I mean, if you think about it, the brain is kinda
just like the lasagna. Layer on layer on layer.
Welcome to the show, people. Welcome to the show.
Eat my shorts. So here is to conversation. Welcome
to the Cash Exchange. Welcome. How have you been?
How was your... What 80 degree winter? It is
824 in the PM and it is 70 on this beautiful
December evening. It was a nice and sunny day.
I went out to run errands today and it's been
raining, but it is still shorts in a tank top
weather outside. Yeah. Which granted Texans don't
have their bar in the right place, but everyone
is still enjoying the warm weather. Yeah. Now
Texas always gets its stuff like end of January,
February. and then it'll last for three days
and it'll be miserable and everyone's crashing
their cars and the bread and milk is all gone.
But then after those days are up, then we're
good to go for another 363 days. Yeah. I have
the misfortune of having to drive a U -Haul or
have somebody drive a U -Haul for me during the
two weeks of winter that we get. Yeah. So I'm
crossing my fingers that I'm in the the good
zone this go -around. You excited? I am, yeah.
I am coming back to DFW. Does that mean live
episode recording again? I mean, technically,
it's always live episode recording. Technically,
but there's just something you miss out on when
you're not in the same room. This is true. I
mean, you're in Miami right now, so there's still
some degree of separation. Yes. This isn't just
a Texan podcast, guys. Even when you come back,
there's still going to be... plenty of ones where
we're in different time zones, but it'll be nice
to have some that are IRL. Where we can sidestep
some of the technical issues that we've run into.
Yes. Namely my apartment building's god -awful
Wi -Fi. I cannot wait until you get reasonable
Wi -Fi again. First world problem. I agree, but
when you're trying to do this and We have to
torpedo an entire episode because of your stupid
internet. That is fair. And it was going to be
a good one too. It was going to be a good one.
Maybe December of 2026. Yeah. You want to know
what your three things are for today? Yes. Three
things, please. All right. So your three things
for today are mirrors, brooms, and black cats.
Huh. Mirrors, brooms, and black cats. Are there
levels to this? Like can you be semi or maybe
super? Yeah, I believe there are levels to this.
So, you could be a little stitious or you could
be superstitious? You could be a little stitious
or you could believe that all of these things
bring bad luck and you could be the perfect target
for our episode today. Superstitions. I... Do
not likes to superstitions. Do you, is that a
blanket statement? None of the superstitions?
Okay. Well, let me, let me say this. I generally
do not believe in superstitions, but I don't
do things to welcome possible outcomes from superstitious
things. Okay. I'm going to need you to elaborate
on that. Okay. I work around a lot of ladders.
If I'm walking up to a ladder, I will take the
extra three steps to go on the outside of the
ladder versus walking under the ladder. Okay.
I don't believe that if I just make that straight
line under the ladder, that I'm going to be cursed
for always an eternity. But just like why welcome
it in, you know? I think in that particular instance,
the Supercision that comes with that was probably
just based on a lot of people who regularly use
ladders who are pissed off because people were
making them unsafe by not walking those steps
to go around the ladder. This is just a bunch
of like handymen that were just really mad that
people were knocking stuff over. I will say I
was in Boston and I was working on a rooftop.
It was only, I don't know, maybe 18 feet. to
the top of the roof. I had an extension ladder
set up against the, from the sidewalk to the
edge of the roof. And while I was up there, some
jackass came by and kicked my ladder out from
off the roof. I would be 1000 % on board if that
person kicked it out from under the ladder and
was cursed for eternity. I think in that situation,
It's karma. I don't think that happened, but
it's karma for me. No. Do bad things and bad
things happen. Is that that thing Carson Daly
was talking about? Yeah. Right from Carson Daly's
lips to your morphine -laced ears. Yeah. And
I had to, luckily there were enough surfaces
that I could just kind of parkour my way down.
Did you say parkour as you were making this trek?
I thought it. I mean, it was just me, so I guess
I could have said it and it would have been no
harm, no foul. But I realized that day that parkour
was not in my future because I got real scraped
up. I mean, if nothing else, then that jackass
Bostonian had me realize the fact that my parkouring
dream was never to come true. The truth comes
for us all eventually. Silver lining, I guess.
Do you? Try to find silver linings. How good
are you at finding silver linings in any situation?
I am great at it to the point of delusion sometimes.
Same. It must be a DNA thing. I am a very positive
person and I will always try to find the upside
of a thing that happens no matter how sucky it
might be on its face. Because I believe that
even the worst things that happen to us are still
lessons. That's what I say. And although that
is not fun to think about, to think that a sucky
thing is in your best interest, I still think
that there's upsides to anything. When I look
back at situations in my life where things have
gone to hell in a handbasket, I can pull out
at least one thing. one good thing that came
out of it. And I think that is very important
for not driving yourself crazy. Yeah, definitely.
And it is not something that I have always been
good at and it's not something that I've always
wanted to do. Past five years or so of my life
have given me pause and the want to reflect on
whatever's happened and how to make the best
of it. Yeah. I think in the worst case scenarios,
once you are kind of distance from the situation,
if nothing else, you can find solace in the fact
that you're not in that anymore. You're through
it. Yeah. I've definitely found myself in that
position a lot where, like, I kind of take a
moment to do that reflecting and then I realize
how not great a situation was for me. And then
I'm like, oh, well, that sucks. I don't... necessarily
want to think about it but I'm not I'm not there
anymore so go me doing better there are situations
that I have found myself in either by my own
choices or by my own decisions that I probably
technically should not be here to record this
podcast yeah but I did I made it through I I
overcame rose above just uh came out the other
side, maybe not better for it, but with a better
mindset because of it. That's important growth.
It is. I am a superstitious person to an extent.
I think that there is a lot of things that sound
like nonsense for like where they came from,
why we still practice them, whatever, which we'll
get into a little bit later. But I also feel
like sometimes doing a thing just brings a minimal
amount of joy and it doesn't take like anything
out of your day. Like I realized the other day,
which is actually kind of what made me think
about this. I said something that was not super
positive and I knocked on wood after I said that.
And I realized that I do that a lot. Because
of Taylor Swift. Don't you dare. Interesting,
interesting. You are living the life of a showgirl.
