known to be a
21:09
symbol of good luck in many Western cultures.
21:12
Why is that? Well let me tell you, the four
21:14
leaf clovers are considered lucky due to their rarity.
21:17
OK, they are a genetic anomaly that was tough for me to say
21:23
with only about one in 10,000 clovers having 4 leaves.
21:27
OK, whose job is it to count those?
21:29
Well, they're estimations, come on.
21:32
Like is that you? Really think somebody sat down
21:33
and I'm going to count these and see when I find one.
21:35
Yes, no, yes, you're way too literal.
21:37
How do you estimate that? You ask a mathematician.
21:40
That's what I'm saying. Like wait.
21:42
Your daughter's a mathematician. Who she is?
21:44
Oh, I'll have to ask her that. Yeah, I'm going to ask her.
21:47
Probability is statistics. So the the scarcity coupled with
21:51
the historical belief and folklore has LED them being
21:54
associated with good luck and fortune.
21:56
See. See right there who took the
21:58
time? I still I stand by that.
22:00
I'm not going to debate this with you, OK?
22:02
Because we're going to lose listeners if we keep.
22:05
No, I'm kidding. That's good.
22:06
All right, so moving out, what about throwing salt over your
22:08
shoulder? OK, what does it mean?
22:10
Well, so I. I've done it, you have, but I
22:13
don't necessarily always know why.
22:14
OK, I guess I Yeah, You know, I've done it too in odd places.
22:17
Like usually it's like at McDonald's, the salt shaker.
22:19
It's Chuck it. The whole.
22:22
I guess the whole thing. No, you wouldn't take that.
22:27
That counts, doesn't it? No.
22:28
Now please tell me. OK, so.
22:30
So, at least in the West, involves tossing it over on
22:32
shoulder, kind of like knocking on wood.
22:34
The superstition also involves the idea of warding off evil.
22:37
Oh, because evil is sitting on my shoulder.
22:38
Evil is bad, in this case the devil, where you get the devil
22:40
one side, the Angel on the other side, and then Leo, Leo, Leo,
22:44
Leo, Dinardo, Leo, Leonardo da Vinci, the Last Supper, Jesus
22:50
betrayer. Judas is portrayed as having
22:52
accidentally spilled salt. Since Judas was associated with
22:55
doing something bad, the belief is to throw the salt over your
22:58
shoulder to blind the devil waiting there.
23:00
Okay, right. So maybe it was a a grandma
23:03
thing for me that yeah, that I did it because of that.
23:06
I don't remember why. Right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:08
I would say that's a grandma thing for sure.
23:09
Yeah, I think it's probably working from at least in my in
23:11
my world too. Yeah.
23:12
And plus, once you throw salt over your shoulder, yeah, you've
23:15
been assaulted. OK, that's.
23:18
Kind of lame, but I'd still laugh in my wheezy sort of way.
23:22
Dad jokes forever. Dad jokes forever another
23:27
superstition involving something cracked or broken being
23:31
associated with bad luck is the superstition of stepping on a
23:34
crack as as we're telling, or even causing harm to a family
23:40
member such as your mom, I. Already have a song in my head,
23:45
okay. As with mirrors, cracks in the
23:48
earth on the sidewalk. As with mirrors, cracks in the
23:51
earth on the sidewalk, or almost anywhere have long been seen as
23:55
a portal to the realm of the supernatural, or both.
23:59
For both good and evil to step on those cracks might be to
24:06
invite or release unwelcome spirits into the world.
24:09
Ready to do 1 harm. OK.
24:11
I'm with you. So most important question is
24:14
those things that step on a crack break your mama's back I.
24:19
Think that? He said it was Devo.
24:21
Yeah. Whip it.
24:22
When a problem comes along, you must whip it.
24:25
Before cream gets sets too long, you must whip it.
24:28
With someone's going strong. You must whip it now.
24:31
Whip it into shape. Shape it up.
24:34
Get straight. Go forward.
24:36
Move ahead. It's not too late to whip it.
24:39
Whip it good. OK, that is our music budget for
24:45
the the whole. Season Did I tell you I I've
24:50
done karaoke, baby three times in my life, and twice I've been
24:52
gonged off the stage. Oh really?
24:54
That's why I don't say. I've been karaoke a couple times
24:56
and I'm way too nervous to do it.
24:58
Yeah. Funny, both songs are a love
25:00
shack by the B50 twos. Why is that?
25:01
Hey I did the love shack from the B50 twos as well.
25:04
Get out. Yeah, OK.
25:06
Something we should never do together.
25:08
OK, well, there's only one guy lead.
25:11
Well, I could be the falsetto. Okay, we're gonna plan for this.
25:16
Game. I'm on it.
