1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. Josh, Chuck, Jerry, 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,960 Speaker 1: not Dave, but still Dave. Let's go. 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 2: Didn't we do a whole episode on mirrors and maybe 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 2: talk about breaking mirrors. 5 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: There's no way we didn't talk about that. But this 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: is definitely an exploded, expanded, really balloony version of that. 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, because we're talking about the idea that if you 8 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 2: break a mirror if you are superstitious, A lot of 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 2: people would say that brings you seven years of bad luck, 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 2: and we're going to dig into why that might be. 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 2: People have been superstitious ever since. There have been people 12 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 2: about different things and way before the mirror, and apparently 13 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 2: the Greeks were the first people to sort of just 14 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 2: start talking about a reflection because the story of Narcissus 15 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 2: falls in love with his image in the stream and 16 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 2: drowns and dies. So because of that, the Greeks are like, 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 2: maybe seeing yourself isn't such a great thing to do. 18 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: No, And that was Narcissus who had a tattoo, by 19 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: the way, that's right, So yeah, it was bad luck 20 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 1: to see your reflection in water, and that was pretty 21 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: much the only place you could see your reflection if 22 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: you were in ancient Greek, because it wasn't until the 23 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: ancient Romans came along and they said, yeah, we basically 24 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 1: believe the same thing, but we're also incredibly vain, so 25 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: we're going to invent mirrors. And eventually the mirrors that 26 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: they came up with at the beginning were highly polished 27 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: metal surfaces. So if you had like an old shield 28 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: sitting around, don't throw it away. You can upcycle it 29 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: and do a terrific mirror. 30 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, or I guess look at the reflection to see Medusa. 31 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 2: If you're a clash of the Titans, wouldn't that a shield? 32 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: Yeah? 33 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 2: How would you say the name of the person who 34 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 2: looked at their reflection in the water? 35 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: Oh, I've always heard it as Narcissus, But I like 36 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: how you said it. I'm not mocking you at all here, Okay. 37 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 2: I didn't think you were. Okay kid, I think I 38 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 2: might be getting that pronunciation from the song from Indigo Girls. 39 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: Did they say Narcissus? 40 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, I look at like Narcissus. 41 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: I'm quite sure that at least one or both of 42 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: them studied Greek mythology at Uga at some point. 43 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 2: Oh maybe so. And by the way, our good friend, 44 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 2: Lucy Waynwright just got off of tour with Indigo Girls. 45 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: Oh congratulations, Lucy, that's awesome. I think you told me that. 46 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, she had the road with him for a while, 47 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 2: and her beautiful, little cute daughter was able to go 48 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 2: onto a lot of these shows, which is always fun. 49 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: That's really cool. 50 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, little girl on tour, that's what can be more 51 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 2: fun than that, for sure. 52 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: And to keep everybody grounded, you know, yeah. 53 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 2: Like Indigo Girls aren't doing all those nasty drugs in 54 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 2: front of that girl. 55 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: No. No, they're very well known for trashing hotel rooms too, 56 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: and I bet that they did not trash any of 57 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: them because Lucy Wainwright Roach's kid. 58 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 2: No, not one TV was thrown over a balcony. 59 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: Nope, where were we? We were talking about shields as 60 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: mirrors were the first mirrors. 61 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 2: That's right. That led to, you know, the idea that 62 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 2: gods might observe their souls through these shiny reflective devices. 63 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 2: So to you know, that means it has imports. So 64 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 2: to damage something like that, something like that, to be broken, 65 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 2: would at first they thought of it as like just disrespectful, 66 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 2: and then they said, but also maybe it would anger 67 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,119 Speaker 2: the gods and they would rain bad luck down upon 68 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 2: their heads. 