I will end this episode right now. She's not
that bad. The Life of a Showgirl was not a good
album. Knock on Wood was not a good song. Life
of a Showgirl, the song, that's great. It's got,
it's supposedly got Britney Spears. Fate of Ophelia,
that's a great song. It's a jam. I personally
did not like anything that I heard of Life of
a Showgirl. And we did miss our episode on Taylor
Alice and Swift. Well, we'll come back around.
I did all this background work. And for what?
For next December 13th, perhaps. I don't know.
That's definitely one that we all have to be
in the same room. Yeah. So it gets real heated.
It's not gonna get real heated. Get real down
in the mud. I'm not gonna be mean about Taylor
Swift. She is just not my vibe. For whatever
reason, the seven -year -old is completely obsessed
with the song Elizabeth Taylor. She has no clue
who Elizabeth Taylor is. Yeah. But she's a big
fan of the song. I don't know that I remember
which song that is. The only ones I specifically
know are Wood, Fate of Ophelia, and Opalite.
You don't like Opalite? That's so cheery. It's
fine. I don't know. I'm not... I'm not the target
demographic I think for much of her music which
is fine that's not everything is for everyone.
Did you actually knock on wood? So I do this
a good amount and it has become a habit of mine
but I definitely don't always knock on wood specifically
because there's not always like I have plasterboard
cabinets like it's or like press board cabinets
so technically it's probably wood. That's wood.
But I'm also not going to get up and go seek
out the nearest piece of wood if I have if I
say a thing that might incite bad luck. So it's
a thing that like I do not for the superstition
because if I did I would be seeking out the actual
thing I'm supposed to be like touching in this
situation. Fajah knocks on wood. Oh interesting
I didn't know that. All the time mid -conversation
and I'll ask him how his stuff's going and he
says I got something else lined up. Oh yeah he
does. Hope it works out. Yeah. Apparently, because
I've had this conversation with Nate, apparently
Europeans will knock on glass and I don't necessarily
understand that one also for reasons that we'll
get into a little bit later. That seems a lot
more dangerous. I mean, you're not trying to
like punch it. I don't think you're supposed
to punch wood in that situation either. You just
like tap it like an aquarium. No, don't do that.
As a proud fish father. As a proud fish father.
That is the worst thing you can do. within the
query of his tap on the glass. I always swim
shady these days, Catherine Data Jones. Well,
I don't know when the last time I updated our
listeners on the goings -on of our little colony,
but about four months ago, one of them was just
really lethargic and just not having it and got
super fat and then super skinny and then would
just like hang around the bottom. And so I had
to research humane euthanasia for fish. I went
to the store and had to buy, was it eucalyptus
essential oil? Something, something very potent.
And as soon as I opened it, it smelled up the
whole house. And you have to put them in a separate
bowl. And then you just have to put them on like
a drip of eucalyptus until they just are no more.
But at this point, like this fish was barely
breathing. And so I would put the drops in there.
I'd come back like 30 minutes later, think that
the deed was done, and then little Gil would
flap. Son of a bitch. Another round. Anyways,
yeah, we gave him a proper burial at sea. With
uh... Actual Seath? Did you take him to like
Galveston? I mean, all pipes eventually went
lead to the sea. So, it's like he got like a
water slide ride beforehand. Was this the uh,
the occasion where you saw Ave Maria at the Toilet
Bowl? Yes. Yes it is. I forgot we sent you that
video. Oh, that was after the time uh, where
we had our previous set of four Tetras that I
replaced their water. And I don't know what happened.
I don't know if I got sidetracked or if I got
distracted, but I forgot to put the dechlorinator
in the, in the tank before I put them back in.
And so I poisoned them all with chlorine. Oh
my God. Yeah. That was, yeah, that was a mass
funeral. It was, it was very upsetting. I would
imagine that's why you went the... the Kevorkian
route to gently lead your other one to his end.
It was traumatizing because just one of them
dropped off and they're like, what the hell's
going on? And then another one and then another
one and then the fourth one. And you feel like
a monster. I don't know how, I don't know how
Bundy did it. I've always been curious how, why
people are still like giving guinea pigs to their
children because I have literally never heard
a story of a guinea pig ownership going right.
I have never heard of a guinea pig just dying
of old age. It's always the most traumatizing
thing that could possibly happen to your pet.
Got lost in our hideaway sofa or hideaway bed.
Found it like six months later behind the fridge
still kicking it. You come back from college
and he just slowly meets you at the door. Charles!
I don't know what the lifespan of a guinea pig
is supposed to be because my only experience
with them is through stories. And in that sense,
they last about two days. Stop getting your children
guinea pigs. That's my takeaway for the day.
Anyway, in addition to knocking on wood when
I say things that sound like bad luck, I also,
if I spill salt, I'll throw it over my left shoulder.
And if I see a penny on the ground, I will either
pick it up or flip it over depending on heads
or tails. Oh, you do that too? I do, yeah. I
either pick it out because it's good luck or
I'll flip it over so the next person gets good
luck. I don't flip it over. Screw them. If it
wasn't, if the penny wasn't good enough to give
me good luck, then I wish that bad luck on them
as well. So you just leave it upside down? I
just leave it, yeah. Wow. Treat it like it has
the plague. Like, no, thank you. I mean, now
we're gonna have to do the same with what? Pickles?
They don't make pennies anymore? I mean, granted,
I don't know the last time I saw change in a...
On the ground. They'll blend in less with the
dirt. According to our chat GPC overlords, guinea
pigs average lifespan is five to seven years.
Well, that can't be right. Five to seven years?
On the shorter end, three to four with a poor
diet, inadequate housing, stress, and lack of
vet care. Average around five to six. Longer,
some reach eight or more with excellent care.
I would personally, I think, have trouble paying
for a guinea pig vet bills. Oh, okay. I'm not
getting a guinea pig specifically because I am
not going to be the person. I don't have it in
me to pay for that kind of care. So what you're
saying is that even guinea pigs should have free
health care. Yes. Health care for all is health
care for all. I'm not paying for the guinea pig's
health care. Health care for all is health care
for all. Anyway, I don't want to personally subsidize
vet care for a guinea pig, but I support anyone.
I don't even know who you go to. Do you go to
a regular vet? Do you have to go to an exotic
animal vet? Because I assume vets are like sometimes
lizards, but mostly dogs and cats. Yeah, I mean,
there's specialized vets that deal with cattle.