25:18
All right, How about lucky pennies?
25:20
What about lucky pennies? Well, the idea that.
25:22
Finding a penny? Find a penny, pick it up, and
25:24
all the day you'll have to look out.
25:26
Would bring you good, would bring you good.
25:29
Luck also originates in folk beliefs, in this case based on
25:32
the idea of that metal, regarded by many Asian cultures as quite
25:35
valuable, was sent by the gods to protect those whom they
25:38
favored. Pennies being made for metal.
25:41
Find them and you'll have good fortune.
25:42
But be careful. Some say the luck could break
25:45
either way and that if you find a penny tails up you should turn
25:48
it over and leave it for the next person or you'll actually
25:51
have bad luck. Have you ever done that?
25:53
OK, well I didn't know the last part.
25:54
I did know the. Last I did not.
25:57
But yes, I've found pennies and nickels and Dimes and quarters
26:00
and I always pick them. Up and you always say see a
26:02
penny pick it up all day long. They have good luck.
26:04
What? What movie is that from?
26:05
I don't know. That's from Greece.
26:07
Is it pink? Oh yeah, I remember that.
26:09
And a. Penny pick it up and off a day
26:11
you'll have good luck and he hands it to kaniki who Kiki get
26:14
ready to drive the car and. Then he bumps his.
26:15
Head. He bumps his head and then drops
26:17
the steps in. So really, Tails was up.
26:20
Must have been. And I've actually gone and
26:23
turned pennies over and walked away.
26:25
Really. I know it's like weird grandma
26:27
stuff happening over. Here, that is weird.
26:29
Yeah. OK, so now I'm going to go back
26:31
and watch Grease again and pause at the scene and see which way
26:33
the pennies facing when she picks it up.
26:34
Because that would make a lot of sense if they were that
26:36
detailed, right? I like it.
26:38
I'm curious, though. I like it all right.
26:40
Another one I've been kind of curious about is the Rabbit's
26:43
foot. Oh yeah, the rabbit's foot.
26:44
Because I think it's kind of gross.
26:46
It is gross right here on this animal's dried up leg.
26:50
Yes. Why is that a thing?
26:51
Right. I don't know, but I had it when
26:52
I was a kid. I already had one when they were
26:54
a kid. Got them at the fair.
26:55
Yes, absolutely. Thank God they were fake but.
26:58
So no, they had claws on them. Oh.
27:00
Some did you, right? Yeah, Yeah.
27:02
I mean. Look at all those poor rabbits
27:03
without any feet. Little stumpies hopping around.
27:08
Little stumpies. All right, So why is that?
27:12
Well, so the the superstition surrounding it stems from
27:15
various beliefs, including the association with fertility
27:17
shocker, another fertility 1, cunning and protection from the
27:21
evil eye. Oh yeah, the well, the evil eye.
27:24
Let's cut off a foot. Right, right.
27:26
Exactly. But you gamblers are risk
27:28
takers. It's kind of with them too.
27:30
But so the fertility thing, I mean, I think to me that's kind
27:33
of obvious because rabbits like, you know, like rabbits, I mean,
27:37
they just make bunnies out of like nowhere.
27:39
Like every sure, sure. Well, I don't think weekly, but.
27:43
OK, do you have rabbits at your house?
27:44
Yes, yeah, we. Rabbits at our house, yeah,
27:46
they're everywhere and they attack all of our plants and
27:49
it's very irritating. And they just keep coming and
27:51
coming and coming. They live under my shed.
27:53
Yeah, they live, they live. Yeah, we, I so it's funny, we
27:56
have these, these dogwoods Outback, right?
27:58
And we've had them there for three years and we have
28:01
something. Deer were coming to eat them
28:02
like they just would. They'd be growing great.
28:04
All of a sudden you wake up the next day and there's nothing
28:06
there so. And they ate them.
28:08
So that's what we thought, right?
28:09
OK, so for years we're blaming the deer.
28:12
Guess what? It's not the deer.
28:13
Put up a camera. Oh no.
28:16
It's the effing little rabbits. They ate them.
28:19
They ate them. So watch this little rabbit
28:21
hopper on cute little Bunny hop hop hop gets up like on his hind
28:24
legs and that sucker went from tiny little rabbit till he was
28:26
like 6 feet tall stretches up and he starts chewing the top of
28:29
the thing and just rips it down and starts to gnaw away at it.
28:32
I'm like you little turd bucket. It's the rabbit.
28:35
I've been blaming the poor little man means this whole time
28:37
and it was a stupid little rabbit it.
28:38
Was Thumper. It was Thumper.
28:40
Not a fan. So anyway, that's the rabbit my
28:42
rabbit story. So I but also some other kind of
28:46
symbolism. Also cunning, right?
