I never really understood Friday the 13th. Is everyone on the planet supposed to have horribly bad luck on this day? Is there some sort of luck-karma built up that is all released on one day so every other day can be pleasant? It’s just a day, and I happen to like fridays, so why does it have to be bad luck all of a sudden? Why can’t it be a day of good luck? Like all of a sudden everyone wins the lottery, or all the lights turn green, or your boss says to take the day off? That’s not really even what I wonder about though; it’s superstitions in general. My theory is that superstitions just prevent us from doing stupid things that are really just common sense in the first place, and “bad luck” is just all of the pins you knock down while bowling down the ‘stupid lane’ with bumpers one. You hear people say “Don’t walk under a ladder, it’s bad luck.” “If a black cat walks across your path, it’s bad luck.” “If you open an umbrella inside, it’s bad luck.” “If you break a mirror…” etc.
Really, this is what I think happens:
Don’t walk under a ladder because that’s stupid. Something could fall on you, or you could knock it over.
If a black cat, probably a stray if it’s out alone, walks across your path then you’re probably in a bad neighborhood, so stay away from ‘black cats.’
If you open an umbrella inside you’ll just look stupid because it never rains inside.
And don’t break mirrors! Why would you break a mirror? It makes a huge mess and it sucks to replace. Furthermore you or someone else could end up stepping on glass. Be careful!
So just use some common sense… or else it’ll be bad luck.
allmostrelevant 
I like your posts. You make me laugh out loud and not that stupid LOL shit either…real laughter, really out loud.
lol
…just kidding. thanks though. comments like this are why I keep writing.
Loved the post. But can common sense win over deep-seated beliefs that we hold? To me the aspect of bad luck is really all about our unwillingness to accept responsibility of a situation and shift the blame somewhere else. What do you think?
Shakti
I think to some degree you’re probably right but most superstitions, if I’m not mistaken, stem from old wives tales if you will. People became superstitious of things because of the histories or alleged histories attached to them such as black cats belong to witches therefore it would be bad luck. That clearly isn’t necessarily that case – just a thought. I do have to admit to being mildly superstitious about one thing – that is knocking on wood after making some comment about something. My personal history has proven that I tend to curse myself lol so as to avoid that I knock on wood. Whether it actually works or not, I don’t know but it seems to. *shrug* Anyway, I did want to thank you for visiting and following my blog! I’m grateful. Have a great day! :)
When I was young, I heard people say “Don’t play outside during Friday the 13th. You might stumble and the wound would take long to be healed!” Hahaha
13 is my lucky number and I always have a good day.. even friday 13ths… Maybe because I believe in it…. Barbara
We were flying home from vacation this past Friday. About 15 minutes before we were supposed to board, they announced there would be a delay while they changed one of the tires on the landing gear. Gotta admit, it crossed my mind that it was Friday the 13th and maybe this wasn’t a good sign. Then I realized, “Hey, better to change the tire now than find out when we’re trying to land that it’s flat!” Bad luck? No! VERY GOOD LUCK!
nice! yeah, definitely want to solve those issues before anything bad happens :)
The one I get chills from is: If a picture falls off the wall, someone in your family will die soon. Unfortunately, it happens.
then i suppose the secret of longevity would be that no one in your family hangs pictures on the wall ;)
Friday was always considered to be a bad day to put to sea by sailors, as was the thirteenth of the month. For the two dates to coincide was considered extremely bad karma. This feeling has since made its way into popular culture. If someone ever says that Friday the 13th is a bad-luck day, I just shrug and ask them why – are they considering putting to sea?
but why did sailors think that???? haha
The wind-and-sail sailors were a very superstitious lot. There’s probably a long list of items that signified bad omens to them. These were only two of them. Whistling, red hair, pigs and rats… the list is extensive. Try http://caribbean-pirates.com/nautical_superstitions.php for a giggle.
i giggled because cats control the weather
mysterious and enigmatic creatures are cats… beware the power of the tail. :)
Very good post. I am not sure that I have read one like this in a while.
thanks! much appreciated :)
I agree with you about the whole Friday the 13th being a day of bad luck. I actually love these days because I tend to have really good luck every time these roll around!! (not that I’ve won the lottery or anything) I play hockey which is a pretty superstitious sport and I think having these beliefs just keeps things fun!
yeah. sports and superstitions is a whole other conversation because that’s more of a mental thing with athletes, but ladders and mirrors seems a bit silly to me
A sports player never washing his jockstrap seems a bit silly to me… along with the ladders too of course! haha
jock itch is a condition for a reason
I am not a superstitious person and I LOVE black cats, or cats of any colour. You’ve hit the nail on the head: common sense reasons not bad luck. :-D
This is very good…loved it and it makes a lot of sense.
It’s actually interesting to research where these superstitions come from. Some are just silly, but others grew from common sense. Salt, for example, was worth more than gold at one time as it was the only way to preserve food. Spilling salt was a financially wreckless thing to do. Over time it just became unlucky. Ironically the counter that developed to the bad luck is to waste even more salt by thowing it over your shoulder.
two negatives makes a positive????
That’s the only logical explanation, methinks.
The purpose of throwing salt over one’s shoulder is to blind the devil. He was thought to appear at times of bad fortune and your putting salt in his eyes would drive him away. That’s the tradition. Defeat a malevolent semi-omnipotent being with a few sodium chloride crystals. Must have hurt like the devil.
teeheehee
Aah. That makes perfect sense, just like the churches with two clocks showing different times so the devil won’t know at which time to show up to disrupt the service.
Ooo… I hadn’t heard that one before. Thanks.
Think it’s in Malta but not sure.
hahaha
Hee-hee. Yes, I’m more inclined to go with the ‘common sense’ version. I laughed at the umbrella one – maybe hubby and I should have taken an umbrella to bed on the night a storm opened a huge hole in our roof and the bedroom got flooded! lol As for black cats, I always thought they were lucky … plus, my husband was born on Friday the 13th. The jury is still out on that one. :)
haha this made me laugh. except for the part where your roof came off. that’s no fun at all
It might have been quite nice lying looking up at the stars if it hadn’t been blowing a gale. :)
Hey! It was my best friend’s birthday yesterday (Friday 13th), and she’s ultra lucky!!!
haha nice!