I don't know if you could have much of a career
if you specialized in guinea pigs, but maybe.
Maybe you could be like world -renowned guinea
pig doctor. I'm pretty sure if you tried to take
a guinea pig on a plane to travel to this specialized
guinea pig doctor, its heart would explode. Guinea
pigs are not well built. They're furry beans
that breathe. They are God's oopsies. So I went
into the origins of a couple of the more like
commonly known superstitions in the states and
I If I've missed any that you know to be commonly
held, let me know. Okay Do you have a guess where
the lucky penny superstition comes from? I'm
going to guess the Great Depression Okay, when
money was precious Very scary Was that not it?
It, not technically, but I like that idea. It
makes sense. World War II? The origin of the
lucky penny comes from the belief that metals,
specifically copper, were divine gifts. They
offered protection from evil. And it also theoretically
invites more money to come to you. The heads
and tails thing is supposed to be like a, if
it's showing you its face, it's good luck. Whereas
if its back is turned to you, then it's bad luck.
So what you're saying is that copper is a gift
from God. Trump says no more pennies, no more
copper, because he's trying to remove God and
he is the Antichrist. Vote your conscience, 2028.
Oh, I'm just kidding. It makes sense from a fiscal
standpoint. that inflation and everything else
has gone so far through the roof that pennies
don't make sense anymore. I also, I'm curious
if that would even hold today because copper
pennies are not copper. No. They're coated in
copper, but they're not made of copper. Aren't
they mostly nickel? I'm pretty sure they're made
of, it's either nickel or iron, something like
that. Well, if they were mostly iron, they'd
be magnetic. That's fair. Then yeah, nickel sounds
right. That's ironic, don't you think? Knock
on wood. Where do you, what is your guess to
where this one comes from? My thought process
is that there once was a fella. A man from Nantucket.
That would go around and tell you if you had
termite damage and his test would be to walk
around your entire house. Just knocking on studs.
Okay. Is that close? Again, no, but I will still
accept the premise. Dang. So this is supposed
to ward off bad luck. It is believed that it
came from the pagan practice, or from a pagan
practice and was meant to quote, thank the tree
spirits. It was encouraging their protection
or thanking them for good luck. So like hippie
stuff. Yes. I mean Wiccan stuff. I don't know.
It was thinking the tree spirits. Which is why
you knock on wood. Which is why I'm confused
why Europeans knock on glass. Are there sand
spirits? Maybe. I don't know. Is sand a big time
player in Europe? Can't imagine that it is. That
would make more sense in the Middle East if their
thing was knock on glass. I don't know. Any European
listeners, please let us know. Why do you knock
on glass? Is there anyone we know that spent
maybe some time in, I don't know, a Western European
country for an extended period of time? I will
say we have discussed it before which is the
only reason that I know that Europeans knock
on glass. I'm pretty sure he told me why and
I don't remember what it was. So I will add this
as a little addendum on the next episode if I
can find out why they knock on glass. But until
such point, I don't get it. It's probably because
they always have a pint in their hand. So there's
always glass nearby because they're just a bunch
of raging alcoholics over there. Wow. Wow. I
mean, what else are you going to do? You have
to find some way to cope with the fact that you're
European somehow. So I don't blame them. Oh,
you know what I stand for? It does seem like
it's a drinking thing. Ah, Europeans not glasses
to show trust and to prevent poisoning in addition
to warding off evil spirits. Boom. There might
be more to that. I will still add an addendum
if I learn anything new. So if Taylor Swift were
European, she would have had to write the song
glass. It would have to be knock on glass. And
instead of comparing Travis Kelsey's parts to
a redwood tree, it would have to be like the
Burj Khalifa. I very much do not like that comparison.
I guess you're right, but I don't like that comparison.
Interesting. Wow. The world is so big, yet so
small. Anyway. Let's talk about Travis Kelsey's
Burj Khalifa. Why do you think that walking under
a ladder is bad luck? I don't know. I don't even
have a witty thing for you. Other than just Bostonian
douchebags. I don't know. I am still firmly under
the belief that walking under a ladder is considered
bad luck because it's just a dick move. You shouldn't
put somebody's ladder in jeopardy. They have
it for a reason, especially if you are a Bostonian
douchebag. So walking under a ladder comes from
a Christian belief that triangles and anything
associated with the number three is sacred. By
walking under a ladder, you are breaking the
Holy Trinity, Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Okay. Yeah, I figured it was some sort of like
portal type of situation Yeah, but okay. I mean
just don't do it Especially if someone is on
the ladder just don't do it. Don't be that guy
Don't do that or if someone obviously set up
that ladder and is not currently on it. Don't
do it Yeah, but you know, I don't know for their
safety or your safety Why you would ever walk
under a ladder anyway looking for that payday,
bro. Yes I don't know. It feels silly to me I'm
not going to walk under any ladders, but that
is for my own safety, not because of bad luck.
Opening an umbrella indoors. I also don't open
umbrellas indoors. I don't either. I think that's
more of a reason of like, I don't. The logistics
of getting an open umbrella out of a doorway
seems unnecessarily difficult. I'd rather just
open it when I'm already outside. What is indoors?
Like, for instance, you go from your car to doorway
of Walmart. with an umbrella and then you go
through the area where the baskets and stuff
are and then you go into the store. Is it okay
in that little area? I would still think it's
bad luck. So when you're leaving the store you
walk out of that area can you open the umbrella
before you go out into the parking lot or you
open it as soon as you cross the threshold? I
think even in the case of like if you're getting
out of your car and going into a store you would
essentially like point the umbrella once you're
like At least the umbrella is past the threshold,
then you would open it there. I also think it's
weird to have an umbrella indoors. It is. I will
say though, I don't know the last time that I
used an umbrella. When it rains, if I don't have
a hood, I'm just dealing with the rain. I own
an umbrella, I'm pretty sure. Wow, what a flex.
That I own an umbrella? I own an umbrella. Sorry,
Mrs. Rockefeller. I own an umbrella, but I don't
use it. How do you feel about people that use
the umbrella for the sun? A rain umbrella for
the sun? I support it. How do you feel about
beach umbrellas? I definitely support it. I am
not super sensitive to the sun, but I know a
lot of people who are very sensitive to the sun.
