Bizarre Old Superstitions: Umbrellas, Chimney Sweeps & Deadly Omens | The Strange History Podcast

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome back, my brave and possibly doomed listeners. Last week

0:04 Speaker 1: we spilled salt, knocked on wood, and nearly blinded the devil.

0:09 Speaker 1: This week, we're taking it further. Thirteen more superstitions from

0:12 Speaker 1: the past that prove humans will believe anything if it

0:16 Speaker 1: helps us feel like we're in control. From cursed umbrellas

0:19 Speaker 1: to lucky chimney sweeps. Let's open history's attic and see

0:23 Speaker 1: what falls on our heads. Let's start with that time

0:26 Speaker 1: honored piece of bad luck, opening an umbrella indoors. This

0:32 Speaker 1: belief dates back to the eighteenth century London, when umbrellas

0:35 Speaker 1: were made of metal spokes so sharp they could probably

0:39 Speaker 1: double as medieval weapons. Opening one inside could easily put

0:43 Speaker 1: someone's eye out or knock over your host's priceless porcelain dog. Naturally,

0:49 Speaker 1: this led to the superstition that it offended the sun god,

0:53 Speaker 1: who apparently didn't like shade where it didn't belong. So

0:56 Speaker 1: technically this isn't a superstition, it's just good manners with

1:00 Speaker 1: extra drama.

1:02 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by Safe Shade, the world's first

1:06 Speaker 2: umbrella guaranteed not to anger ancient deities. Open indoors at

1:10 Speaker 2: your own enlightenment.

1:12 Speaker 1: Next up, itchy palms. According to folklore, if your left

1:16 Speaker 1: palm itches, you'll lose money. If you're right, itches, you'll

1:20 Speaker 1: gain some. The superstition can be traced back to Saxon times,

1:24 Speaker 1: when people used silver to treat skin ailments. The itch

1:28 Speaker 1: meant money was near, or that you had a rash

1:30 Speaker 1: and poor hygiene. Either way, when my palm's itch, I

1:34 Speaker 1: check my venmo and my moisturizer.

1:38 Speaker 2: This financial forecast brought to you by handiluck, the only

1:41 Speaker 2: lotion that hydrates while manifesting abundance, moisturize your destiny.

1:46 Speaker 1: Now, let's raise a glass, because toasting has its own

1:49 Speaker 1: peculiar origin. The ancient Romans feared poisoning so much that

1:53 Speaker 1: they'd bump goblets together, splashing wine into one another's cups

1:57 Speaker 1: to prove trust. Later, people believed you had to make

2:01 Speaker 1: eye contact or risk bad luck, doomed love, or social ruin.

2:07 Speaker 1: In medieval times, folks even said failing to toast the

2:10 Speaker 1: dead might offend their spirits. So next time someone says cheers,

2:15 Speaker 1: remember you're not celebrating, you're performing an ancient anti poison ritual.

2:21 Speaker 2: Today's liquid luck is brought to you. By wine, not

2:25 Speaker 2: the only wine guaranteed not to be cursed, poisoned, or boxed.

2:30 Speaker 1: Stepping on a crack that childhood chant. Step on a crack,

2:34 Speaker 1: break your mother's back. Creepy little rhyme, isn't it. This

2:38 Speaker 1: superstition began in the sixteenth century, when people feared cracks

2:42 Speaker 1: were entrances to the underworld evil spirits could escape through them.

2:46 Speaker 1: Over time, mother's spines got dragged into the deal, because well,

2:52 Speaker 1: everything somehow comes back to your poor mother. Honestly, I

2:55 Speaker 1: avoid cracks, not for luck, just to keep my ankles intact.

3:00 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by Crack Free Living, the new

3:03 Speaker 2: line of orthotic insuls that protect your feet and your

3:06 Speaker 2: mother's back.

3:07 Speaker 1: Probably have you ever tossed coins into a fountain and

3:11 Speaker 1: made a wish, You're actually participating in a pagan water

3:15 Speaker 1: spirit bribe. Ancient Celts and Romans believed wells and springs

3:19 Speaker 1: were inhabited by gods. Offer them coins, jewelry, or if

3:25 Speaker 1: you were feeling dramatic, livestock and they might bless you

3:28 Speaker 1: with good fortune. Today we just use pennies inflation.

3:32 Speaker 2: I guess wishing made easy with fountain pay skip the coins,

3:37 Speaker 2: just tap your phone and watch Poseidon charge your card.

3:41 Speaker 1: Speaking of offerings, ever heard that you shouldn't cross knives

3:44 Speaker 1: on a table? In Norse and Celtic lore, crossed blades

3:48 Speaker 1: symbolized conflict. If you accidentally did it, you were supposed

3:53 Speaker 1: to uncross them immediately to cut the bad luck. Medieval

3:57 Speaker 1: households believed crossed knives meant a coming argument. In some places,

4:01 Speaker 1: it was even a bad omen for marriage. At my house,

4:05 Speaker 1: it just means I'm bad at setting the table onto

4:07 Speaker 1: the next bit of strange. If a bird flies into

4:10 Speaker 1: your house, someone's going to die, or at least that's

4:15 Speaker 1: what victorians believed. This grim superstition might have come from

4:19 Speaker 1: folklore associating birds with spirits. Robins and sparrows were said

4:24 Speaker 1: to carry souls to heaven, so if one came inside,

4:28 Speaker 1: it was delivering a message or collecting postage. I once

4:32 Speaker 1: had a sparrow fly into my kitchen. No deaths followed,

4:36 Speaker 1: but I did have to wash everything twice.

