Thirteen common (but silly) superstitions to savor

If you are spooked by Friday the 13th, you’re in for a whammy of a year. And it would come as no surprise if many among us hold at least some fear of freaky Friday, as we humans are a superstitious lot.

Many superstitions stem from the same human trait that causes us to believe in monsters and ghosts: When our brains can’t explain something, we make stuff up. In fact, a 2010 study found that superstitions can sometimes work, because believing in something can improve performance on a task.

Here, then, are 13 of the most common superstitions.

13. Beginner’s luck

Usually grumbled by an expert who just lost a game to a novice, “beginner’s luck” is the idea that newbies are unusually likely to win when they try out a sport, game or activity for the first time.

Beginners might come out ahead in some cases because the novice is less stressed out about winning. Too much anxiety, after all, can hamper performance. Or it could just be a statistical fluke, especially in chance-based gambling games.

Or, like many superstitions, a belief in beginner’s luck might arise because of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon in which people are more likely to remember events that fit their worldview. If you believe you’re going to win because you’re a beginner, you’re more likely to remember all the times you were right — and forget the times you ended up in last place.

12. Find a penny, pick it up,,,

And all day long, you’ll have good luck. This little ditty may arise because finding money is lucky in and of itself. But it might also be a spin-off of another old rhyme, “See a pin, pick it up/ and all day long you’ll have good luck/ See a pin, let it lay/ and your luck will pass away.”

11. Don’t walk under that ladder!

Frankly, this superstition is pretty practical. Who wants to be responsible for stumbling and knocking a carpenter off his perch? But one theory holds that this superstition arises from a Christian belief in the Holy Trinity: Since a ladder leaning against a wall forms a triangle, “breaking” that triangle was blasphemous.

Then again, another popular theory is that a fear of walking under a ladder has to do with its resemblance to a medieval gallows. We’re sticking with the safety-first explanation for this one.

10. Black cats crossing your path

As companion animals for humans for thousands of years, cats play all sorts of mythological roles. In ancient Egypt, cats were revered; today, Americans collectively keep more than 81 million cats as pets.

So why keep a black cat out of your path? Most likely, this superstition arises from old beliefs in witches and their animal familiars, which were often said to take the form of domestic animals like cats.

9. A rabbit’s foot will bring you luck

Talismans and amulets are a time-honored way of fending off evil; consider the crosses and garlic that are supposed to keep vampires at bay. Rabbit feet as talismans may hark back to early Celtic tribes in Britain. They may also arise from hoodoo, a form of African-American folk magic and superstition that blends Native American, European and African tradition. [Rumor or Reality: The Creatures of Cryptozoology]

8. Bad luck comes in threes

Remember confirmation bias? The belief that bad luck comes in threes is a classic example. A couple of things go wrong, and believers may start to look for the next bit of bad luck. A lost shoe might be forgotten one day, but seen as the third in a series of bad breaks the next.

7. Careful with that mirror

According to folklore, breaking a mirror is a surefire way to doom yourself to seven years of bad luck. The superstition seems to arise from the belief that mirrors don’t just reflect your image; they hold bits of your soul. That belief led people in the old days of the American South to cover mirrors in a house when someone died, lest their soul be trapped inside.

Like the number three, the number seven is often associated with luck. Seven years is a long time to be unlucky, which may be why people have come up with counter-measures to free themselves after breaking a mirror. These include touching a piece of the broken mirror to a tombstone or grinding the mirror shards into powder.

6. 666

Three sixes in a row give some people the chills. It’s a superstition that harks back to the Bible. In the Book of Revelation, 666 is given as the number of the “beast,” and is often interpreted as the mark of Satan and a sign of the end times.

According to State University of New York at Buffalo anthropologist Philips Stevens, the writer of Revelation was writing to persecuted Christians in code, so the numbers and names in the book are contemporary references. Three sixes in a row is probably the numeric equivalent of the Hebrew letters for the first-century Roman Emperor Nero. [End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears]

5. Knock on wood

This phrase is almost like a verbal talisman, designed to ward off bad luck after tempting fate: “Breaking that mirror didn’t bring me any trouble, knock on wood.”