Yes, vampires, yes. I am dating one of them,
yeah. But I support your use of umbrellas for
sun protection. Okay. Are you in the anti -um?
Sun umbrella camp? Are you against parasols?
I don't care. Do what you're going to do. I think
that if it's a quick jaunt and you pull out an
umbrella, I think that's a little silly. But
hey, I don't know. You could be some albino freak
for all I know. The origin of opening umbrellas
indoors being bad luck is from two different
places. The origin in ancient Egypt was that
it insulted the sun god. know that I really understand
that one all that well. But the English version
of it was that it disrupted household spirits
if you opened an umbrella in their midst. Also
learned, in my little fact -finding mission on
that one, that the umbrella was invented, or
the parasol, was invented 4 ,000 years ago, which
is much further back than I thought. Wow. Do
you think the one with the sun god, Ra, is like
when you play peek -a -boo with a baby? and you
hide your face, and then they think you're just
gone, and they lose their mind, and then you're
like, ah, peek -a -boo, just kidding, I'm here,
I'm here, Sun God, just joshing. I mean, it's
more likely than not that the sun wouldn't be
out when it's raining anyway. Ra would be hidden
behind the clouds. You wouldn't see what you're
up to. Yeah, but in Egypt, I mean, you're not
worried about rainstorms, you're worried about
the sun. Ra, Ra, ooh la la. You're just all song
lyrics today. Spilling salt didn't have the the
origins that were as crazy as I thought they'd
be. I thought there was going to be some like
big pagan thing, quite honestly. Do you have
any guesses as to why spilling salt is bad? Yeah,
I would guess that the superstition started from
a man who really had a disdain for snails. He
loved snails. That's why it was bad luck to spill
salt. No. No. He spilled it in front of him because
he saw one approaching him, but then he missed
and so he had to throw it behind him as he was
running to try to get the salt on the snail to
kill it. I'm sorry. In this scenario, a human
man is running from a snail. They don't move
very fast. That's like the one thing everybody
knows about snails. Yes, but If you will recall
our Slumber Party Massacre episode, perhaps he
didn't have his meat cleaver on him. Even if
you don't have your meat cleaver, you don't have
to run from a snail. Okay, maybe it was a light
jog. Maybe he just felt moved by the spirit and
wanted to get some cardio in and also kill snails.
I don't know. So you don't spill salt because
you need to keep it like Dale Gribble's pocket
sand. in case you encounter a snail. I mean,
it wouldn't hurt to have salt on you at all points,
at all times. Until you do your laundry. But
I feel like the left shoulder is pertinent and
specific because that is the sinister side. Does
that have anything to do with it? It does, actually.
Nice. So it was originally considered bad luck
because salt was incredibly expensive and it
was later attached to like Christianity, but
it originated because salt was just very expensive.
And so yes, it was bad luck because you have
$300 worth of salt and you just dropped it. But
it was later added in that It was linked to Judas
Iscariot because he spilt salt on the table during
the Last Supper. In the painting, I guess he
has tipped over the little salt shaker of yours.
Frickin' Judas. It is thrown over your left shoulder
to, quote, blind the devil or distract him, therefore
negating the bad luck. That sits on your left
shoulder versus the angel that sits on your right
shoulder. Correct. that Zac Brown tried to enlighten
us on from last week's episode. It all comes
back around. I listened to some of that album,
and I didn't dislike it as much as I had expected,
but it was very far from my favorite of the Zac
Brown songs or albums. Also, not really my vibe,
but... I feel like I like it more now that I
have listened to it and not just taken it at
the face value of the very weird production at
the Sphere. Yeah. I'll give it another listen,
but that's probably the most I'll give it. I
don't know. I'm sure there's some sort of gem
in there that I just haven't come to love yet.
We'll see. I will say the one that he did with
Snoop Dogg, I do very much dislike. Did not care
for that at all. Don't think that I will be a
fan. But it's funny that... The Bible comes in
with this one because Salt is a heavy player
in the Old Testament. For instance, whenever
Sodom and Gomorrah got their comeuppance and
Lot and his wife and a few other people were
told to get out of town if you don't want to
die, don't turn back or else. And of course,
Lot's wife doesn't even get a name in the Bible,
I don't think. because she's just such a such
a goober turns around turns into a pillar of
salt so salt was used as a punishment in the
old testament and then i guess in the new testament
it was a precious commodity that tipped judas's
hand interesting very interesting what else you
got all right the last one that i have for american
origin stories is friday the 13th do you know
where this one comes from Yeah, it's the day
that Jason Voorhees drowned in the lake at Camp
Crystal Lake and was later avenged on Friday
the 13th by his mother. I mean, that's not technically
wrong. It's not the further back origin story,
but it is very much why we see Friday the 13th
the way that we do. This one also ties into The
Last Supper, specifically Judas. It is... considered
that the 13th person is the one that will do
you wrong essentially and so it was believed
that the number 13 itself was unlucky because
Judas was the 13th person. Judas man, ruin it
for everyone. There is also a tie -in aside from
the number 13 because Jesus was crucified on
Friday, Good Friday, which feels like a a kind
of dick move to call it that. Not my business,
but just saying. There is speculation that Friday
is historically associated with a lot of bad
things. Biblically, you have Cain killing Abel
and Adam and Eve's fall. That both happened on
a Friday. I don't know what that's based on.
I am not a religious person and would be interested
in hearing more about that. If you have any more
insight into that, let me know. Rebecca Black.
Kennedy was shot on a Friday. In her music video,
she's in a convertible. Some line about, which
seat should I take? And there's some other stuff.
There's some weird stuff with the Kennedy assassination
and Rebecca Black's Friday. So look into that.
Maybe we'll get into a weird coincidences episode.
I'll write that down. Weird. We are just about
to be done in the tinfoil hats again. We're coinkiding.
The association between Black Friday and Bad
Luck really got solidified because of pop culture
with the Friday the 13th movie and its 11 other
franchise editions. I did not realize that the
franchise was so big. I did not know there were
12 Friday the 13th movies. Yeah. There's the
ones where he is at the camp. There's the one
where Jason goes to hell. There's the one where
Jason goes to Manhattan. There's the one where
Jason goes to space. There's the one where he
fights Freddy. Jason goes to Manhattan? At least
five. He does. Yes. He walks around Times Square.
