English Topics American Superstitions
Alisha: Hi, everybody and welcome back my
name is Alisha and I’m joined today in the
studio by…
Michael: Michael.
Hey, everybody
Alisha: And today we’re going to be talking
about some common American superstitions.
A few may be old fashioned stories or myths
we’ll have a chance to talk about today.
So, let’s get right into it.
I’m going to start with this one.
Okay, my first one is opening an umbrella
inside is bad luck.
And this is a superstition–I guess it just
it is what it is what I’ve just said.
If you open an umbrella inside you’ll have
bad luck but I kind of just think that this
superstition is just it’s just good advice
like don’t open an umbrella inside because
you will knock something over it you know.
Or, you’ll get your things all wet something
like that if you if you’ve been outside in
the rain.
So, I think it’s just it’s a superstition
that’s one of common sense, really.
Michael: Hmm, yeah.
I’m sure a lot of these start that way.
Like Santa Claus or something that you just
tell your kids something.
The easiest way is, “Ah, the Boogie Monster
is going to get you so don’t do it.”
Instead of trying to explain, “Well, you
know you might break it and I just…”
Whatever.
“Just don’t do it or you’ll get eaten.”
I mean, it makes sense.
I don’t know.
Alisha: Santa story?
Did you grow-up…
Michael: He’ll put you in the sack, yeah.
You know how many years of bad luck it is?
Cause I know like if you break a mirror, it’s
seven years bad luck.
I’m not certain.
Is there any?
Alisha: I don’t know.
I don’t know if there’s a time frame for this
one.
Michael: Yeah.
Alisha: I just assume it’s instant because
you will probably destroy something
Michael: What?
Alisha: Just instant.
For the duration of time that the umbrella
is open, you’re just open to bad luck and
it won’t go away until you close it.
There we go, there’s the time frame.
Alright, what do you got?
What do you got?
Oh, my gosh.
Michael: Because the only ones I can think
of are like the mirror, that’s about it, go
under a ladder.
Anyways, so, another one to like prevent bad
luck that I think is kind of stupid and I
think it’s a recent one, it has to be recent
is tapping the roof of your car.
When there are two times this has happened.
Yeah, maybe this is new to you.
Alisha: I never heard this.
Michael: Okay, so there are two times.
The most common one is when you go through
a yellow light.
It’s just about to turn red or maybe did turn
red, you tap the roof of your car and you’re
safe.
I don’t know.
And then, the second one is if you’re speeding
or you’re just being a bad person and you
see a cop and for whatever reason, the cop
is a bad thing for you, you tap the roof of
your car and everybody in the car has to tap
the roof of the car.
Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense, I think it’s
stupid, maybe that’s just–
Alisha: I have never heard that before, ever.
Never.
Is this something that you or your friends
would do or did or do?
Michael: I don’t do it ‘cause I think it’s
stupid but my friends have done it and maybe
is that just a Colorado thing or something?
Alisha: I don’t know it could just be me I
just haven’t done it.
Michael: Well, leave a comment below if you’ve
ever heard this one before.
Drop it on the floor, Michael.
What are you doing?
Alisha: Okay.
Michael: Okay.
So, yeah what’s–
Alisha: Onward, yeah.
You already mentioned this one but this one
is another one.
If you break a mirror you’ll have bad luck
for seven years.
Seven years.
I also have a theory about this one.
The theory about this one is that the time
frame the seven-year time frame that’s assigned
to this breaking a mirror, because and I could
be totally wrong on this, but my theory is
that if you break a mirror, a mirror is glass,
you know it’s going to shatter into millions
of pieces and maybe it’s hard to find all
of the pieces, maybe cleaning them up, it’s
going to be difficult so there’s potential,
maybe, you could step on pieces of glass for
up to seven years.
Because you know your stupid kid broke a mirror
in your bathroom one time when he was like
Michael: And then, when he’s 10 years old.
Alisha: And then, when he’s 10, he’s still
stepping on glass and you’re like, “See,
I told you so.”
Michael: Oh.
Alisha: So, I don’t know, that’s my theory
on that one.
But, again, I think this is another instant
bad luck one.
As soon as you break the mirror, you have
to clean it up, somebody could get cut, whatever.
I sound very mommy-ish in all my explanations
of these today.
But, that’s okay, yeah.
Michael: Yeah.
Alisha: Did you always hear that this one
is seven years?
Michael: Absolutely.
Alisha: Yeah.
And why is it seven years?
Michael: Yes, that’s why I asked that.
Yeah, I have no idea.
Also, I think your theory is dead-on except
it could be three years, it could be four years.
Alisha: Yeah. I know.
Michael: But, that’s interesting that you
said that.
I’ve never thought about a lot of these superstitions
like the other one is going under a ladder.
Alisha: Yeah.
Michael: That’s dangerous.
Opening umbrella is dangerous.
Breaking a mirror is dangerous.
I never thought about that.
Alisha: I think that they’re just common-sense
sort of things like to tell your kids like,
“Be careful not to do that because you could
get hurt.”
Michael: Hmm.
Alisha: I think that’s the underlying message.
Michael: Huh.
Alisha: Okay.
Michael: Interesting.
Alisha: What’s your next one?
Michael: I don’t know yet.
Let’s look.
I forgot.
Oh, this one.
I like this one.
I think this one’s cute even if I don’t really
believe it.
