[flyingcod]

Never sew clothes whilst wearing them like a button on a shirt

How many people can actually do this?

You'd need either three hands are be very, very flexible.

fc

[sab]

MEN i forgot u cant multi - task. So dont get the misses to do it whilst your wearing the shirt.

[ss-ind]

Whats the one about Bird poo, i think if it falls on your head its good luck, but anywhere else its bad, when i was like 12 got crapped on my shoulder and a relative passed away at roughly the same time, don't wanna relate it but its weird how these things work

[dregz]

My mum was mad superstitious, she'd come out with all sorts. Some already mentioned like the salt, shoes on the table, ladders, plus ones like opening umberellas in the house, breaking mirrors, crossing knives at the table, etc.
You'd think i'd grow up superstitious but managed to avoid it completely until one day someone explained the Magpie's ryhme to me...'1 for sorrow, 2 for joy etc...' After that i'm afraid it's become the only superstition i entertain so I follow Pure on that one.

[mr.pure]

Never heard the crossing knives one.
Sewing stuff you're wearing makes sense cos you might stick yourself with the needle.
Opening umbrellas indoors is down to old school umbrellas which would've broken if you'd tried to walk out the front door with it open.
I thought it was good luck no matter where the bird shit landed on you.

[ss-ind]

lol well it weren't good luck for me. whats the black cat one about?

[mr.pure]

Not sure, some say a black cat crossing your path is bad luck and others say it's good.
To me, all cats are bad.
Mostly cos I'm allergic to 'em !

[Sneakerphile]

Horse shoes are meant to be good luck, so that means horses have 4 pieces of lucky on their hooves...they should win all their races!
(stolen from Eddie Izzard, but a valid point!)
And rabbits feet are meant to be lucky (not for the poor fucking rabbit apparently)
Only superstitious thing I ever picked up was from my ex. She said it was bad luck to walk over 3 drain covers in the street (for those in the UK, you know the ones I mean - not really drain but utility covers, like BT or Cable) I always thought it was bollox, but I still catch myself dodging three in a row every now and then.

Oh, and never grab hold of a silverback gorillas balls. I hear thats bad luck!

[dregz]

Well apparently if you cross knives on the table it means an arguement is due, and i believe the original black cat stigma comes from them being associated with witches.
Not sure why some say black cats are supposed to be bad luck but others say it's good luck???

---

Was curious on the cat thing, just found this on a cat enthusiasts site....

'What ever your first experience was with a black cat, which will make the decision as to whether the black cat is good or bad luck for you.
However, luck is what you make it. If a black cat crosses your path, and you are so busy looking at the cat you do no do see the curb stone at the edge of the road, and you fall over it injuring your arm, then you are most likely to consider a black cat bad luck. On the other hand, if you have a black cat cross your path, and next to it is a ten dollar bill that some one has dropped and you pick it up, then you will consider the back cat to be good luck.'

[Lorrie]

Not particularly superstitious but I'm always careful not to tempt fate. So even if something is a sure thing I'm careful not to say it out loud until it's actually happened. AC Milan fans might know something about this after the Champions League final a few years back.

And in Canada, if you're watching hockey and your team's goalie has a shutout going and you mention the word 'shutout' someone's likely to kill you.

And if you touch the Stanley Cup without actually winning it (eg if get your picture taken with it at the Hockey Hall of Fame and you touch it) then no one in your family will ever win it.

[cracky]

I guess the only thing i don't do is walk under ladders, seems daft really

[DasBill]

Yeah i get all those, tho i never got all the ones to do with the theatre, sayin' "break a leg" instead of good luck, not sayin Macbeth, not painting the green room green and not being allowed to whistle (which i promptly got a clip round the ear for doing, mad bastards )

Tho im lead to believe that the new shoes on a table thing comes from the tradition of undertakers dressing a corpse in new clothes and shoes and laying them out so everyone can give their respects.

And im surprised no ones mentioned 4 leafed clovers or not letting a fork fall from yer dinnerplate.

Most cases the ways to undo bad luck is just as mental, like taking the shards of a broken mirror and bury them underneath the moonlight (whats all that about!? ).

[GeeBee]

Used to have some odd ones I picked up - like "touch something white if you see an ambulance and don't spit - or bad things will out..."
Just magpies now really and that's fairly under control. Do hoik the salt if needs be...
Magpies will plague your existence if you allow them to take hold... many years ago I opened my front door to find a dead one on the doorstep ... I very nearly shat my pants.

[manus]

I think that horseshoes are only good luck if they are pointing up (so they are a U shape) - it holds luck in apparently.

This leads me to believe that luck is very thin

Dunno what the hat one is about, but they used to use mercury in millinary too - hence the phrase 'mad as a hatter'.

[mr.pure]

Never heard about the fork thing before, nor burying the broken mirror when the moon's out neither.
Are you part of some gypsy clan or something Dasbill ?