That's goofy. That's a goofy movie. This is an
actual thing that happened? This is an actual
movie. Huh. It's not called like Jason Takes
Man. It's not called like Jason and the City
or anything like that. It's just like... Jason
6 or whatever. Friday the 13th, 7. Is this like
Home Alone 2? Oh, it actually is called Jason
Takes Manhattan. Part 8. Jason Takes Manhattan.
It's a subtitle. Oh, it is like an official subtitle
of the movie. Uh huh. Okay, well there you go.
Friday the 13th, colon, Jason Takes Manhattan.
Part VII. You watch it, you are going to be saying
III. I? I've been watching a lot of Itch meeting
lately and anytime I've seen Roman numerals,
so in like a lot of the research that I've done
for this episode, I just think of it the way
that Ryan George says it. It's like frozen. I,
I. I forget which one it was. He was doing the
third of something. He was like, I, I, I. Is
that what the audience is going to think about
this movie? Ryan George is a heavy player in
our house. I have been, yeah, I've been big into
pitch meeting lately. I've been watching the
compilations of like all the Marvel movies and
whatnot. Have you watched his other stuff? Like
his naming stuff? His naming stuff? Yeah, they'll
go in, like it'll be, they'll be naming like
tools and stuff and they'll show a picture of
a screwdriver and he'll be drinking orange juice
and vodka drink. He's like, what should we call
this? And it's funny, you should check it out.
Or there's one where he does a TV ad for his
sandwich shop and the only thing his shop serves
is a sandwich with a pretty big pickle in it.
And every time we have pickles at the house,
The kids always call it a pretty big pickle.
No matter how big the pickle is, it's just, it's
a pretty big pickle. I will have to look into
that. It's like the Ryan George naming compilation.
And then like the first guy to ever. I've seen
some of the first guy to ever. Like the first
guy to ever want to order takeout. Oh my God.
The first guy to ever do everything is two hours
long. Oh, it's worth it. It's worth it. All right.
So that is all of my commonly held American superstitions.
But I do have some international ones. I bet
these are all dumb because they're not American.
Silly foreigners. I remember in the episode that
we did on idioms that you mentioned Bob's your
uncle being a Britishism. Yes. And I remember
you mentioned it in the context of a movie and
I don't remember what movie that was. Austin
Powers, International Man of Mystery. Interesting,
because it was also in Cat in the Hat, which
I watched a couple days ago, in the cupcake -a
-nata scene. You just put whatever you want in
the tray and then Bob's your uncle. Cupcakes.
I'll cut you and make it look like Bloody Accident.
It's such a good movie. It is. But yeah, apparently
that's one of Mike Myers's just things, which
is funny because he's Canadian. He's not even
British. That's British adjacent. Is it? I wouldn't
think so. They're French adjacent and American
adjacent. No, they still consider like their
money still has the Queen on it. Like they're
still very British heavy, which is dumb because
the royal family is dumb and completely it's
British Kardashians. All it is means nothing.
Sure. I agree. Except the royal family is not
as rich. As the Kardashians? Yes. Maybe Queen
Elizabeth before she kicked it should have put
out a sex tape. I was just about to make that
same joke. And she could have been the Kardashians.
Anyway, in Italy, they avoid the number 17. That
is because in Roman numerals, 17 is spelled V
-I -X -I, which is Latin for I have lived, which
implies death. That one feels a bit reachy, but...
Huh, interesting. But they dodge the number 17.
How do they feel about the reindeer vixen they
opposed? Is it an undead reindeer? I don't know
anyone that has lived in... Yeah, I don't know
any Italian. I don't think. I don't know anyone
who'd be able to give me insight here. Is that
what having 80 % of your brain being pasta does
to you? The reason that it's all squiggly is
just the noodles. I mean, if you think about
it, the brain is kind of just like the lasagna.
Layer on layer on layer. Sure, yeah. In similar
superstition, China. China. has a super stop
it has a superstition against the number four
because it sounds like the word for death well
i'm glad that it isn't just america that's been
wussified by this cancel culture hold your hand
like a baby uh participation trophy crowd okay
if a word is too close to the word death and
you're just gonna 86 it from everything in your
lives 86. That means a restaurant has run out
of something. So four, where'd you say that was?
China. If you look at like taller buildings in
China, a lot of times they will avoid having
four in their floor numbers. So it would go from
the third floor to the fifth floor and they would
skip all of the 40s, 14, all of that. That's
crazy. How do they account for that vacuum of
space where that fourth floor is inaccessible
to anyone in this dimension? That's where all
of the bad luck in China is. This is, this is
where I think superstition goes too far. Okay.
Because in America, we also, we have the hang
up with the number 13. You go to a casino, you
go to a lot of hotels and there's just no 13th
floor. And it is so stupid because you know what
the 13th floor is the 14th floor You know what
the 14th floor is the 15th floor. That's the
14th floor And we're just supposed to act like
this is okay. Yeah that we let these lunatics
build these buildings that reach up into the
sky and they can't even come to terms with the
fact that the third the floor between 12 and
14 is 13 If you are in a particular kind of tall
building, say a casino, I can very much understand
why you would want to avoid things that seem
like they would be bad luck. If I were a gambler,
and I am very much not, I don't think I would
want to stay on the 13th floor. We are - I also
don't really believe that 13 is an unlucky number.
I have personal beef with the fact that 13 is
considered unlucky, but neither here nor there.
You know from personal experience. I think that
we're gonna do I think it's on our on our list
for casinos because I have all kinds of drives
about casinos but As far as superstitions and
casinos go It drives me absolutely nuts when
you sit down next to someone who Anytime things
aren't going their way. They start beating on
the screen Yeah to will the combination or whatever
they're trying to get to appear on the screen
drives me up the wall. And if I see you doing
that, I automatically know that whatever I thought
your IQ was, it's probably 20, 30 points below
that. I just needed one more Howard Wallowitz.
God damn it. But like I said, casinos are going
to be their own thing at some point. Add note
to the list? Yeah. What if it's not already there?
I don't think it is. All right. In Japan, it
is bad luck to stick chopsticks upright in rice.
