you're not superstitious you're just a little stitious so you and everyone else knows not to
walk under ladders the consequences of breaking a mirror and to avoid black cats at all costs
but unfortunately there are many more lesser-known superstitions around the world that you could be
violating right now are you cursing yourself literally by not watching on it's the countdown
of the world's most bizarre superstitions first on the list we've got a spooky lesson in manners
we were all told not to speak with our mouths full but there's an old dutch superstition that
singing at the dinner table attracts evil spirits folklorists have documented singing
at the table superstitions in other places too including bohemia and north carolina
there are a number of possible origins of why the dinner table became a no sing zone either a child
with big dreams of becoming a pop star was so bad at singing that their parents resorted to
inventing this superstition or someone insisted on singing so badly during supper that it gave
everyone nightmares that's probably it no don't is something you might hear
when you're about to break a superstitious rule but this next one is more of a no-doy
once the sun sets in japan korea india and turkey you are strongly advised not to cut your nails
in turkey and india it's considered bad luck but in japan a nighttime trim puts you at risk
of ending your life prematurely and then there's korea the story goes that if you cut your nails
in the dark the clippings will fall on the floor and rats will eat them which causes
them to turn into a monster version of you and terrorize you in your bed or how about don't do
it because you'll cut them too short which is a bigger nightmare than a rat monster in my opinion
for most superstitions the source of the stish doesn't totally deserve their reputation
a crack doesn't want to be stepped on it wants to be fixed and a black cat can't help being black
but we have no sympathy for what's next on our list whistling whistling stinks so no wonder it's
believed that whistling will cause all sorts of trouble in turkey it's believed that whistling at
night summons the devil makes sense we challenge you to listen to someone whistling at night and
not be creeped out in estonia and latvia it is widely believed that whistling indoors may bring
bad luck and therefore set the house on fire and in russia whistling can lead to financial ruin
and it's pretty clear why whistling attracts dogs you whistle inside a pack of dogs comes running
they dig holes in your yard tear up the pillows and do you know how much it costs to feed 20 to 30
stray dogs enough to financially ruin most people that's for sure also some people can't whistle and
they feel pretty self-conscious about it so why doesn't everyone agree to just not whistle okay
giving a thumbs up is commonly considered a good thing like when you're giving a positive
movie review or when you're letting everybody know you're okay when you've got the wind knocked out
of you but that's not always the case in japan where if you're ever in a cemetery or near a
funeral procession you would better tuck away your thumb that's because the japanese word for thumb
directly translates to parent finger so tucking it into your fist protects your
parents from the spirit of death trust us your parents will arigato you additionally
it's always smart to have your fist ready in a cemetery in case you encounter any ghouls
next on this list is a lesson in doing too much everything gets pretty gray and dreary during
stormy weather and if you've ever watched a makeover show or read a fashion magazine
you know that dark muted tones can always use a pop of color but if you're braving
the elements in the philippines it's best not to wear red there's a filipino superstition
that it increases your chances of being struck by lightning it makes sense you're making yourself a
fun little moving target for the gods so unless you want to roll the dice that a jolt from the
heavens turns you into a superhero best to lean toward the cooler side of the color spectrum
people in south korea mostly from older generations believe that sleeping in a room with
an electric fan and the door closed will leave you dead by morning millennials report waking up
in the morning after a hot night to discover their parents had opened their doors a conspiracy says
that the superstition picked up speed in the 1970s when the energy strapped south korean government
released anti-fan propaganda to discourage people from using up electricity all night
according to the theory a fan's blades chop up oxygen turning it into carbon dioxide making the
air impossible to breathe and therefore fatal also a fan blowing on you all night can make
your body temperature drop so low that it causes hypothermia then death every summer to this day
south korean newscasters and grandmothers warn about fan death to anyone who will listen
from a government can superstircy in south korea now to aspiracy in turkey
that is so super nobody bothers to question it if you've got a big date at istanbul's
hottest new restaurant you should probably stick to mouthwash to freshen your breath
that's because there's a turkish superstition that once the sun goes down
chewing gum turns into the human flesh of the dead though nobody knows the true origin of this story
again it's best to heed the warning since chewing human flesh is typically a deal breaker
never has a superstition been as wholesome as this one from iceland
which asserts that knitting outdoors during the winter will prolong the season the weather
plays a big part in the lives of icelanders so there's many myths and superstitions around it
but knitting long ago that old icelandic snow god must have conjured up a nice tough winter
only to look down to see a little old lady casually knitting on her stoop
the nerve knitting on your stoop is actually forbidden in iceland so please take the scarf
you've been working on for months inside watch out groundhog granny helga is moving in on your turf
eating your words will never taste as good as the time you spend new year's eve in spain
where instead of announcing your resolutions it is a tradition to eat or at least attempt
to eat a dozen grapes one per second while the final 12 seconds of the year take away
if you manage to chew and swallow all 12 grapes and people do check then you will have good luck
in the new year if you aren't able to chew all 12 you'll have bad luck which probably means you're
gonna choke on the grapes but wait does choking give you bad luck or does the bad luck make you
choke usually when you violate a superstition someone will tell you
not to worry it's not the end of the world unless you're in india during a solar eclipse
in which case sorry no the world is pretty much ending it is widely believed that the sun's rays
become toxic during the event so everyone stays inside cars pull off the road some stock brokers
stop trading and the local newspapers report on the event warning people to stay indoors
some people even fast for the entire day fearing that the sun's rays may have poisoned their food
at the same time and completely inconsistent with the above some people believe that bearing
a child up to its neck during an eclipse will cure them of their ailments here we go a nice
straightforward and yet nonsensical british and north american superstition say rabbit rabbit
as the first words of the month and you'll have good luck for the next 30 days if you happen to
miss your alarm that morning do not fret just say tip or timber when you go to sleep hint tibber is
rabbit backwards so it's whimsical it's like a third grader came up with it for a class project
why rabbit and not banana or bears because rabbits have been a symbol of luck in many cultures for
over 2 thousand years perhaps it's because rabbits use their speed and cunning to outwit predators
according to seedy times square hotel rooms built in the 70s mirrors facing the bed are supposed to
be sexy but according to the chinese practice of feng shui it's more like bao chicka womp
womp mirrors facing the bed are believed to cause nightmares and soul stealing a feng shui expert
explains when we sleep at night our soul leaves the body when the soul sees its own reflection
it gets startled hence the bad dreams and nightmares others say when a soul returns to the
body it may mistake the image in the mirror from the real body hence the saying of soul stealing
so no matter the circumstances if you can see your bed's reflection you are bound for a rough night
everyone has had a run in with some party poopers in their day but due to a
particularly outrageous superstition if you lived in syria during the 1930s and played with a yo-yo
you ran the risk of encountering the literal fun police back then syria was experiencing
a drought and extreme cold which was having a disastrous effect on the nation's cattle
and the muslim chiefs at damascus believe the downward and upward cycle of the yo-yos
were counteracting their prayers for rain the chiefs expressed their concern over the toy's
evil influence to the prime minister who immediately sent police into the streets
to confiscate any and all yo-yos no matter how good somebody was at walking the dog
so there you have them the most bizarre superstitions of all time maybe you think
they're funny or silly or ridiculous or maybe you're extremely stitious and believe everything
you just learned but either way we can all agree that they're a fascinating look into cultures from
around the world and no matter where you live whistling can get lost it's either annoying or
creepy and makes certain people feel bad no matter how hard they try they can't do it so just quit
you