28:48
Yeah. And then protection from the
28:50
evil eye we talked about. And apparently some Celtic and
28:53
African American traditions, some hoodoo practices where the
28:56
rabbit foot is used in various ceremonies.
28:58
And apparently the left hind leg of a rabbit is often considered
29:03
the most lucky, particularly if killed under a fold moon.
29:06
No, come on now you're making that stuff.
29:09
I'm I'm just I'm reading what the Google machine says.
29:11
Wow, that's really kind of crazy.
29:14
Yeah, yeah. But today rabbit's foot are
29:15
often sold as key chains with the charm often dyed in a bright
29:18
color. So.
29:19
Yeah, it's still kind of gross. Yeah, it's OK.
29:21
But a lot of people think that that's kind of fading because,
29:23
you know, we're all growing all the hippies and Cantino.
29:26
Right, it's. It's probably not.
29:28
Very kosher culture, Yeah. Anyway, that's rabbit foot.
29:30
How about the unlucky 13? Why is 13 so unlucky?
29:33
I don't know. Why is it?
29:34
Well let me tell you, the number 13 is widely considered unlucky
29:37
in many western cultures due to the combination of historical
29:40
and religious fact. OK, which kind of makes sense,
29:43
right? One prominent reason is the
29:46
association with the Last Supper where Judas, the apostle who
29:50
betrayed Jesus was the 13th guest at the table.
29:55
Yep. OK, so that I understand that
29:57
with you and along with some other cultures myths, it all
30:02
contributed to the perception of 13 as being unlucky.
30:04
OK, I got you. And there's no 13th floor in
30:08
some office building. That is true and there's a lot
30:11
of hotels also don't have a 13 room.
30:13
Yep. Yeah.
30:14
So there's that. Superstition lives on it.
30:16
Does it? Does?
30:17
What would be the luckiest number then?
30:19
Well, that would be 7. Well, there you go, right?
30:21
Why is that the luck? Why did I just shoot out seven
30:24
right away? Right?
30:26
Seven. Come come 11, let's shoot some
30:27
craps. There you go, there you go.
30:29
I still don't get that game. On it's not hard.
30:33
So why is lucky? Why is it not lucky number 7?
30:36
So due to a frequent appearance in, again, religious texts,
30:41
cultural traditions, and even brain function, it's associated
30:44
with the concepts of perfection, completion, and spiritual
30:47
significance in various contexts.
30:48
So in the Bible, God creates the world in six days and rests on
30:51
the 7th, symbolizing completion and rests.
30:53
OK, I get that. There are also 7 heavens in
30:56
Judaism and Islam. Oh, there are, there are and
30:59
some more. Religion 7 appears in Hinduism
31:02
with 7 chakras and in Islam with the pilgrimage to Mecca
31:05
involving 7 circuits around the Keba.
31:07
Wow, 7 really is a popular neighbor.
31:10
It is. It is also seven days of the
31:12
week. 7 Wonders of the World, Seven colors of the rainbow.
31:15
You could go on. On and on and on.
31:17
But studies suggest that the brain may be wired to process
31:20
information in groups of seven, so, according to Newcastle
31:23
University, making it a number that is easily remembered and
31:26
recalled. OK, I get it.
31:29
It's also math. It's a prime number and it's
31:32
just people. Some people have the ability to
31:34
just 7 just naturally remember it, so that's why.
31:37
That's crazy, yeah. Crazy, right?
31:38
All right, that's a lot. I think that's good for today,
31:40
don't you think? I think we.
31:41
Covered a lot of different superstitions and topics here.
31:44
I do too. I think we shed some light on
31:46
these because I mean, from what I did when I was a kid to wow,
31:51
maybe that's why I still do it today.
31:52
Kind of crazy. And I learned something, and I
31:55
had some fun. What?
31:58
I'm going to start eating grapes at midnight on new.
32:01
Year's right while rolling A7. While rolling A7 and not on the
32:07
13th floor. Of a hotel right And don't cut
32:09
your nails that that. And I won't be cutting my nails.
32:11
You'll you'll die. And I'm not putting my shoes on
32:13
the table. There you go.
32:16
As always, please follow us on the socials at O and One More
32:19
Thing Pod on Facebook and Instagram for highlights and
32:21
news of our upcoming shows. And if you have any show ideas
32:24
or just want to give us some feedback, send us an e-mail at
32:27
oandonemorethingpod@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.
32:31
Ohh and one more thing, it's Brians big milestone birthday
32:34
this next week. He's gonna be older than he
32:36
wants to be, so he is. When you see him, be sure to
32:39
wish him a happy birthday. Or not.
32:41
Bye everyone. Bye.
32:42
If I could turn back time I could find a way.