I've heard about that one. It's bad form. Why?
It represents a funeral ritual, which is it mimics
the incense sticks that are offered to the dead
at funerals. So this also symbolizes death. Alternatively,
it is inviting spirits to eat. What's wrong with
that? I'm sure they're lonely. I don't imagine
it's inviting the good ones. It's like a Ouija
board. I don't think you want to roll the dice.
Yeah, maybe you get a good one and maybe you
get Annabelle. I bet she's got some great stories
though. I bet she does. I bet you're about to
become one of them. That could be in Conjuring
37. Sure, yeah. Annabelle takes Manhattan. Annabelle
goes to space. Freddy and Jason versus Annabelle.
I would love to make that movie. Well, let's
get on it. This is gonna be our low -budget horror
project. We're about to get, Pluto is about to
go into the public domain, so we might be getting
another horror movie sometime soon. There was
a movie that came out recently called Good Boy.
It was a horror movie from a dog's perspective.
Yeah. I want to see it. I do too. I haven't watched
it. Is it already out? It's intriguing. Yes.
I think it's like already like watchable somewhere.
Check that out. Did you have any more? I do.
I have a couple more. So la mala suerte is bad
luck. It is when you sweep a person's feet. That
means that they will never marry. What if they're
already married? Divorce. Then they're safe?
No, divorce immediately. Well, so what you're
saying is, huh, would that hold up in a court
of law? Yeah, irreconcilable differences. I mean,
my feet got swept. I literally, I can't, like
you had to let me out. Uh -huh. If I remember
correctly, I think it also has to be like bear
feet. I don't think, I think there's like more
specifics to this. How many bears were getting
married? Mean and it's just like Goldilocks like
what's going on Snow White? What are you doing
sweeping next to a bear? This is why other countries
are dumb America is the best In Brazil it is
bad luck to put your purse on the floor I would
assume that it is bad luck to have a purse in
Brazil and at all Probably a safe assumption
in parts of parts of Brazil Do you remember what
happened to Ryan Lochte when he was in Brazil?
If you don't remember, go refresh yourself on
the Ryan Lochte Rio story because it is bananas.
I don't remember anything about Ryan Lochte,
but I do remember Ryan Lochte in the context
of Family Guy. When he shows up to the Winter
Olympics, Peter calls him out on it. He was like,
aren't you in the other Olympics? He goes, no,
it's cold. and they just like walks away. The
last one that I have was the Evil Eye, which
is the Middle East and South Asia. This is the
belief that envy causes harm. Amulets, blue beads,
and hand symbols are used for protection because
it is allegedly to, I believe, reflect back that
energy that people have towards you. I personally
really like the aesthetic of Evil Eyes. I don't
know that I believe they do anything, but I don't
believe in most of this stuff, but I still practice
some of it. I just think they're cool. I think
they're neat. Well, as a call back to our idioms
episode, I have some southern superstitions if
you would like. By all means. Carrying a rabbit's
foot. Would you ever carry around a rabbit's
foot for good luck? No, absolutely not. Do you
know which which rabbit's foot is the luckiest?
There's a specific rabbit's foot you're supposed
to have. There is. I'm gonna guess back right.
Ah, so close. Left hind foot. Why? Uh -huh. That's
a fantastic question. I can look it up for you.
It comes from a mix of European folklore, ancient
symbolism, and Southern Appalachian superstition,
all layered up on top of each other. Why a rabbit's
foot at all? Rabbits have long symbolized fertility,
abundance, and survival because they reproduce
quickly and live in burrows. Survival feels like
a bad take if you have to, I assume, kill the
rabbit to take its foot. I guess. I mean, I don't
know. In Celtic and early European folklore,
animals that live underground were thought to
have magical or protective powers. Why the foot?
The foot represents movement, travel, and progress,
so carrying it was believed to help you move
forward safely in life. A foot taken from a fast
animal was thought to pass along its speed and
ability to escape danger. In folklore, the left
side has always been considered mystical and
dangerous. The word sinister literally literally
means left in Latin. That's why you got to watch
out for those southpaws while those left -handed
freaks, which I have one, and you don't want
to get on her bad side. Promise. I used a left
-handed corkscrew at work the other day and it
was triple. You don't think that it's that different,
but I'm also fortunate enough to be a righty.
Well, I mean, if... There was no big difference
between right -handers, right -handed stuff and
left -handed stuff that Ned Flanders wouldn't
have a business. The leftorium wouldn't exist.
He got downgraded to a kiosk at one point, but
you know what? He's still making the best he
can as a twice -over widower for Rod and Todd.
Why the hindfoot? The hind legs are the rabbit's
source of power and speed. Symbolically, it's
the rabbit's strongest limb tied to survival
and escape. Ooh, and some African -American who
do in southern traditions, the luckiest rabbit's
foot had very specific rules. Had to come from
a rabbit caught in a graveyard at midnight during
the full moon, sometimes by a crossroads, and
often killed with a silver bullet. That's too
many. What actually qualifies as a crossroads?
Because it can't be all of them, right? I don't
know. As long as you ask the devil. Are there
special ones where you get to meet the devil
or can I just go like down a block where there's
an intersection and just hang around there and
just have one of those signs like the chauffeurs
at the airport have with the person's last name
just hold up devil yeah see what happens all
right what about a horseshoe which way does it
have to face it has to be a u -shape so it has
to have the ends up yeah it has to be facing
up It is for protection and stored luck. Iron
was believed to repel evil spirits. The U -shape
catches the luck when facing up. If it were loop
side down, then all your luck would just fall
to the floor. Yeah. And it came from medieval
Europe. Mostly blacksmiths. Superstition. Okay.
If it is held with a loop side that ends down.
Would it imbue your household with that luck
or do you just lose it? No, you just lose it.