The fixation on wood may come from old myths about good spirits in trees or from an association with the Christian cross. Similar phrases abound in multiple languages, suggesting that the desire not to upset a spiteful universe is very common.

4. Make a wish on a wishbone

The tradition of turkey bone tug-of-war goes back a long way. Legend has it that first-century Romans used to fight over dried wishbones — which they believed were good luck — and would accidentally break them, ushering in the idea that whoever has the largest bit of bone gets their wish. Bird bones have also been used in divination throughout history, with a supposed soothsayer throwing the bones and reading their patterns to predict the future.

3. Cross your fingers

Those wishing for luck will often cross one finger over another, a gesture that’s said to date back to early Christianity. The story goes that two people used to cross index fingers when making a wish, a symbol of support from a friend to the person making the wish. (Anything associated with the shape of the Christian cross was thought to  be good luck. ) The tradition gradually became something people could do on their own; these days, just saying “fingers crossed” is enough to get the message, well, across.

2. No umbrellas inside

… And not just because you’ll poke someone’s eye out. Opening an umbrella indoors is supposed to bring bad luck, though the origins of this belief are murky. Legends abound, from a story of an ancient Roman woman who happened to have opened her umbrella moments before her house collapsed, to the tale of a British prince who accepted two umbrellas from a visiting king and died within months. Like the “don’t walk under a ladder” superstition, this seems to be a case of a myth arising to keep people from doing something that is slightly dangerous in the first place.

1. Friday the 13th

If you’re not scared of Friday the 13th, you should be scared of the word used to describe those who are: friggatriskaidekaphobics. (An alternative, though just as tongue-twisty, word for the fear is “paraskevidekatriaphobia. “)

For a superstition, the fear of Friday the 13th seems fairly new, dating back to the late 1800s. Friday has long been considered an unlucky day (according to Christian tradition, Jesus died on a Friday), and 13 has a long history as an unlucky number.

According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina, about 17 million people fear Friday the 13th. Many may fall prey to the human mind’s desire to associate thoughts and symbols with events.

“If anything bad happens to you on Friday the 13th, the two will be forever associated in your mind,” said Thomas Gilovich, a psychologist at Cornell University. “All those uneventful days in which the 13th fell on a Friday will be ignored.”

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience  and on .

• What Really Scares People: Top 10 Phobias
• 13 Superstitions and Traditions Explained
• 13 Strange Things That Happened on Friday the 13th

Superstitions

Superstitions

SUPERSTITIONS

There are certain
amount of unreasoning beliefs  among people living in a community, arising sometimes
from fear, sometimes from helplessness, and sometimes from coincidences. They
are called as “superstitions”. These beliefs have been existing since the creation
of first human being. Great number of them are not related with any scientific
basis, reason, contemporariness and religious faith. Although they have noting
to do with wisdom and reason, unfortunately they could not be removed and eliminated
from heart, brain, conscience of human being. In emerging of such kind of beliefs
both natural structure of persons and illiterate  words of elderly persons,
as well as of some religious officials have been effective. Even if beliefs
have shown variation from person to person they have also some common aspects.
Superstitions which we were able to collate are listed hereunder:

