Old Superstitions and Where They Came From: Salt, Cats, Mirrors & 1,000 Years of Strange Beliefs | The Strange History Podcast

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome back, my dearly superstitious listeners to the Strange History Podcast,

0:04 Speaker 1: where facts get weird, ghosts get chatty, and history always

0:08 Speaker 1: knocks on wood before speaking. Tonight, we're unpacking some of

0:13 Speaker 1: humanity's strangest beliefs, the things our ancestors feared so much

0:17 Speaker 1: they invented rules about salt, cats, and even the number thirteen.

0:23 Speaker 1: These are the superstitions that haunted dinner tables, ships and

0:26 Speaker 1: bedrooms for centuries and occasionally still sneak into our lives today.

0:32 Speaker 1: So grab your lucky charm, toss a pinch of salt,

0:35 Speaker 1: and let's wander down history's creaky hallway of irrational fears.

0:40 Speaker 1: Let's start with something every clumsy person knows too well,

0:43 Speaker 1: spilled salt. In ancient Rome, salt was worth its weight

0:47 Speaker 1: in gold. Soldiers were paid in it literally where we

0:51 Speaker 1: get the word salary. So if you spilled it, you

0:55 Speaker 1: weren't just making a mess, you were basically wasting your

0:58 Speaker 1: paycheck and inviting missforts to dinner. To make matters worse,

1:02 Speaker 1: medieval Europe decided that spilling salt also tempted the devil himself,

1:08 Speaker 1: but salvation came in the form of a quick toss

1:11 Speaker 1: a pinch over the left shoulder to blind old scratch

1:15 Speaker 1: before he could whisper bad luck into your ear. Leonardo

1:18 Speaker 1: da Vinci even painted Judas spilling salt in the Last Supper,

1:22 Speaker 1: sealing the idea forever. Personally, when I spill salt, I

1:26 Speaker 1: toss some over both shoulders, mostly because I'm not coordinated

1:30 Speaker 1: enough to remember which side is the devil side.

1:33 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by Salt Begone, the world's first

1:37 Speaker 2: vacuum made specifically for exercising your countertops, because a clean

1:42 Speaker 2: kitchen is a blessed kitchen.

1:44 Speaker 1: Mirrors the original selfie device, and apparently a cursed one.

1:49 Speaker 1: The ancient Romans believed a mirror reflected not just your face,

1:53 Speaker 1: but your soul. Break it and you shatter your spiritual self.

1:57 Speaker 1: The soul they thought, renewed every seven years, hence seven

2:02 Speaker 1: years of bad luck. Fast forward to the Renaissance, when

2:05 Speaker 1: mirrors were made of polished silver and cost more than

2:08 Speaker 1: a small house. If you broke one, it wasn't just

2:11 Speaker 1: a superstition, it was a financial catastrophe. Servants could lose

2:16 Speaker 1: months of wages over a single crack. So next time

2:19 Speaker 1: you break a mirror, just remember it could be worse.

2:23 Speaker 1: You could be living in sixteen hundreds venice, owing your

2:26 Speaker 1: boss a soul and three months rent.

2:29 Speaker 2: Today's show is also brought to you by Mirror Men,

2:33 Speaker 2: the first adhesive tape guaranteed to fix your reflection and

2:36 Speaker 2: your reputation. Warning does not repair souls.

2:40 Speaker 1: Now, let's talk about black cats. Sleek, elegant, and historically slandered.

2:46 Speaker 1: In ancient Egypt, cats were sacred protectors of homes and grain,

2:51 Speaker 1: and killing one was punishable by death. But in medieval

2:55 Speaker 1: Europe people flipped the script entirely. Black cats became a

3:00 Speaker 1: accused of being witches, familiars, shape shifters, or even witches themselves.

3:05 Speaker 1: The church declared them omens of Satan, and the cat

3:08 Speaker 1: cull began. Ironically, this wiped out one of the best

3:12 Speaker 1: defenses against rats, which helped spread the black plague. So really,

3:17 Speaker 1: the superstition about cats being unlucky turned out to be

3:20 Speaker 1: the most unlucky superstition of all. If cats could talk,

3:24 Speaker 1: I'm sure they'd say, you fools, we were trying to

3:26 Speaker 1: help you. Then they'd knock a goblet off your table

3:29 Speaker 1: for emphasis.

3:31 Speaker 2: This episode is sponsored by Catastrophe Insurance, protecting you from

3:35 Speaker 2: broken mirrors, spilled salt, and feline revenge. Since thirteen forty eight.