69 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. And if you believe that the reflection in the mirror, 70 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: your reflection is actually you're seeing your soul. If you 71 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: break a mirror, you're breaking your soul too. And so 72 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: there's a couple of ways that that can bring about misfortune. Apparently, 73 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: one is that your soul couldn't protect your body any longer. Yeah, 74 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: that's why all sorts of bad stuff befalls you for 75 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: seven years. Then also in some traditions, your soul is 76 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: rather upset at having been broken, and now it's looking 77 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: for revenge on you, and sometimes it does that in 78 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: the form of killing one of your loved ones. Yeah, 79 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: that's not what you want. I mean, you're already you 80 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: broke your very nice mirror, and now your grandma died. 81 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: Come on. 82 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, And the whole seven years thing came about apparently 83 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 2: because the Romans believed that life changes happen in seven 84 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 2: year cycles. So that's where that idea comes from, or 85 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 2: another explanation that I'm not sure about this one, but 86 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 2: apparently mirrors, you know, they were pretty expensive early on, 87 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 2: and the cost of a mirror would equal seven years 88 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 2: work from. 89 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: A servant I like both of those. Yeah they could. 90 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 2: Maybe both are accurate, so. 91 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: As far as the English language goes chuck. The first 92 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: time anyone mentions a breaking a mirror being bad luck 93 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: was from seventeen seventy seven, where the author mentions that 94 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,719 Speaker 1: breaking a mirror is a very unlucky accident because mirrors 95 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,599 Speaker 1: were part of an ancient kind of divination formerly used 96 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: by magicians and their superstitious and diabolical operations. 97 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,840 Speaker 2: That's right. And because it became a thing in print, 98 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,359 Speaker 2: it became a thing in British culture, and uh yeah, 99 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 2: so all of a sudden, people all over the world 100 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 2: are not wanting to break their mirrors anymore. 101 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: Okay, So let's take a little break, as it were, 102 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: and come back try to put everything together by explaining 103 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: what you can do to mitigate your bad luck if 104 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: you do break a mirror. 105 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 3: Stuff you should know. Stop you should I should know? 106 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 2: All right, before we broke, Josh laid down a series 107 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 2: of puns about mirror breakage. Apparently there's some things you 108 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 2: can do if you break your mirror. Apparently one of 109 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 2: the things you can do is you got to get 110 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 2: rid of those pieces. You don't want to leave a 111 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 2: broken mirror lying around. Obviously it's not a great thing 112 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 2: just to have in your house with broken glass, but 113 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,119 Speaker 2: I think it has more to do with like, let's 114 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 2: just wash ourselves of this and get it out of 115 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 2: here as quickly as possible. 116 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,679 Speaker 1: Yeah. So this is based on a how Stuff Works article, 117 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: and I love how they actually are serious about telling 118 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: you how to throw away a broken mirror. Yeah, you'd like, say, 119 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: both of the pieces in the trash, by wrapping them 120 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: in paper or placing them in a cardboard box. Yeah, 121 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: because sharp mirror pieces can cut through a plastic bag. 122 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: That has nothing to do with superstition. That's just good 123 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:47,719 Speaker 1: household advice. 124 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 2: That's right, good old fashioned house stuff works advice. 125 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: Another one this seems this automatically makes it ancient to 126 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:55,919 Speaker 1: me is that you take the mirror pieces and you 127 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,839 Speaker 1: bury them. And then what makes it even more ancient 128 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: is that you're better off you bury them in the 129 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: light of a full moon. Creepy, But it seems to 130 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: me you'd have to do a little weighing of cost 131 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: benefit of keeping the mirror pieces around until a full mood. 132 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 2: Yeah. 133 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, if you especially if you broke your 134 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: mirror on the new moon. Then you're keeping these unlucky 135 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: pieces around for a month. 136 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 2: Yeah. 137 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: I don't know, man, No, don't know if the full 138 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: moon would mitigate that bad luck that you accrued over 139 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: the month. 140 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, agreed, I just get rid of it unless you 141 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 2: were pretty close with maybe two days within a full moon. 142 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 2: That's my rule. 143 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: I think I would go two days max too. 144 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, I'm glad we agree on that. In 145 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 2: case we ever break a mirror together. You can also 146 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 2: grind that stuff into powder. 147 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: If you want to take it to a party. 