• One cannot eat
  meal by putting his one foot over another, it means disrespect to the table
  and it is considered as the sign of famine.  
• A mirror which
  is broken may bring bad luck; it is said,  house where mirror was broken cannot
  get well for a period of seven years.
• Thirteenth day
  of a Month is considered as ill-omen; nothing is done on this day.
• One cannot pass
  in front of a car.
• It is considered
  as ill-omen that a rabbit may pass in front of a car.
• To put on trousers
  by standing up is the sign for poverty.
• Milk cannot
  be given to nobody in the darkness of night, it is said that if it is given
  then cow does not produce milk any more.
• Whenever quince
  is  abundant it is said that winter will pass heavy.
• Any child who
  plays with fire makes wet his/her bed.
• It is considered
  as the sign of dead when owl sings at heaves of a house.
• It is said that
  if you say something in forty times it is achieved.
• It is improper
  to call someone as pig; whoever says such word, it is believed, has no appetite
  for forty days.
• When giving
  a milk to somebody, a small piece of coal or a green leaf is put into milk;
  otherwise it is believed that animal will no more produce milk.
• That crows fly
  around a house is not considered as a good luck.
• One should not 
  set out at the time of Friday Praying.
• Laundry is not
  done on Saturdays and Tuesdays.
• Child cannot
  be let alone, if it becomes necessary then a broom is put beside the child. 
• Laundry vessel
  is not let to remain on fire for along time, otherwise it is said that somebody
  dies in that house.
• “Nazar Boncuğu”
  ( bead worn to avert the evil eye) is attached to children to avert evil eyes.
• When cones of
  pine tree are too many, it is the sign that the winter in that year will pass
  hard.
• Whoever covers
  quilt on Wednesday gets ill.
• It is forbidden
  to jump over a child, otherwise the child remains short.
• That clothes
  of child remain outside until the sunset causes the child bewitched.
• No sweeping
  work is done at nights which are considered holly by religion.
• It is considered
  improper to make visits at night for a women given birth a child.
• It is believed
  that anybody who finds clover with four leaves will bring luck to him/her.
• It is considered
  that when a dog howls during “Ezan” is herald of death.
• If a baby creeps,
  a guest will come home.
• Hands should
  not be bound together, if so that person becomes unsuccessful.
• Finger nail
  and toe-nail are not cut together, if so it is believed that that person would
  face with one sorrowful act and one joyful event.
• While yawning
  mouth is to be closed, otherwise it is considered that the person who yawns
  without closing his/her mouth cites “Ezan” to the Devil.
• Scissor cannot
  be passed from hand to hand, because scissor is considered as enemy.
• Yeast for bread
  is not given to neighbour after “Ezan”.
• The first hair
  cut from a boy is put in pocket of father believing that it will increase
  fortune.
• Pieces of bread
  are not disposed of, if they are picked up and eaten, it is said that home
  would have much fortune and fertility.
• It is said that
  whoever folds his/her hands has become non-fertile and unlucky, his/her mother
  dies.
• Nails cannot
  be cut at nights
• One should not
  look at mirror at nights
• Water is poured
  after the wedding car for bride may return to her mother’s home, turning the
  water vessel upside down one sits on it.
• Gum is not chewed
  at nights, it is said that whoever chews gum at nights he/she eats flesh of
  dead body.
• It is believed
  that whoever plays with his/her foot at night, his/her father or mother will
  die.
• It cannot be
  whistled at nights, for the person who whistles it said that he/she is calling
  the Devil.
• To take spider
  at night is considered as a sin.
• It is said that
  to count stars at night is not good.
• Ash cannot be
  thrown outside at night, hot ash cannot be poured over water; it is believed
  that those who perform such act will come across with curse of genie.
• Quilt is not
  covered at nigh.
• No passage is
  made over a place where laundry is washed at night, it cannot be stepped on
  laundry water.
• One cannot sit
  behind a door at night, if so, it is thought that  this person would face
  with slander.   
• Names of girls
  are written under shoe of bride;, it is believed that the girl whose name
  was not erased after the ceremony will marry.
• Nobody should
  pass in front of wedding car.
• It is considered
  ill-omen when a cock crows before the night
• It is believed
  that anybody who could pass under rainbow would change his/her sex.