It's just gone There's also I think this is mostly
for cowboy hats, but putting your hat on the
bed is also considered bad luck and a bad omen
Birds hitting a window Means death or bad news
is coming because birds are messengers between
worlds. That is a concerning context for the
Windex commercials. How many people died in that
house? If I'm just looking out a window and all
of a sudden a bird flies right into it, I would
know that something is up. So if you don't clean
the glass in your home and a bird doesn't fly
into it, that's good luck. No one dies if you
just don't clean your windows. And speaking of
elements, owls, omens of death. Yeah. Nocturnal
animals linked to the unseen. Their cries were
thought to announce spirits. This was a Native
American Appalachian folklore, which I do have
a little side story for that. There's a big park
by my house that I used to ride the dirt trails
on with a bicycle. There's one time I did it
at night. And this thing is tricky enough during
the day. At night, it was a nightmare. That's
why I've only done it one time. But when you
stumble upon an owl in its natural habitat in
complete darkness, it's terrifying. It's not
fun. It just feels off. Did anything bad happen
afterwards? Was it an omen or something? I mean,
I got divorced a couple years later. So depending
on who you ask, I mean, maybe it was a good omen.
I don't know. I would also be very early. I feel
like it should be, it should be more pressing
and you should not just be worrying about it
for two years if something is gonna happen. I
don't know. I don't know. I don't know what their
timetable is. The owls are busy. I would assume.
Sure. Crickets in the house are good luck. I
beg to differ. Have you ever seen Mulan? I have.
Not the live action one because that sounds -
I haven't seen the live action one either. Crickets
eat pests their sound was comforting and linked
to prosperity. I don't think that the sound of
crickets Indoors is comforting. It makes me feel
like I'm not funny Oh, what about this one black
cats, how you feel about white cats that white
cats black cats The animal not the firework I
like both I have never understood the hate for
black cats. I understand where it comes from,
and I am also probably the target demographic
for owning a black cat. Do you have a half -black
cat? I do. You have an interracial cat? I do,
yeah. He's a tuxedo cat, and he's been behind
me on his tree for most of this episode. What
about rocking an empty rocking chair? That's
bad luck. You're just inviting. someone to come
take a seat, someone unseen. And I am giving
them peace because they get to, who is mad when
they're in a rocking chair? I think that's inviting
good things. It's good karma for the spirits.
Leaving your shoes upside down, you step in a
big puddle, you're screwed. Either you put them
upside down to dry out and drain out or and you
get the bad luck or you just let that water sit,
let them get all mildewy and you don't have to
worry about the bad luck. But then you do have
to worry about the infection that comes from
having mildew issues. So I don't know. You got
to roll the dice with that one. Okay. It'll rain
if cows are lying down. Is this an animals can
predict the weather kind of thing? I would. All
of the birds leave an area where there's about
to be a giant storm. I would assume it has some
roots in that. Or just one guy noticed that his
cows were a little lethargic one day, and then
all of a sudden the rain came, put two and two
together, and then ran off with it, started telling
all of his buddies, they tell all their buddies,
and so on and so forth, and now Chad GPT knows
that this is a thing that stupid people think,
and is now regurgitating it to me to inform the
masses. So I'm no better than that idiot on his
farm. Any more Southernisms? I got a couple more.
Do you ever think about when your palm itches?
I do, sometimes. I've heard that it's... money
is coming your way, I believe. In the right hand,
if your left palm itches, you're about to find
out that Bernie Madoff made off with all of your
retirement money. Because you're about to lose
some... lose some scrilla. Some scrilla? Some
cheddar is about to be gone. Your slice of the
quiche is going to get a little smaller. Don't
whistle at night. I've heard this one before.
Why? It invites spirits that are walking around
to your presence. It lets them know you're there.
Because they don't know that I'm there otherwise?
No, they don't. They just go about their day.
Same thing. If a hen crows like a rooster, ring
its neck because that means something bad's about
to happen. Oh, here you go. If you step over
a broom, you won't get married. Oh, this is one
from Fajah's neck of the woods. I mean, his is
a little different from what he had growing up,
but if it rains while the sun is shining, the
devil is beating his wife. That's how you know.
Yeah, the devil is beating his wife or the foxes
are getting married, I believe. Yeah, that's
the Bangladeshi version. Which is significantly
happier. I'll be sticking with that one. Foxes
are getting married. I mean, if you married the
devil, didn't you know what you were getting
into? Not to victim blame, but you can't change
him. Stop trying. I've seen the new season of
South Park. Well, you mean the, let's see how
many times we can use the same joke in every
single episode? Well, it's like every chance
to just show his manhood they can get. Manhood
feels a little optimistic. No, you don't want
to call his boyhood. That sounds weird. Sure,
yeah. There has to be a third option here. His...
It's not his manhood because it looks like it
could reset your sim card. His penile malady.
There we go. Oh, so that's all of the southern
superstitions that I felt were pertinent to this
episode, but I do have one little side story.
I've been watching a show on Prime Video and
I'm a dirty peasant so I have to watch it with
commercials and there is a commercial with for
a medication. Don't even pay attention to what
the medication is because whenever the commercials
come on I tune those out. But what always brings
me back like my attention just snaps right back
into place, is that one of the side effects is
that it can cause bleeding between your genitals
and your anus. They say this two times, and the
second time is when they say, if you experience
bleeding between your genitals and anus, contact
a doctor. I think it might be some sort of diabetic
medicine. It's not like Ozempic or anything like
that, but just when you're completely tuned out
and you're just trying to entertain yourself
for the two and a half minutes before your show
comes back and then you just hear, you might
have bleeding between your anus and genitals.
It just brings you right back down to earth.
I'm so curious how they found out that it specifically
causes taint bleeding, nowhere else. It's very
specific between your genitals and anus. Next
time that commercial comes on, I will send it
to you and you can hear how jarring the words
genitals and anus are. It's like they emphasized
it. They were like, hey, hey, you've got this
going on. We want to help you, but just know,
please be well aware. that there is a possibility
that you could start to bleed between your anus
and your genitals. We need you to know that.
So next time, next time it's on, I'll send that
your way. That is one thing that I will give
the Europeans and pretty much every other part
of the world that they aren't subjected to these
commercials on television because pharmaceutical
ads do not exist outside of the United States
as far as I know. Which they shouldn't. They
shouldn't exist anywhere. That is ridiculous.
Yeah. Well, where else are you going to see two
old couples or two old people in separate bathtubs
on a hillside overlooking a sunset because his
winter works again. Enjoying non -holiday related
fireworks. But that's my tangential story is
over. I think I said genitals and anus probably
20 times. Too many times, yeah. And on that note,
I have one more section of this pod. Oh, okay.