I think it’s a fun thing to do is blowing
an eyelash and you make a wish.
So, if an eyelash falls and people, you know,
they point it out, “Hey, you got an eyelash
on your nose.”
“Oh really?”
You pick it up and you make a wish.
And, your wish comes true.
And actually, I’ve talked to some other people,
I’m not sure, I forget what country they were
from but what they do is kind of like how
Americans do the chicken wing and you break
it and whoever has the bigger piece, their
wish comes true.
Alisha: Yeah.
Michael: You take the eyelash and you put
it to the thumb and whoever is whoever’s thumb
the eyelash sticks to, is the person whose
dream comes true.
I’ve never heard that.
For me, and I think just in most of America,
you just [blow].
Alisha: I’ve heard of the eyelash.
I think maybe I did it when I was a junior
high school student.
Michael: Well.
Alisha: I don’t—yeah. it’s been a long time
since I’ve heard that one but I’ve never
heard the–
Michael: Yeah, I had.
That was the first.
I’ve never heard that before.
But you never did blowing that eyelash.
Alisha: Oh, I did, I did.
Michael: Oh.
Alisha: Yeah.
When I was little.
I just haven’t thought about it in a long
time.
Yeah.
I wonder why where that one comes from.
Michael: ‘Cause it’s dangerous too?
Alisha: I don’t know.
Michael: Yeah.
Alisha: But, it’s a happy one at least.
Okay, good example.
I’ll go to my last one, I guess.
My last one is a simple good luck one that
maybe many people know.
If you find a four-leaf clover, it’s good
luck.
I don’t know the origin of this one, actually.
I feel like I should, for some reason.
This was something that I would do occasionally
with my little brother.
We’d be sitting in the yard and there be a
patch of clover in the yard and we just kind
of be playing and look for one that had four
leaves on it instead of just three.
And, if we did we’d be happy because we thought
that it meant we’d have good luck for a time.
Michael: For six years.
Alisha: Six years.
Michael: Or two days.
Alisha: I don’t even know.
But that was just a fun thing to do as a kid,
was to look for four-leaf clovers.
Maybe it kept us out of our parents’ hair
for a while.
Yeah.
Did you do that when you were a kid?
Michael: No, I didn’t.
But I did it as an adult.
Someone said it was a fun thing to do.
So, we did it and just for fun as adults.
I didn’t know it was actually possible like
I just thought this was like a mythical creature,
it didn’t actually exist and that’s why it’s
lucky.
Yeah, yeah.
And then we found a couple.
That was my mom, actually, yeah.
Well, memory just came back.
Anyways, you just kind of zone out, you look
at a big field of it and then you can spot
it.
It’s much easier than going one by one.
But, I think, again, this kind of makes sense.
It’s rare, so, therefore, it’s maybe lucky.
Alisha: Special.
Michael: Well, yeah, exactly.
Alisha: Yeah, yeah.
It’s just a nice one.
Michael: I think my third one drop.
Oh, under my butt.
Okay, there we go.
Yeah, alright.
Alisha: If you sit on a card you’ll have good
luck for three minutes.
Michael: Okay.
So, this one another positive one and another
one about finding things is giving a heads-up
penny to another person.
So, this one–I’m just trying to do unique
ones because I remember I think, “Oh, that’s
kind of cool.”
Because in America if you find a penny that’s
heads-up.
The President on the front facing you, that’s
good luck.
But it’s not as rare as a four-leaf clover.
It’s kind of silly, right?
And so, I think maybe that’s why they added
to the superstition that if it’s tail side,
so it’s the other, you know, it’s like a building
or something on the other side, don’t pick
it up, it’s bad luck.
Alisha: Really?
Michael: Ever heard of it?
Alisha: I mean, I’ve heard the penny thing.
We had a chant even when I was little.
Which was—what was it?
“Find a penny, pick it up all day long,
you’ll have good luck.”
It’s just any penny.
There was no there was no heads or tails discrimination.
It was just if you find the penny, “Congratulations!
Your day is about to get awesome.”
So, you just pick it up and then you’re overjoyed
as a small child to have found money for free.
That was it.
I’ve never heard the heads or tails.
Michael: Really?
Alisha: Yeah.
Michael: I thought, okay.
Well, dang. this would be interesting to find
out why if it’s just a different because we’re
not that far apart from each other.
You said–I mean you had a kind of a long
history but it’s basically California and
Colorado?
Alisha: California and Oregon.
Michael: California and Oregon and where does?
Alisha: West Coast Hybrid.
Michael: West Coast Hybrid and Colorado.
Pretty close.
Alisha: It’s pretty close.
Michael: Similar.
So, I wonder what that–I mean it could just
be our personal experiences.
Alisha: Probably.
Michael: But it could be an interesting thing
to–
Alisha: Alright.
Well, those are some very interesting stories
and very interesting theories.
Wow.
We should write a Wikipedia page.
Okay, well, thank you guys, very much, for
joining us as we talk about some American
superstitions today.
Anything to add, Michael?
Michael: No, that’s it.
Thanks.
Alisha: Alright, well, thank you all very
much for watching today as we talk about American
superstitions.
If you have any superstitions from your country
or from your city or from your region even.
Please be sure to share them with us in the
comments and we’ll check them out.
Thanks again for watching and we will see
you again soon.
Bye.