10 of the strangest superstitions from around the world

Superstitions follow us around everywhere. Whether they are old wives tales or urban legends, these are 10 of the strangest ones from around the world.

Tuesday the 13^th

In Spain and Spanish speaking countries, it is Tuesday 13^th that people fear. ‘Martes’, the word ‘Tuesday’ in Spanish, comes from Mars, the Roman god of war. Adding to this, Constantinople supposedly fell on a Tuesday during the Fourth Crusade and following on, the Ottomon Turks reportedly claimed the city on a Tuesday more than 200 years later.

Toasting with water

A German superstition declares that if you toast with water you are in turn wishing death upon the people you’re drinking with. The idea stems from Greek mythology where the spirits of the dead would drink water from the river Lethe.

Knocking on wood

Have you ever knocked on wood to avoid jinxing yourself without knowing why? According to several sources, this well-known superstition derived from the pagan belief that malevolent spirits inhabited wood. If was believed that if you expressed a hope for the future, you should touch or knock on wood, to prevent the spirits from hearing and presumably preventing your wishes from coming true.

Avoid sitting at the corner of a table

Hungarian and Russian superstitions believe that whoever chooses to sit at the corner of the table will never get married. Some say the bad luck only hangs around for seven years, but why chance it?

Trimming nails at night

A superstition in Turkey, India and South Korea believes it is bad luck to trim your finger or toenails after dark. One Japanese superstition even claims that you can have a premature death. Historically, knives or sharp cutting tools would be used to trim long nails. With a lack of medical access, darkness plus sharp objects could apparently have resulted in deadly infections.

Resting your purse or wallet on the ground

Superstitions in a number of Central and South American countries as well as the Philippines believe that resting your purse or wallet on the ground will lead to bad financial luck.

Placing shoes on a table

In Britain, placing shoes on a table is considered bad luck as it is symbolises the death of a loved one. In a long-gone era, placing someone’s shoes on a table was a way to inform their family that they passed away. Nowadays, it’s just bad etiquette.

Whistling invites evil

Whistling indoors and at the sun are both ill-advised actions according to Russian and Norwegian superstitions, respectively. Whistling indoors supposedly leads to financial problems in Russia, while in Norway, whistling at the sun results in rain.

Knitting outside

Keep the knitting inside if you are in Iceland. The local superstition believes that doing your needlework on your doorstep will keep those temperatures icy.

Spilling water behind someone

Spilling water for luck is a Serbian folk custom. According to a Serbian superstition, spilling water behind the person who goes on a journey, or to do a job, will bring good luck, and is done so that the travel or the job will end happily. It is also practiced when going to school, on the day of an exam, for a job interview, going into the army and the like.