How often do Northwestern students knock on wood? Do they keep hats on their beds? How about stepping on cracks? To find the answers to these questions and more, WNUR’s Brandon Kondritz hit some popular spots around campus to chat with students about their favorite superstitions.
This story originally aired as part of the 11/11 Around the World Special Broadcast.
(music: “Sneaky Stitch” by Kevin MacLeod)
Do you knock on wood? Avoid opening umbrellas inside? Throw salt over your shoulder? Then you might not be surprised to find out that you’re superstitious…a word coming from the Latin term for “excessive fear of the gods.”
One common superstitious indicator is a series of ones all in a row to represent that good things are to come. Today is November 11. So, in honor of the 11-11 date, I wanted to ask students across campus about their favorite irrational fears and wildest traditions.
To do just that, I hit Northwestern’s most popular spots, Brandon-on-the-Street style.
(record scratch sound effect)
(music: “Game Show” by Silent Partner)
KONDRITZ: Hello, and welcome to Brandon on the street! I am standing out here in front of Weber Arch on this absolutely beautiful fall day. I’m very interested to hear some of the answers we get.
Let’s start with the basics.
KONDRITZ: What is your favorite superstition and why?
MYA: My favorite superstition is knocking on wood…
MARGARET: Mine is knock on wood…
ARDEN: Every single time I say something that could get jinxed, I have to knock on wood.
SIMONE: I always knock on wood.
(knocking sound effects)
Knocking on wood is a tradition dating back to ancient Pagan cultures. They believed that spirits and gods were part of trees. The action served two purposes: to gain protection from the beings in case something bad were to happen …
(thunder sound effect)
… or as a way of being proud when something goes the right way.
(ring sound effect)
But in today’s culture, it seems that warding off bad fortune is the primary reason for knocking on wood. The folks I talked to have various interpretations of the practice, though they all center around the same action.
MYA: I really like numbers, so I always knock three times.
(triple knock sound effect)
KONDRITZ: So it’s knocking on wood, and it has to be three times?
MYA: Because that’s my lucky number, yes.
MARGARET: It doesn’t have to be wood that I have to knock on, but I will go out of my way to find something to knock on. My mom just knocks on her head, but I think that’s a cop-out.
(hollow knocking sound effect)
ARDEN: I’ve been known to knock on paper because paper’s technically trees, but I try to find at least a faux wood. My phone case used to have a wooden-looking back, and I would knock on my phone all the time.
SIMONE: What I do if I don’t have wood near me, I do the motion and say, “it’s the thought that counts.”
Lucky charms—items of clothing, trinkets, or other objects—were another popular answer. Essentially, the owner associates a given object with good fortune and will use it every time they want the same positive outcome. For some, a bad outcome without the charm merely reinforces its power.
CATHERINE: I mean, I do use the same pencil for all of my astronomy midterms. But it’s my favorite color.
(pencil writing sound effect)
KONDRITZ: Do you have another favorite pencil to use, and you willingly choose that one?
CATHERINE: Several others.
ADAM: In the 2014 playoffs—we were playing the Pacers—I used to wear these blue and yellow pajama pants as a Heat fan, because I thought that if I was wearing Pacers colors then the Heat would win.
DYLAN: I went to 12 straight Florida Panthers games last year wearing the same exact jersey—it started really smelling, and the one time I washed it, they ended up losing. The superstition is you never change the jersey.
LILY: I have a lucky skirt in my backpack for all of my auditions. Yeah, my grandma gave it to me.
BYSTANDERS: Aww!
Whether these small charms are truly lucky or if they merely give us peace of mind, they’re still quite universal. Maybe our favorite socks or ring simply gives us a boost of confidence … but believing in pure luck is arguably more fun.
(music: “Game Show” by Silent Partner)
KONDRITZ: We’re currently moving to The Rock. Weber Arch was quite dry as it seems, unfortunately. So we’re gonna see if people are more receptive to talk up here.
Superstitions aren’t just about good luck. Another category of beliefs involves altering normal behavior for fear of bad luck striking.
(spooky sound effects)
SOPHIA: My favorite superstition is when you’re going over a bridge you have to lift your feet up so they don’t get wet.
(splash sound effect)
CHLOE: My grandmother thinks that if you go around different sides of a pole when you walk past, one of you is going to get grievously injured. So she’ll walk back around if I go on the other side of her.