148 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, take it to a party, and then the old 149 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 2: throat salt over your shoulder, over your left shoulders is 150 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 2: a great way to get rid of any bad luck 151 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 2: if you believe in that kind of thing. 152 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: Works for everything. Yeah, so we're talking mirrors, and mirrors 153 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: are made from glass, but glass non mirrored glass. Breaking 154 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: it actually is used as good luck sometimes, although it 155 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: can also be bad luck to Apparently in England, breaking 156 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: a glass as a death omen Yeah, which means people 157 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: would be dropping like flies around me because I break 158 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: glasses a lot. 159 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, you and Emily both love I break glass yep. 160 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 2: I think the Greeks, though, you know it can be 161 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 2: a celebratory thing, obviously at a Greek celebration to ward 162 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 2: off evil spirits or anyone who's ever been to a 163 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 2: Jewish wedding, stomping on that wine glass is one of 164 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 2: the great traditions. 165 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: And then there's other mirror superstitions too, Like the mirror 166 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,959 Speaker 1: it's just a superstition factory apparently. Yeah, so there are 167 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 1: traditions where if somebody passes away, you cover the mirrors 168 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: in your house with something just to make it so 169 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: no one can see the reflection. And there's a few 170 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: reasons to do this. One is the person who's died, 171 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: their soul is now wandering around until they're buried, and 172 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,079 Speaker 1: apparently if they see the reflection in the mirror, they 173 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: get sucked into the mirror and stuck there. And you 174 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: don't want that to happen to your poor grandma's soul. 175 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,199 Speaker 2: No, or your grandma's mirror, because apparently that would cause 176 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 2: the mirror to tarnish and maybe even turn into an 177 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 2: image of that person who is deceased. 178 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: No imagine, Chuck, if you broke your mirror, Yeah, it 179 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: caused your grandma to die. You replaced the mirror, and 180 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: your poor grandma saw her soul saw herself in that 181 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: new mirror and is trapped in it. That's a lot 182 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: of bad luck. 183 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and baggage, honestly, for sure. You know that's shrink territory. 184 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. Because also Grandma always just told you you weren't 185 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 1: doing anything right. 186 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. Other people thought that demons could escape 187 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 2: through the mirror, like go from the non living world 188 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 2: into the living, and so covering a mirror if someone passes, like, 189 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 2: there's a lot of mirror covering happening in these situations. 190 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: For sure. There's also some marriage stuff too. In EDWARDI 191 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: and Britain, which took place in the first decade of 192 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: the twentieth century, if you wanted to know what your 193 00:09:57,240 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: future husband was going to be like, or if you'd 194 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: be married at all, you could sit down in front 195 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: of a mirror with some candle light, and if you 196 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:07,200 Speaker 1: saw your husband show up in the mirror, all good. 197 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: If a grim specter appeared, oh you would die before 198 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: you got married. Yeah, that doesn't necessarily mean that you 199 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: die at twenty or something like that. It just means 200 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: that you might die an old, unmarried person. 201 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. But with marriage, it could also be 202 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 2: a good thing, because apparently this superstition, after you get 203 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 2: married and you say I do, if you look into 204 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:34,439 Speaker 2: a mirror and the short time after that, you will 205 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 2: be uniting your soul and it creates apparently an alternate 206 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:42,079 Speaker 2: universe where the two souls can live forever together. 207 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 1: Very sweet. 208 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, what's sweeter? 209 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:48,320 Speaker 1: I don't know, there's not much sweeter. Yeah, So I 210 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: guess this Halloween season we would say go out, kiss 211 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: your mirror and take very good care of it. Don't 212 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 1: you think that's good advice. 213 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 2: That's right, Or just cover that thing up if you 214 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,080 Speaker 2: don't want to take your chances. 215 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, And of course obviously that means that the spooky 216 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 1: short stuff is out. Stuff you Should Know is a 217 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. 218 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 2: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 219 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.