4:39 Speaker 2: This segment brought to you by window cling bird barriers

4:43 Speaker 2: keeping your home ghost free and your bird's concussion free

4:46 Speaker 2: since eighteen ninety nine.

4:49 Speaker 1: Now here's when I adore chimney sweeps bring good luck.

4:53 Speaker 1: In the eighteenth century in England, a soot covered sweep

4:56 Speaker 1: saved King George the Second's life by stopping a runaway carriage. Grateful,

5:02 Speaker 1: the king declared chimney sweeps lucky forever. Soon it became

5:06 Speaker 1: tradition for brides to kiss a sweep on their wedding

5:09 Speaker 1: day for lifelong happiness. Though personally, if a man in

5:13 Speaker 1: soot kissed me on my wedding day, my first wish

5:16 Speaker 1: would be soap.

5:18 Speaker 2: This bit of fortune brought to you by sweepright, the

5:21 Speaker 2: matchmaking app connecting lonely hearts with available chimney professionals. Love

5:26 Speaker 2: is in the air, and so is the soot.

5:29 Speaker 1: And then there's one we still use every day, saying

5:32 Speaker 1: bless you when someone sneezes. This dates back to the

5:36 Speaker 1: bubonic plague. Sneezing was often the first sign of infection,

5:41 Speaker 1: so people said God bless you to ward off death itself.

5:45 Speaker 1: Pope Gregory the Great even made it official in the

5:48 Speaker 1: sixth century. So technically every bless you is an ancient

5:53 Speaker 1: emergency prayer disguised as small.

5:55 Speaker 2: Talk, brought to you by gazoooned tight, the world's first

6:00 Speaker 2: sneeze activated hand sanitizer. Every bless you comes with SPF

6:05 Speaker 2: and purel.

6:07 Speaker 1: Whistling indoors another seemingly harmless habit with a cursed reputation.

6:12 Speaker 1: In many cultures, whistling inside was believed to summon spirits, demons,

6:16 Speaker 1: or bad weather. Sailors were especially wary. A whistle on

6:21 Speaker 1: a ship could whistle up a storm. Personally, the only

6:25 Speaker 1: storm I've ever summoned by whistling is my dog, who

6:28 Speaker 1: assumes I'm holding cheese. Breaking bread with others isn't just

6:32 Speaker 1: a meal, It's a ritual. Ancient superstition warned never to

6:36 Speaker 1: turn a loaf upside down or cut it before it cooled.

6:40 Speaker 1: Bread symbolized life itself, and mistreating it invited famine or sorrow.

6:46 Speaker 1: In France, Baker's even left one loaf unmarked l'pan de boureau,

6:51 Speaker 1: or the executioner's bread, out of fear that slicing it

6:55 Speaker 1: wrong would anger death himself. No pressure when you're just

6:59 Speaker 1: trying to make a sandand which seeing a single magpie

7:02 Speaker 1: bad luck. Two magpies good, three a wedding, four a birth.

7:09 Speaker 1: This British rhyme dates to the seventeen hundreds, when magpies

7:12 Speaker 1: were believed to be thieves, stealing shiny things and carrying

7:16 Speaker 1: messages between worlds. The rhyme gave people a sense of

7:19 Speaker 1: control over random chance. To this day, some Brits still

7:24 Speaker 1: salute a lone magpie and say hello, mister magpie, how's

7:28 Speaker 1: your wife, as if they're checking in with a feathery

7:31 Speaker 1: mafia down.

7:32 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by Magipie Bakery, where every slice

7:36 Speaker 2: comes with good fortune and optional curses. Try the lucky crust,

7:41 Speaker 2: it's to die for.

7:43 Speaker 1: And finally, let's talk about house spirits, the old belief

7:46 Speaker 1: that every home had invisible guardians. In Slavic folklore, it

7:51 Speaker 1: was the domovoi, a mischievous old man who lived by

7:54 Speaker 1: the stove. In Scotland, it was the brownie. You had

7:58 Speaker 1: to leave offerings a crust of bread a bowl of

8:02 Speaker 1: milk to keep them happy. Forget to feed them and

8:05 Speaker 1: they'd hide your tools, spoil your milk, or worse, curse

8:09 Speaker 1: your luck. Basically the original version of a grumpy room mate.

8:15 Speaker 2: Tonight's peace offering is brought to you by Brownie Bites,

8:18 Speaker 2: the only midnight snack guaranteed to keep your house spirit

8:21 Speaker 2: satisfied and your milk unsoured.

8:24 Speaker 1: And there you have it. From soot covered sweeps to

8:27 Speaker 1: whispering house spirits, our ancestors found omens in every sneeze, spoon,

8:33 Speaker 1: and seagull. Maybe superstition isn't about ignorance. Maybe it's about comfort,

8:39 Speaker 1: because deep down, we all want to believe we can

8:42 Speaker 1: influence fate, even if it means saluting birds or refusing

8:46 Speaker 1: to open umbrellas inside. Thank you for joining me on

8:50 Speaker 1: this two part journey through history's strangest beliefs. I'm Amy

8:54 Speaker 1: reminding you to stay curious, stay strange, and above all,

8:58 Speaker 1: stay lucky,