Bring it on home. Do you have any modern superstitions
that you can think of? Are there any modern day
examples of knocking on wood or sweeping your
feet, meaning you're not getting married? I mean,
one was the... Brilliant marketing lady that
pulled out her poster board with all the ways
that monster is satanic Sure. Yeah, that's a
modern one I'm sure she's the head of PR at Coca
-Cola now No, I mean most of the stuff that I
inadvertently do is stuff that I was taught to
do by parents who were taught to do that by their
parents, whose parents were taught to do that
by their parents. Do you have any modern instances?
I do. There is Macbeth in the theater. Unless
you are Lin -Manuel Miranda or someone playing
Alexander Hamilton, you are not supposed to say
Macbeth in theaters. It is bad luck. What's the
origin with break a leg? There's something I
remember reading something about that a long
time ago. And don't get me wrong, it was not
from a legitimate source. It was probably like
an iFunny picture or something like that. It
was something to do with the cast, I believe.
Break a leg so you stay in the cast or something
along those lines. I don't believe that is where
that originated in the slightest. No, I remember
that episode where the Simpsons go to London
and... Ian McKellen is outside a theater, and
Homer's like, oh, you're in Macbeth? And then,
sorry, Sir Ian McKellen says, oh, well, it's
bad luck to say the name of the play. What do
you mean, Macbeth? Well, yeah, the specific name
of this specific play, and then all this stuff
just starts falling down on Ian McKellen. Sir
Ian McKellen. Sir Ian McKellen, sorry. If you're
gonna commit to it, you gotta commit to it. Sorry,
I forgot he got his knighthood. Break a leg comes
from, it's essentially the reverse of knocking
on wood. If you say something that you think
might invite bad luck, you knock on wood to bring
good luck. If you say break a leg, you are essentially
saying something that is bad luck. So they will
actually get good luck. Okay. Wishing for good
luck invites evil spirit. So wishing. Wishing
for misfortune, like a broken leg, tricks fate
into bringing success. Okay. I also have... Reverse
psychology. Yeah. With spirits. Chain messages
were a thing that came up in my research. The
send this or else emails that everybody got for
a brief window there. I was a part of those for
a while. Oh, you were? No. I was, yeah. I used
to get them a lot. from one specific friend and
my, yeah, I got them from one specific friend
and then I would get them from like grandma and
mom. Oh, yeah, I would get them from mom. Hope
you have a good day. Look at these puppies. If
you don't send this to 15 people, you might die.
They all get it. And then you don't send it and
someone sends you a video and you don't want
to open it, but you do. The curiosity gets the
better of you. All of a sudden you're just, your
screen is full. of these cute, innocent puppies,
all of a sudden someone comes in from out of
frame, holds a nine mil to the two -week -old
Labrador's head and says, you did this. This
is because of you. You didn't send this to 10
people. This is what you've done. You have to
live with this. And then no more Labrador. That's
all your fault. That reminds me of that Key and
Peel sketch where, I forget which one it is,
but one of them is like, do you have a dollar
to save a child? He's like, yeah, you know, I
got a dollar. So he gives them one and then a
van pulls up. They just push one kid out. Just
wait, wait, wait, five more. Manifestation also
superstition. All of these manifesting girlies
who are creating their dream worlds. I believe
in manifestation to an extent. Yeah. I mean,
manifest destiny worked out for a certain group
of people pretty well. So. Don't know that I
think about it in that context, but sure. I believe
that you attract the energy that you put out.
And so I think a lot of the, the manifestation
stuff is hoolie, but I also think that there
is. Unless you're a magnet, then you attract
the opposite of the energy you put out. So. That
is true. Yeah. Uh, yeah, I, I'm not a big like
dively manifesting person, but. I do think you
get what you give. Hey, callback to our last
episode. So essentially what you're saying is
do good things, good things happen. Do bad things,
bad things happen. Oh, such a great show. Such
a great show. I am almost done with my rewatch
of it. My most recent rewatch of it. We started
a while ago and then I didn't feel like Emily
was really into it so we switched to Raising
Hope. I made it through like two seasons and
then just got busy with life and stuff. I wasn't
the biggest fan of Raising Hope after a couple
of seasons. Yeah. Once Jimmy and Sabrina get
together it's... Yeah. Like where do we go now?
I will say though that my YouTube algorithm,
because I never watch the shorts, my YouTube
algorithm will only show me shorts from like
three shows. It's one Disney show. it's mom from
CBS and it's raising hope. I've probably seen
the entirety of the show out of the shorts on
my reference page. In short form? Yes. Well,
I mean, if you're going to be subjected to something
like that, that's one of the better things to
be subjected to. Sure, of course. I'm glad I'm
not a... Not in a lot of the other camps of the
YouTube shorts algorithm. What if all of your
shorts were just budget bro stuff? Crypto stuff?
I think I would cancel my YouTube premium subscription
and take a moment to reflect. I've done something
wrong. That's probably fair. Any parting words
of wisdom? Don't get your child a guinea pig.
Okay. That is fair. What about guinea pig adjacent
pets? No hamsters. Gerbils. hamsters, sugar gliders,
ferrets. You definitely should not get your child
a ferret. You want them to grow up with no friends?
Get them the stinkiest animal that you can possibly
have. That would be a penguin. I don't think
that you're legally allowed to own penguins unless
you are Mr. Pop. Can you legally own a penguin
in Texas? It's anywhere. It's owning a penguin
as a pet is illegal in most countries including
the United States This answer is from tab. I
don't care What countries can you own a penguin
in countries like South Africa Australia Peru
Chile New Zealand and several subantarctic islands
are home to the various 18 penguin species This
answer is from fluffy planet comm It's from what
.com? Fluffy planet, but it was like Fluffly
Planet. I don't know. Sometimes her silly Australian
accent doesn't translate well. That's funny.
My echo is Indian. Oh, that's... That seems a
little racist. Is it? Indian man or Indian woman?
Woman. Does it bob around when it's answering
your question? That was racist. All right, well...
My parting words of wisdom for this episode are,
if you have a superstition, that's fine. You
do you, man. Don't get cranky at me when I don't
subscribe to that superstition and we'll all
be, we'll all be gravy. Mine your own biscuits
and life will be gravy. And with that, we're
out. We'll see ya.