Andrew / October 15, 2006 10:08 PM

(Inspired by this past Friday the Thirteenth, though unfortunately not posted on it.)

I always have to put the torn top of a sugar packet inside the empty packet before I throw it out.

josh / October 15, 2006 11:57 PM

When the Tiegers play on days I have to work I have to listen to Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" in the morning.

josh / October 15, 2006 11:59 PM

Tigers

Emerson Dameron / October 16, 2006 7:40 AM

Numbers.

Shasta MacNasty / October 16, 2006 8:22 AM

1. I can NOT got to sleep without walking around to check every door to make sure it's locked. Even if I'm at someone else's house. I'll ask them if they checked the doors, even if they say yes, I will get up and check them myself anyway.

2. I always read the safety guide on a plane and pay attention to the flight attendent. Because the ONE time I don't, that's when all Hades will break loose and I'll wish I paid attention.

printdude / October 16, 2006 8:26 AM

You are not supposed to say "Perfect game" or No-hitter while one is in progress.

I am highly superstistious about won money - you must give some of back or away to keep the luck rolling.

No Hats on the bed!

Black cats aren't any harm.

Everything and anything concerning a golf game.

p / October 16, 2006 9:09 AM

if someone gets up and checks their myspace during a menage a tois- you will be cursed with a twosome. believe me on this one.
also- i dislike stepping on cracks and love pennies of a certain year. also- i don't bet on notre dame.

Marilyn / October 16, 2006 9:33 AM

I am superstitious about talking about death. I hate when someone says things like "I'll probably die doing this" or something that might portend their death.

BTW, the Stevie Wonder song is called "Superstition".

michelle / October 16, 2006 9:38 AM

i ALWAYS knock on wood. even fake wood paneling will do. I also have to double check my keys when i get out of my car before I close the door. Everytime.

paul / October 16, 2006 9:48 AM

I'm not at all superstitous, but I do have rituals. Not terribly OCD ones, but rituals I feel have some logic to them. Is it strange to make the coffee the exact same way every morning?

That said, I am superstitous about when wild birds get into the house. It's an old Irish omen.

erin / October 16, 2006 10:07 AM

no shoes on the bed.

knocking on wood (of any sort - real or laminate).

opening umbrellas inside.

anne / October 16, 2006 10:10 AM

I do actually throw spilled salt over my left shoulder. More out of habit than any real belief.

I've also lived or had friends who've lived in what they think are haunted houses. We never talk about the things that have happened in the place where they've happened.

Always pour your dinner partner's sake for them.

ahn / October 16, 2006 10:36 AM

eastern european jew checking in...

my mother raised me to be absolutely neurotic. knock on wood. don't talk about how awesome your life is. throw salt over your shoulder. no shoes on the table. red ribbons to ward off the evil eye. lots of stuff about the evil eye. bad things happen in threes. don't buy things for a baby until it's been born. etc etc etc.

i can't say i believe all of it, but i've been exposed to the point of automatic reaction.

ahn / October 16, 2006 10:37 AM

oh no, i was the thirteenth comment! good thing i'm not superstitious about thirteen...

fluffy / October 16, 2006 10:57 AM

Numbers. Some numbers really bother me to no end. The best number is 9.
I'm not very lucky at lotto.

I do get certain 'vibes' and I never tell anyone because then that might jinx it.
I had a feeling something was going to happen to Pres. Clinton- then he had a heart attack. I felt my grandfather was going to die..and soon after, he did. Lately, I've been feeling that something's going to happen to Alice Cooper, or someone like that.

annie / October 16, 2006 11:01 AM

My grandma was Irish and she was very superstitious and it's been passed on to me.
No hats on beds (death)
No shoes on tables (death)
Don't get me started on broken mirrors. Umbrellas opened in doors...so bad. If anyone gives you or lends you a pointed object (pin or knive) you should give them a penny, or you will prick your finger with the pointed object. On the other hand, if there is a cricket in your basement or a bird shits on your head, that is some of the best luck you can have.

Lalee / October 16, 2006 11:07 AM

I absolutely must eat cake on my birthday. Not the day before, not the day after, or whenever there may be a celebration of the day itself, but my birthday proper. The year that I didn't eat cake was probably the worst year ever. And yes, cheesecake counts as cake.

Amanda / October 16, 2006 11:16 AM

I am superstitious about saying my bedtime prayers: the whole "now I lay me down to sleep" thing, just in case I die in my sleep.
Also, passing underneath ladders.

Josh / October 16, 2006 11:21 AM

I'm definitely superstitious about buying baby clothes before the baby is born, but I love my black cat.

C / October 16, 2006 11:31 AM

I get creeped out by mirrors in the dark. Too many slumber parties playing Bloody Mary...

Also, I didn't even realize I was superstitious about umbrellas until I was horrified to walk into a teacher's room in another country to see 40 umbrellas open on the floor.