3:40 Speaker 1: Ladders simple, useful and apparently portals to doom. In early

3:45 Speaker 1: Christian symbolism, a ladder leaning against a wall formed a

3:49 Speaker 1: triangle representing the Holy Trinity. Passing through it meant breaking

3:54 Speaker 1: that sacred shape. Add in the fact that ladders were

3:58 Speaker 1: also used at gallows, and walking beneath one was basically

4:02 Speaker 1: like volunteering to be next. Today people still avoid walking

4:06 Speaker 1: under ladders, though mostly for practical reasons like not wanting

4:10 Speaker 1: a wrench to fall on their skull. So maybe this

4:13 Speaker 1: one's less superstition and more Darwin Award prevention.

4:19 Speaker 2: This safety tip is brought to you by Stairway to Heaven.

4:21 Speaker 2: Ladders guaranteed to get you high safely, spiritually, or otherwise.

4:28 Speaker 1: Then there's the charming belief that getting pooped on by

4:30 Speaker 1: a bird brings good luck. This one began in Russia,

4:35 Speaker 1: where it was said that bird droppings were a symbol

4:37 Speaker 1: of unexpected wealth. The logic if something so random and

4:42 Speaker 1: gross could happen, then surely good fortune could too. Sailors

4:46 Speaker 1: believed the same thing bird poop meant calm seas and

4:50 Speaker 1: safe voyages, because when you're months away from land, you'll

4:53 Speaker 1: take any good omen that doesn't involve drowning. So next

4:57 Speaker 1: time a seagull targets you, don't get mad, get optimistic.

5:02 Speaker 1: You just got funded by fate.

5:05 Speaker 2: This episode is also sponsored by Pooh Tection, the only

5:08 Speaker 2: umbrella app that sends you an alert when birds are overhead.

5:11 Speaker 2: Pooh Happens be prepared.

5:14 Speaker 1: Friday the thirteenth, the day the calendar itself seems to flinch.

5:19 Speaker 1: Long before it was the title of a horror movie,

5:22 Speaker 1: it was already cursed. Norse legend tells of twelve gods

5:25 Speaker 1: feasting in Valhalla before Loki the trickster crashed the party

5:29 Speaker 1: as the thirteenth guest, Chaos ensued and one god died

5:34 Speaker 1: proof Apparently that odd numbers ruin everything. Centuries later, Christianity

5:40 Speaker 1: gave the superstition new fuel thirteen guests at the Last

5:44 Speaker 1: Supper Crucifixion on a Friday, the unholy combo stuck, and

5:49 Speaker 1: humanity's favorite unlucky day was born. To this day, hotels

5:53 Speaker 1: skip room thirteen, airlines skip row thirteen, and I skip

5:58 Speaker 1: work on Friday the thirteenth, just to respect the ancient math.

6:03 Speaker 2: This frightful fact brought to you by Friday's Off, the

6:07 Speaker 2: world's first excuse generator for taking cursed days off work.

6:11 Speaker 2: Say it's spiritual, we won't tell hr.

6:14 Speaker 1: Let's move on to the world's most delicious anti vampire weapon, garlic.

6:19 Speaker 1: From ancient Greece to the Balkans, garlic was believed to

6:22 Speaker 1: repel evil spirits, sickness and the undead. Romans hung it

6:27 Speaker 1: around newborns, and in Transylvania people rubbed it on door

6:31 Speaker 1: frames to keep vampires away. Even science agrees garlic really

6:35 Speaker 1: does kill bacteria, so it's not mystical, just medicinal and

6:40 Speaker 1: maybe a little smelly. If Dracula ever shows up at

6:44 Speaker 1: my door, I'll greet him with an entire garlic bread loaf.

6:48 Speaker 1: If that doesn't work, at least I'll die deliciously.

6:52 Speaker 2: This hour of protection is brought to you by garlic,

6:55 Speaker 2: not guardians. Vampires hate them, cardiologists love them.

7:00 Speaker 1: Next, the oldest justin case superstition of all knocking on wood.

7:06 Speaker 1: Long before ikia furniture existed, ancient Celts believed that spirits

7:10 Speaker 1: lived inside trees. If you needed a little luck, you'd

7:14 Speaker 1: knock on the trunk to wake a friendly spirit. If

7:17 Speaker 1: you wanted to keep quiet about your good fortune, you'd

7:20 Speaker 1: knock to prevent jealous spirits from hearing you. Later Christians

7:24 Speaker 1: adapted the custom, saying the wood represented the cross. Today,

7:29 Speaker 1: I knock on wood so often my neighbors think I'm

7:31 Speaker 1: summoning Morse code ghosts.