• Wen somebody
  has the hiccups, it is said “someone mentioned your name”, and then this phrase
  is uttered: “he/she is a friend let him/her mention my name, if he/she is
  hostile, let him/her burst out.
• It is said that
  if a prisoner wears ring of a dead person, he/she may discharge from prison
  soon.
• Lead is poured
  for patients.
• Wedding ceremony
  is not made between the two Bairams.
• No handiwork
  is made following afternoon Prayer.
• Underwear of
  baby cannot be hanged following afternoon Prayer.
• Cloth on anybody
  cannot be sewn.
• Ash cannot be
  disposed of anywhere following afternoon Prayer.
• When a black
  cat passes in front of a man, it is considered as ill-omen.
• Spider cannot
  be taken following the afternoon prayer
• It is said that
  if someone does not finish his/her work, then his/her dead would be hard.
• Two babies cannot
  be let alone in a room without completing their 40^th day; otherwise,
  it is believed that one will become tall and the other will become short,
  which is called “kırk basan”.
• A marriage cannot
  be solemnised between the two Bairams.
• If oleaster
  shoot, stork excrement and blue bead are tied together and placed under the
  armpit, that person will not be affected by the evil eye.
• Two brides are
  not brought into the same house.
• It is not proper
  to pass in front of a man going to his job.
• A man who passes
  through two women cannot make his wife obeyed.
• It is bad luck
  to hear bark of a dog; when heard it is said  “ It may bark to its owner”.
• If girls eat
  something  between two meals, their luck to find a husband becomes impossible.
• Handiwork is
  not made in the course of first three days of “Kurban” Bairam.
• Stepping on
  ash is not good, which act may cause the person to be  paralysed.
• One cannot pass
  through a dark place, if it becomes necessary then the Turkish word “destur”
  (with your permission)  must be cited.
• Do not step
  on threshold of door which stands for being subjected to slander.
• When excrement
  of a bird falls on the head, it means that the person is lucky and will earn
  money.
• Ringing of ears
  are accounted for ill-omen.
• A bird’s knocking 
  on the window with its beak is the sign of news to be received.
• Nail which is
  cut cannot be dropped on the ground, and cannot be stepped on.
• To sit on threshold 
  is not good; anybody who sits thereon will not be lucky.
• To see a black
  cat means ill-omen.
• Flight of a
  shooting star stands for dead.
• A baby who has
  not completed its 40^th day is not removed from home, is not passed
  by graveyard; otherwise it is said in Turkish “kırk basar”.
• A boy who drinks
  coffee do not have moustaches, he becomes beardless.                                                                     
• If a baby clenches
  its fingers firmly, it becomes stingy in future.
• When a baby
  is kissed under its foot, it is believed to walk early, when kissed on lips
  early to speak early, when kissed on back of the neck to be obstinate.
• If a small child
  looks through the space between his/her legs, it means that a guest will come
  home
• To enter a room
  with right leg stands for good luck.
• That a cat turns
  towards South (direction to Mecca) and scratches its head with its fore legs
  is accounted for rain.
• In order that
  a person suffered accident should not experience a new accident, salt or coin
  is circulated around his/her head.
• Whoever sees
  stork flying passes the year by travelling continuously, whoever sees it on
  a land stays in his/her home.
• Waste water
  cannot be poured in sewer, whoever pours it will be paralysed.
• It is not considered
  good that lying-in woman (woman who gave birth a child) may leave her home
  for a period of forty days.
• It is believed
  that if a scissor remains open in a home, a fight will start.
• To pass under
  a ladder is considered as ill-omen.
• It is believed
  that Angel  stays on the right hand side of shoulder, and Satan on the left
  hand side of shoulder.
• When somebody
  dies among people of the district, water vessels which are full are discharged.
• No finger is
  directed toward Grave and Graveyard; if it is directed, the finger must be
  bitten and put under the foot.
• Blue bead prevents
  effects of evil eye.
• Whenever scissor
  is left open, it means that mouth of enemy may open.
• Candle is lighted
  for seven nights at place where corpse is washed.
• Do not look
  at nails while dead body is carried to Cemetery.
• To catch spider
  leads poverty.
• If eyes of dead
  person are open, it is believed that shortly after another person will die.
• To crack the