And Andrew, I always tuck the sugar packet top into the empty packet too...and shake the creamer packet...and tap the top of a pop can before opening. But all these are more habit than superstition.

Allan / October 16, 2006 11:31 AM

Finally a topic I can chime in on. I am super superstitious but there is one superstition I deal with on a daily basis. Never ride backwards on a train! This means you must always face the direction that the train is moving in wether standing or sitting. Riding backwards will bring about an untimely death. Moving backwards through space without the physical action of say, walking backwards tricks your brain into believing time is moving at a faster rate and releases chemicals to the body that causes your body to rapidly age. It is said you can lose years off your life if you ride backwards for several hours at a time. Since I ride the train daily I am fanatical about facing the right direction. I am the asshole who stands at the train doors facing the direction of travel refusing to move in no matter how crowded the train gets. I know I am not the only one who believes this and once had a conversation with an old lady on the train who knew exactly why I would not face the wrong way and told me of a friend of hers who died from riding backwards. I also piss on my own feet in the shower at least once a week for good luck. I will also not eat Chinese food on a Wednesday unless someone is buying it for you. I don't remember why but once I forgot and ate Chinese mid-week and got unbelievably sick for two days. Many more to many to list here.

jj / October 16, 2006 12:04 PM

I believe that the only thing that keeps any airplane I ride in from crashing in a downward spiral of firey death and destruction is a pre-boarding visit to the airport Starbucks that involves a ridiculously large tip given to the barista, regardless of service.

p / October 16, 2006 12:23 PM

hrrm...jj has just engaged in (at best) a devious ploy to drum up tippage for himself and his co-workers at an airport coffee-kiosk or (at worst) some of the most shameful online-community-tapping, "outside the box" Starbucks marketing i've come across. i see you jj burnett. Also- use of yellow lighters is big-time hazardous to your luck.

Thomas / October 16, 2006 12:31 PM

When I'm waiting at a light in a car with an automatic transmission, I absolutely have to slip it into neutral, even if it's one of those steering-wheel shift levers because if I don't that car is going to slowly drift into crossing traffic and I'll die a horrible unnecessary death. I know i can hold my foot on the brakes, but I don't drive automatic transmissioned cars that much anyway.
Back when i was in marching band, I always had to march outside and if the band, for whatever reason split a pole or tree, I could not march for the rest of the day.

Speedy / October 16, 2006 12:48 PM

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

If you don't, all your hair will fall out.

carrie / October 16, 2006 1:42 PM

I always knock on wood.

Mirrors also freak me out at night and I pretty much will not look in one- even just to glance because yes, bloody mary might reach her long claws out and get me. (paranoia or superstition?)

I'd never heard about the bird pooping on you being good luck until I went on a date last year. Mmhmm, middle of dinner and pfffft, right on me. I'm voting that it is indeed good luck because he's my boyfriend now. Lucky me!

I always open umbrellas indoors, I just don't put them over my head...

ann / October 16, 2006 1:53 PM

Whenever I'm on a plane, I have to do the cross as the plane is taxiing down the runway. I fly about twice a week, but I've done this since I was little.
Also, my lucky number is 4. Ever since grade school I was always 4th alphabetically, and would get cubbyhole 4, seat 4, etc. So I love it when I get hotel room 444, etc.

Bill V / October 16, 2006 2:28 PM

Stepping on the cracks of the sidewalk. Thinking about how great it will be when your team wins the game, before it actually happens.

todd / October 16, 2006 2:54 PM

What am I superstitious about?

Easy!

I grab a bucket every time I read “Revenge of the Second City” by Richard Carnahan because whatever he writes makes me want to puke.

pop / October 16, 2006 4:26 PM

Churches. I cross myself when I pass one.

Dreams. They sometimes mean something in my real life a few days later.

Republicans. I cross myself when I pass one.

hoogity boogity / October 16, 2006 4:49 PM

I am a wood knocker and even keep a clothes pin attached to the visor of my car so I can knock when needed.

I don't care to talk about that disease that a lot of people get that affects many different parts of the body, and often causes months of poisonous treatment, and often ends in the death of loved ones.

I don't talk about a mischevious spirit that has been known to appear from time to time in my life. This is too much talking about it.

I don't talk about those bad things that often happen on streets that involve cars and bikes.

jennifer / October 16, 2006 5:05 PM

The only superstition I have is an unnatural fear of the date April 20th. Lots of awful things have happened on that day -- both historically and to me personally -- and I usually just try to get through it in one piece. For many years security was even increased at courthouses, etc., on that day.

Eamon / October 16, 2006 11:26 PM

I bought a cheap Bears jersey on the way up to see them slaughter the Vikes back in 2002. It's got a hole on the right shoulder from the burning embers of a Vikings doll I set on fire in the parking lot and whirled 20 feet overhead before the game. I wear that jersey and rub that hole like a madman during every Bears game-- and it sure worked tonight!

Steve / October 17, 2006 12:25 AM

Absolutely nothing. I am Burns Carpenter, Man of Science.