7:33 Speaker 2: Knocking on wood brought to you by tree Mail, the

7:36 Speaker 2: app that lets you send gratitude directly to local forest

7:39 Speaker 2: spirits with one easy tap.

7:42 Speaker 1: The rabbit's foot, that furry little token of luck that's

7:46 Speaker 1: equal parts adorable and disturbing. This superstition began with Celtic tribes,

7:51 Speaker 1: who saw rabbits as magical beings that could speak to

7:55 Speaker 1: gods because they lived underground. Later, African and a American

8:00 Speaker 1: hoodoo traditions made it specific. Only the left hind foot

8:04 Speaker 1: of a rabbit caught in a graveyard at midnight brought luck.

8:07 Speaker 1: By the twentieth century, it became a keychain fad, proof

8:11 Speaker 1: that humans can turn literally anything into merch.

8:15 Speaker 2: This story is brought to you by Lucky Bun Rabbit

8:17 Speaker 2: foot alternatives. No rabbits harmed, no midnight graveyards required. Now

8:23 Speaker 2: in pink sparkle.

8:25 Speaker 1: The horseshoe, simple, shiny, and powerful against evil. In medieval lore,

8:30 Speaker 1: iron was a sacred metal that frightened witches and fairies,

8:34 Speaker 1: and the shape a crescent moon symbolized fertility and protection.

8:40 Speaker 1: Legend says Saint Dunstan, a blacksmith once nailed a horseshoe

8:44 Speaker 1: to the devil's hoof. The devil screamed in pain until

8:48 Speaker 1: Dunstan agreed to remove it on one condition, he must

8:51 Speaker 1: never enter a home with a horseshoe hanging above the door.

8:55 Speaker 1: I don't know if it works on demons, but it's

8:57 Speaker 1: definitely effective at keeping door to door salesman a wway.

9:01 Speaker 2: This divine tale is sponsored by Lucky Hoof Hardware, the

9:06 Speaker 2: only home improvement store where demons pay full price.

9:10 Speaker 1: And then there's the evil Eye, that unblinking blue charm

9:14 Speaker 1: that's been glaring back at misfortune for thousands of years.

9:18 Speaker 1: In ancient Mesopotamia, Greece and the Middle East, people believed

9:23 Speaker 1: envy could curse you through a single glance. To protect themselves,

9:27 Speaker 1: they wore talismans shaped like eyes, a spiritual mirror that

9:32 Speaker 1: bounced the bad vibes right back. Archaeologists have found these

9:36 Speaker 1: charms dating to three thousand, three hundred BCE. The design

9:41 Speaker 1: hasn't changed much in five thousand years, proof that side

9:45 Speaker 1: eye has always been a universal problem. Today, I wear

9:49 Speaker 1: one just to ward off angry social media posts. So far,

9:53 Speaker 1: so good. Finally, let's end on something beautiful. Wishing upon

9:57 Speaker 1: a star. From the astronomers of ancient Greece to medieval dreamers,

10:01 Speaker 1: people believe that shooting stars were moments when gods peeked

10:04 Speaker 1: down at Earth. Make a wish at just the right moment,

10:08 Speaker 1: and they might hear it. Over time, that celestial hope

10:11 Speaker 1: became a nightly ritual, a blend of science, faith and

10:15 Speaker 1: childhood magic. Today, we still whisper our wishes to the

10:20 Speaker 1: night sky, knowing full well it's probably a chunk of

10:23 Speaker 1: space junk burning up. But hey, if it keeps hope alive,

10:27 Speaker 1: that's pretty magical in itself.

10:30 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by wish Star, the only app

10:33 Speaker 2: that records your wishes before gravity ruins them. Download today

10:38 Speaker 2: and make your dreams slightly more data driven.

10:41 Speaker 1: And that, Dear listeners, concludes Part one of Old superstitions

10:45 Speaker 1: and where they came from. We've thrown salt, dodged ladders,

10:50 Speaker 1: and learned that sometimes luck just falls from the sky.

10:54 Speaker 1: Join me next for Part two, where we'll uncover thirteen

10:58 Speaker 1: more bizarre beliefs, from lucky chimney sweeps to cursed umbrellas,

11:03 Speaker 1: and maybe discover why toasting wine is less about manners

11:07 Speaker 1: and more about ancient survival. Until then, knock on wood,

11:11 Speaker 1: hang your horse shoes high, and keep your cats close.

11:15 Speaker 1: I'm Amy reminding you that in the grand story of

11:18 Speaker 1: strange history, maybe superstition isn't so irrational after all.