  joints of the fingers is accounted for telling beads to the Satan.
• At a market
  place, money for price of goods bought first of all from the Seller should
  be thrown on the kiosk; this action brings good luck.
• Anybody who
  cracks the joints of his/her fingers invites Satan.
• To see minaret
  in a dream is a joyful news; death brings alive, green is desire, to see having
  been hung is the sign that may be obtained assistance from great personalities.
• To see eggs
  in a dream implies bad words and gossip.
• To see white
  sheep in a dream construed as winter and snow
• A relative of
  a woman who sees penis in her dream will die.
• A person who
  sees a human excrement in his/her dream   receives money.
• A person who
  sees a girl child in his/her dream receives bad news.
• A person who
  sees a boy in his/her dream receives joyful news.
• Anybody who
  holds gold in his/her hand in a dream earns money.
• Anybody who
  sees white horse in a dream accomplishes his/her desire.
• A twitch in
  right eye implies health, in left eye implies wealth.
• Hair in comb
  after combing is not thrown to street; if it is thrown, it may entangle in
  a leg of chicken, so you may have headache continuously.
• If your left
  palm is scratched you will receive money, if your right palm is scratched
  then you will spend money.
• Any work started
  on Tuesday is suspended, therefore do not start working on Tuesday.
• Soap is given
  to somebody on top of hand.
• Anybody who
  remains under eaves is got paralysed.
• Anybody who
  sews his/her dress worn  would sew his/her wisdom.
• Thorn which
  is hung behind the main gate protects family from ill effects of evil eye,
  if ear is hung it brings wealth.
• Left hand is
  put on the head while drinking water.
• Do not set out
  on Tuesday.
• Woman does not
  pass in front of man who goes to work in the morning, if she passes that man’s
  business does not go well.
• It is ill-omen
  to boil water without purpose.
• Laundry is not
  washed on Tuesdays  and Saturdays  
• Firstly old
  men sit on the table of meal, otherwise the meal loses its productivity.
• If wood burn
  in a stove or oven by emitting sound, it is believed that gossip has been
  made about the resident.
• Red dress is
  not worn while lightning flashes.
• Slippers and
  shoes being upside down are not good.
• Do not speak
  in WC, it brings ill-omen.
• Cackle  of hen
  implies to bring a bad-luck.
• It is believed
  that to knock at a wood three times will ward off all evils.
• If slippers
  and shoes are upside down, someone will die in home.
• A sheep is sacrificed
  in foundation of a newly built house.
• Water is poured
  behind a person who sets out.
• If anybody washes
  laundry on Saturdays in the course of seven weeks, then someone will die in
  the home.
• Do not sleep
  in the bed with your stocking.
• Do not burn
  outer coat of  onion and shell of egg.
• Do not lay your
  face down, if so, you would be like a non-Muslim.
• Wherever umbilical
  cord of a baby is thrown, it is said that baby would choose that profession
  exercised in that place.  Therefore, it might be necessary to throw it on
  top of tiles for getting higher ranks at its profession.
• The first person
  who is come across with the traveller would bring either good luck or bad
  luck.
• A boy baby is
  placed on  lap of a new bride.
• A pencil is
  caused to be attached in hands of a new born baby for the purpose of its being
  in good humour and study well.
• It is not considered
  proper to wear ring on the left hand.
• In the first
  entrance of a newly married husband after marriage ceremony, it is considered
  a good luck for him to break a glass.
• A new born baby
  cannot be washed on Friday.
• If someone blows
  to the mouth of a new born baby, it is believed that this baby would be cordial.
• If water is
  poured out of a glass, it means that guest will come home.
• A bread is circulated
  around the head of a person who perjured himself in order to release the perjury,
  and then it is given to a dog.
• If a person
  rises his right leg at the time of taking oath, then his oath becomes unacceptable.
• If bread is
  circulated over a wound and thrown into graveyard before the morning “Ezan”,
  and then if the person throwing it into the graveyard returns home without
  looking back, it is believed that wound will get better.
• It is said that
  anybody who sleeps in bed stretching out widely will earn too much money,
  on the contrary anybody who sleeps in bed by shrinking will have less revenue.
• Bread or sugar
  is turned around a wound, and if it is  given to a dog before the morning
  “Ezan”, wound will heal. 