Baldeesh / October 17, 2006 2:05 AM

When I was really little, my great-grandparents renewed their vows. My great-grandmother told me that if I slept with a piece of wedding cake under my pillow, I would dream of my future husband.

I have a horseshoe nailed over my front door, I am a fellow wood-knocker, I hold my breath when I pass by the spot in my hometown where my best friend growing up was killed, I own several four-leaved clovers and throw salt over my shoulder.

Joe / October 17, 2006 8:33 AM

My Dad has a superstition that I have picked up on. Whenever we visit someone's home, we must leave through the same door we entered. The idea is that if you don't, you run the risk of never entering that home again.

spook / October 17, 2006 10:17 AM

Come on this question is a slow ball pitch for the honorable Blagg to knock it out!

Allan / October 17, 2006 11:48 AM

I just remembered another superstition of mine . I won't have butt sex with men because I am afraid it will make me gay for them. Ironically I am not afraid of having butt sex with women. I know it doesn't make any sense.

paula / October 17, 2006 11:54 AM

I cannot eat banans with stickers on them until i have eaten the nonsticker ones.

When I am walking with someone, we have to go around something on the same side. I can't let any lightpole or whatever come between us.

I'm very superstitious about talking about death or listening to others talk about it.

Cinnamon / October 17, 2006 12:02 PM

When I was 6 I broke a mirror. My mother tsk*tsk'd and told me I was going to have 7 years of bad luck. I wrote it down on that wide-ruled paper with the picture space on top you get in early elementary school. It was dated by my teacher on the back. I found it while getting ready to move to Chicago and called my mom to ask if the 7-years+ date seemed familiar. She thought for a minute and said, "Um, that was the date my divorce was final." Now, I never take part in moving mirrors.

the d / October 17, 2006 12:09 PM

No yellow bic lighters ever. Whenever I see one I ask to borrow it, then go outside and throw it as far as I can. I usually give the person a dollar. I'm a bartender and have done this to customers. Where did this one come from? All my friends from home (Saginaw MI) do the same thing, but I've heard about it all over.

I can't set my alarm to any multiple of 5 or I won't wake up.

Susan / October 17, 2006 1:58 PM

No toasting with water. No never-lit candles on a dinner table (it's okay if they're not lit while you're eating, but you have to light them and blow them out at some point).

Don't verbally express positive expectations if there's still a chance that things can go wrong.

And like many above, I knock on wood and throw spilt salt over my shoulder and all that jazz.

Richard F Carnahan / October 17, 2006 2:20 PM

I always--always--get checked out for VD after bedding Todd's mom.

kate / October 17, 2006 2:39 PM

I pick up pennies. If they're face-down, I give it to someone else... or if I'm alone, I leave it there.

I also don't stand right in front of the microwave when it's microwavin', I'm convinced that little "microwave breeze" is evil... instead I stand about an inch away from the breeze and stare at my food spinning round and round.

Ken / October 17, 2006 3:47 PM

I'm not sure where this superstition comes from but, I too must walk around the same side of whatever object is in the path of myself and anyone I'm walking with. To further that I must walk on the same side of every object within a row i.e. light poles, sign posts, mail boxes etc.

Tra / October 17, 2006 4:12 PM

I truly believe in the power of jinx.

Never ever EVER say anything that starts with the words "At least it's not..."

Amy / October 17, 2006 4:56 PM

Good thing I'm not superstitous. Last Wednesday about 2 hours before I was to fly to San Diego my boyfriend broke a full length mirror. The flight was fine.

miss casual / October 17, 2006 5:01 PM

i totally second the yellow bic lighters. my friends from detroit all abide by that rule very strictly and i sort of caught it from them but i dont know where it came from.

p / October 17, 2006 8:41 PM

Hooray! I'm not the only one who's asked for a light then declined the service with a look of disgust/horror once a yellow lighter was produced. Kudos to the lighter tosser! I couldn't be more serious. I used to be worse about it though- I'll use one to open a beer bottle these days. And I'm not sure of the origins- I thought it was a beverly thing. Somebody put on a two-brimmed hat and sniff out some answers. Also- i must pack packs of cigarettes 21 times exactly. 7x, flip, 7x, flip, 7x. Also I don't smoke anymore- although that's not the truth.

fluffy / October 18, 2006 9:03 AM

Last night on my way home, a blak cat crossed the sidewalk right in front of me! But then it got scared by a car that passed by, and crossed back again to hide in a garden.
So, does that mean I'm doubly-fucked or did the second crossing cancel out the first one? Time will tell. ugh.

gunmonkey / December 11, 2006 12:00 AM

Ok, i would like more info on the bad luck yellow bics. there a person i know here in texas, Home state MICHIGAN, that freaks out over these stupid yellow lighters. SHE said its a thing she started becuase she notice all the bad luck happening when using a yellow bic. I would like to know the origin of this rumor.