EMMA: When a sports team that we like is losing a game, my dad will move from wherever we are. But just him … he won’t take us with him.
SEQUINA: My friend told me that if you’re going past a cemetery, you should close your mouth and not breathe because the soul will enter your body if you’re breathing.
(gate creaking sound effect)
KONDRITZ: Do you believe it?
SEQUINA: Lowkey, I don’t like spirits, ghosts—I feel like I’m really prone to them, so yeah.
Avoiding certain behaviors altogether is another common theme.
JANKHNA: My mom always said that if I cut my nails at night they’d never grow back.
(nail clipping sound effects)
TANYA: I don’t like stepping on cracks. It’s some kind of thing I learned in primary school. If you step on the cracks, that’s the doorway to hell.
(cracking sound effect)
We’ve all likely heard “step on a crack, break your momma’s back.” But it may surprise you to learn that this belief has significant cultural connections. It isn’t just a quirky phrase. Scholars have actually done research into this one.
There are two primary interpretations, and they couldn’t be more different. one: if you stepped on a rickety floorboard, it could fly up and hit your mother, which would have been disrespectful. two: during the national war on drugs, children who were dealing drugs could get their unknowing mothers evicted from public housing.
Some hold a superstition about bad luck but intentionally choose to avoid it.
KASON: My favorite superstition is that you’re not supposed to go under ladders, because it’s bad luck. I’ll be doing that (expletive) all the time—anytime I see a ladder, I go out of my way to go under it just so I can prove to myself that I’m here not because of my luck but because of how good I am, you know what I mean?
And i even found a superstition related to Northwestern lore. One student’s friend refuses to walk back through The Arch until he graduates.
(music: “Go U, Northwestern”)
CONRAD: He just is insistent on avoiding the Arch anytime we go out that way. Like he will walk through the bushes to get around it.
Other superstitions are simple connections to luck, passed down through one’s family, or even both.
VIRGINIA: You need to kiss your exam before handing it in. It’s just a peck.
(kissing sound effect)
BROOKLYN: My superstition is that the number four is lucky. I do everything on the number four if I can. I just think it’s a great number.
ISABELLA: It’s the thousand paper cranes myth. If you fold a thousand paper cranes, then the gods will see your dedication and grant you a wish. I got to about 500, and every time I got to 500 I would quit.
GEORGIA: I don’t know if I really believe it, but I really abide by it because my mom really believes it, but no hats on the beds.
KONDRITZ: No hats on the ‘what?’
GEORGIA: On the bed.
KONDRITZ: Why is that?
GEORGIA: I have no idea. My mother has just always said it’s bad luck.
Sometimes, they’re just fun.
RUTH: When I have a can, you tap it three times so it doesn’t explode.
(soda fizzing sound effect)
KONDRITZ: Have you ever opened a can without tapping it three times?
RUTH: Oh yes. All the time.
KONDRITZ: Does it explode?
DEBONO: No. I don’t believe it—it’s just a little fun thing to do.
And other times, they’re a little complicated.
(music: “Weird Doily”)
NASTIA: I have this thing where if I think something’s gonna happen, it’s not gonna happen. So whenever I’m trying to want something to happen, I have to think of every possible scenario in which it won’t happen in order for it to happen. But then, of course, there’s always one scenario I didn’t think of and that’s what ends up happening.
Personally, I believe that anytime you see a penny on the ground, you have to pick it up and put it in your shoe. It doesn’t matter if it’s heads up, heads down, left shoe, right shoe—it’s simply good luck. I’m also a big fan of the number two (February 22nd of this year, 2022, was a big day for me), and I never open umbrellas inside: a tradition dating back to ancient Egyptian lore.
(umbrella opening sound effect)
(glass breaking sound effect)
Whatever your quirky belief or rigidly held tradition is, know that your superstitions are valid and might have historical significance too. And even if you don’t have a hard-and-fast rule you follow, you might agree with the infamous Michael Scott …
STEVE CARELL AS MICHAEL SCOTT: I’m not superstitious, but I’m a little ‘stitious.
For this edition of Brandon-on-the-Street and WNUR News, I’m Brandon Kondritz.
(music: “Game Show” by Silent Partner)
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“Sneaky Stitch” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/