Happy Friday the 13th!

Published on November 13, 2009 by Erika Taylor in Death in the Museum and News. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

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Collection; Powerhouse Museum.

Unlucky Friday the 13th is apparently the most popular superstition in the world. I, for one, do not have supersititious beliefs, I open umbrellas inside, I like black cats, and I confidently walk under ladders. If you do fear Friday the 13th you have a paraskevidekatriaphobia, and I suggest you cease reading this post immediately.I dedicate this post to all our readers, may you have an unremarkable Friday the 13th! Here are some superstitious things from our collection:

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Collection; Powerhouse Museum

Toy cat from the Jandaschewsky collection

Superstition: If a black cat walks towards you it brings good luck, if it walks away from you it takes your luck away.

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Collection, Powerhouse Museum

NSW ambulance service ambulance.

Superstition: Seeing an ambulance is bad luck unless you pinch your nose or hold your breathe until you see a black or brown dog.

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Collection, Powerhouse Museum

Anatomical model of the human ear.

Superstition: If your right ear itches someone is speaking well of you, if your left ear itches someone is speaking ill of you.

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Collection, Powerhouse Museum.

Tailor’s scissors

Superstition: If you drop a pair of scissors it means your lover is being unfaithful to you.

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Collard and Collard Collection, Powerhouse Museum

Pencil from the Collard and Collard Collection

(This one is dedicated to all those students sitting their HSC exams at the moment)
Superstition: Use the same pencil to take a test that you used for studying as the pencil remembers the answers!

Do you have any little quirks when Friday the 13th comes around? Avoid cracks in the pavement? Throw salt over your shoulder? I want to hear some whacky ones!

  • http://www.quotify.com.au Benji

    Dam wish I knew about this pencil superstition then I would have had a good excuse for my poor results

  • Ames

    My little kooky superstitious obsession is compulsively picking up 5 and 10 cent pieces I see on the ground. Every time I see change on the ground the rhyme “Find a penny pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck”. Today I looked it up and found a second verse I didn’t know about: “Find a penny, leave it be….and bad luck will come to thee.” And also “Give a penny to a friend and your luck will never end.”

    In a completely non scientific demonstration of this superstition I found a 5 cent piece on the stairs at my friends house where I went for fitness training this morning, then a 10 cent piece a few steps up. I picked both of them up. After my session I was walking out their front garden when I saw a $10 note half buried in his garden! I picked it up and gave it to my friend, who then deducted it from the cost of my training!

  • Erika Dicker

    Amy that is a great story!