Friday the 13th July 13, 2007

Friday the 13th

By Guest Contributor
July 13, 2007

There’s a tradition for some college (and adult) atheist groups on Friday the 13th. They will hold an event called a “Superstition Bash.”

The groups will get a table and sit in a public area. Their purpose is to show we shouldn’t give much thought to silly superstitions. Maybe there’s a ladder nearby that you can walk under, or a black cat you can pet, or a small glass mirror that you can break with a hammer (safety precautions are used, of course).

My favorite is when groups bring a hair dryer and offer to “de-baptize” you. Obviously, it doesn’t do any such thing, but the symbolism might be meaningful to some.

What other suggestions do you have for superstitions we can bash today?

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  • This is so neat! (Although I gotta say, walking under a ladder always seemed like a reasonable superstition to me. In fact, it sort of falls under the header “common sense.”)

    Other possibilities:

    Spill salt and don’t do anything about it other than clean it up.

    Don’t say anything when people sneeze. Okay, that’s not very visible — hard to make a public spectacle out of not doing something. How about saying something entirely secular when people sneeze, like, “I’m sorry you sneezed.

    You could have a pole for couples to walk on either side of.

    And if you watch cop shows and movies, be sure to tell lots of people that you only have a few days left until retirement.

    BTW, did you ever see the “Top Gun” spoof “Hot Shots”? There’s a very funny scene where the character named Deadmeat is going on his big flying mission, and a whole series of bad luck premonition things happen one after the other — he walks under a ladder, he breaks a mirror, a black cat crosses his path, he starts to sign his life insurance policy but the pen runs out of ink so he says he’ll do it when he gets back… etc., etc., etc., until it gets so obvious it’s absurd. This is reminding me of that.

    BTW, how do people react to these events? Do people get freaked out at all?

  • AV

  • During your morning constitutional or evening stroll:

    Step on the cracks in the sidewalk

    “Split the pole” while walking with someone

    Allow the black cat in your neighborhood to cross your path.

    (that’s a decent start)

  • Suggestions for a superstition we can bash today? Hmmmm…oh I don’t know…how about religion?

  • Speaking of superstitions, I’m a civil engineer and I’m working on modifications to an old subway structure. The existing gridlines are labelled 11Y, 12Y1, 12Y2, 14Y, 15Y etc.

    Anyway, how about walking course where you try to step on as many cracks in the sidewalk as possible? If it’s sunny, have a car washing station.

    ps. loved Hot Shots, much better than Top Gun.

  • 1. The wisdom of markets.
    2. Memes.
    3. The free press in the U.S. serves the peoples’ right to know.
    4. NPR is a liberal alternative to the corporate media.
    5. Sam Harris is a scientist.

  • Susan

    If I were at home instead of here at school for the summer, I’d be petting and cuddling with my black cat all day!

    Actually, it occurs to me I may actually be having an overdose of superstition today, since I’m reading a book that (like all that author’s books) has no Chapter 13.

    Let’s see…you could say “Macbeth” inside a theatre?

  • 1. The wisdom of markets.
    2. Memes.
    3. The free press in the U.S. serves the peoples’ right to know.
    4. NPR is a liberal alternative to the corporate media.
    5. Sam Harris is a scientist.

    I second these. Especially the first one.

  • monkeymind

    you could say “Macbeth” inside a theatre?

    Thou scoffer! “The Scottish Play,” an it please thee, lest any of our good players shouldst break a leg!

  • I actually wrote about this back in February when Microsoft announced it was going to skip Office 13 in favor of Office 14.

    I’m just going to live my day as usual. Just like I am going to live it on Saturday the 14th, Sunday the 15th, etc.

  • Karen

    So far my Friday the 13th has been nothing short of lucky. I spent a delightful morning with my favorite colleagues, then went to buy shoes and got the very last available pair in my size at the store -AND they were on sale for $30 less than I typically pay!

    Now, if I can just get through the next several hours without calamity striking … 😉

  • Mriana

    You know, I never gave Fri. 13 a second thought. It’s just another day, but truth be told, I generally have a lot of good on those days (just not a new comp today. 🙁 )

  • Polly

    I generall try to walk under ladders and step on cracks on any given day. Breaking mirrors can get a little expensive and black cats are rare around here. Friday the 13th is wonderful as are all Fridays. 🙂

    ps. loved Hot Shots, much better than Top Gun.

    I’ll second THAT.

  • Mriana

    Hey, I live with a black cat AND I have a white cat and a calico cat. I don’t believe in bad luck esp with cats. Even the black ones give me so much love, that I don’t get where people ever got the idea that black cats are bad luck. 🙄 I think that is one of the dumbest things. Of nothing about the superstitions on Friday 13 makes sense to me or any other superstitions.