Superstitions and clocks

The clock is a device that mankind has invented to tell time. For thousands of years, the mechanism of clocks has been perfected in order to measure time intervals as accurately as possible, to determine how much time has already passed, and to guess how much more time is allotted in the future.

If modern people have learned to accurately calculate time, then the “time” resource itself still cannot be influenced in any way. Even in the 21st century, there are no unambiguous answers to the questions: why are all life processes always connected with time; how much time is given to each person; how to speed up or slow down time. There are only versions, conjectures and hypotheses. And where there is no clarity of understanding, mysticism and superstition necessarily appear.

All superstitions arose in the distant past, when people’s knowledge about the structure of the world was extremely small. Trying to learn the secrets of the universe, people found an unusual mystical relationship between events that are not connected in any way. Fear of the unknown has driven people to pass these secrets on from generation to generation. As a result, superstitions continued to exist even with the advent of technical and scientific progress.

Superstitions about watches are filled with belief in the ability of watches not only to measure time, but also to influence it. This kind of superstition gives the clock a magical ability to reduce time. At the same time, such an opportunity appears only for those watches that appeared as a gift. In such superstitions, watches reduce either the lifetime of the owner of the watch, or the time of the relationship. For example, you can’t give a watch to a wedding, because the watch will provoke scandals, which will lead to the couple’s divorce. Or, you should not give a watch to a loved one if you do not want to part with him or hasten his death.

Superstitions hold the clock responsible for the occurrence of certain events in life. Such events can be positive – success in business, the beginning of a new stage in life, good luck; and negative – illness, death, failure, bad luck. The reasons for the occurrence of these incidents of superstition determined the discovery of watches, their loss or breakage. For example, a broken watch will bring illness and bad luck to the owner. Or, a watch found in working condition will bring good luck to the new owner in business.

However, for every superstition there is an “anti-superstition”, the purpose of which is to neutralize the negative consequences of superstition. For example, for a donated watch, you need to give a small coin. Thus, the gift turns into a purchase, and superstition no longer works. A broken watch should be taken to the repair shop and repaired. If there is a danger that the watch has negative energy, then the Emporium Gold salon will help to sell the watch.

It is not difficult to come up with a new superstition about watches. But to find out what superstitions originated deep in the past and how they originally sounded is very difficult. Passing from generation to generation, superstitions received new details, improved and reincarnated. As a result, the meaning that our ancestors invested in superstition about watches was distorted and changed. Therefore, if you really want to believe in some kind of superstition, then you first need to find out its initial meaning.

In addition, in the 21st century, superstitions add an additional reason for worries and worries to a stressful life. There is no scientific evidence that superstitions must come true. And the event predicted by superstition might not have happened at all if the adherent of superstitions had not thought about it so much and stubbornly.

The big advantage of superstitions about watches is that you don’t have to believe in them. Whether superstition comes true or not depends on the decisions and actions of each person. And the purchase of Swiss watches of famous brands will be a pleasant event that will be remembered for many years.

Schoolchildren of the Surgut region told about the signs for the exam | Society

05/31/2022 17:46

05/31/2022 17:46

#Society

#Surgut region

Author: Ilyuza Khafizova, photo – official website of the Surgut District Administration

The main period of the Unified State Examination has started in the Surgut region. The last briefing: go out under supervision, do not hide your hands under the desk and no cheat sheets. These serious guys are graduates of two Beloyarsk schools – the first and third. 27 of them pass chemistry and 8 – literature. As experienced teachers say: “These are our future doctors and journalists with philologists.”

Daria Kryukova, a graduate of the Beloyarsk school No. 1: “My main sign is not to take cheat sheets with me. I am not a superstitious person, but when there is nothing else to count on, and I tried to put a coin under my leg, then they said no. Therefore, superstitions are abolished.”

Students arrive early for exams. Excitement is removed by general conversations. General tests – unite. The current graduation is the first children who studied according to the new federal educational standards from grades 1 to 11. They were taught not to memorize knowledge from textbooks, but to be able to extract it on their own and apply it in practice.

Tatyana Sokolova, director of Beloyarsk School No. 1: “These are guys who are more involved than before. They are more involved in the educational process, in independent acquisition of knowledge, various kinds of research work. Unfortunately, this year there are no medalists, this is such an even release of hard workers, here they are working. They have their own even attitude towards education.”

663 graduates are planning to take the USE in the Surgut region at 15 examination points. The most popular subject is social studies. But computer science is powerfully crammed into his competitors. The IT industry attracts future applicants. All offices are equipped with video cameras and cellular communication plugs – it is better not to try to write off.

Natalia Gavrikova, head of the general education department of the Surgut district administration: “Last year we removed a graduate, but it was a graduate of previous years. She decided to improve her result in social studies, but, unfortunately, she decided to cheat a little and wrote articles of the constitution, articles of the law, and so on in her hands.