1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,120 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh and 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: there's Chuck and we're doing it by ourselves, doing it 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: in the park, doing it after dark. It's short stuff. 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 2: Yeah. And you know what, this was a little treat 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 2: for me because this is one of the old House 6 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 2: Stuff Works articles written by Debbie Ronkham, my good friend. 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: Yeah, yep, I saw that. When I picked that, I 8 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: was like, Chuck's gonna love this. Yeah. 9 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 2: That was a time when we were writing there where 10 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 2: I ended up getting quite a few of my friends 11 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,559 Speaker 2: freelance jobs, and Debbie was one of them. And we 12 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 2: just saw deb at our show in Boston. 13 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, Hey, Debbie, so it's good to catch up with her. Yeah. 14 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: And she did a great job with this because it's 15 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: not easy to talk about superstitions and keep your wits 16 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: about you. You can get so scared, yeah, that you 17 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: are just going to get off track. You might stop 18 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: writing altogether. But she cloud through and came up with 19 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: a great article from How Stuff Works about why it's 20 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: bad luck to spill Because everybody knows it's bad luck 21 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: to spill salt, but why And then on top of that, 22 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: have you ever noticed some people throw salt over their 23 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: left shoulder when they spill it. I do. Why would 24 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: we do that too. 25 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 2: Here's the thing. I know that superstitions can be regional, 26 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 2: and I'm not seeing people in the South don't do this. 27 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 2: But I've never seen anyone do this. I know it's 28 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 2: a thing. I've heard of it, but I never did it. 29 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 2: I don't. Maybe I've never spilled salt. I don't know, 30 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 2: but I've never known people who did it, So it 31 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 2: just wasn't a popular thing for me as like growing. 32 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: Up or now, thrown it over your shoulder. 33 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've never seen anyone do this stuff. 34 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: So, yeah, I do it every time. But it's possible though. 35 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: That's I guess I want to establish. You've known forever 36 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: that spilling salt is bad luck at least, right No? 37 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: Oh, okay, I mean I've heard about it and seen 38 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 2: it in movies, but it wasn't. It wasn't like a 39 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 2: superstition that was prominent for me for some reason. 40 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: Okay, but you i'd heard of it, like, this isn't 41 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: like news to you? 42 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 2: No, no, no, it wasn't news. I was just like, 43 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 2: who does this? And why is everyone spilling salt? 44 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: So, yeah, the thing about spilling salt in it being 45 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: a superstition? Is it seems to be a really really 46 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: old superstition that's been passed down through millennia essentially, and 47 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: it's still around today, which is kind of funny because 48 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: I don't actually consider myself superstitious, but yet I still 49 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: throw salt over my left shoulder every time I spill it. 50 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: And I spill a lot of salt. 51 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 2: What does spilling salt mean? Like you reach for the 52 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 2: shaker and you tip it over by accident. 53 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: I do it anytime the salt touches the counter or 54 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: anything aside from the salt box that I use. 55 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 2: So like, if you're shaking a little salt on food 56 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: and some like jumps off onto the counter, that you 57 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 2: will that's considered spilling it. 58 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: No, I don't actually know that you mentioned that. This 59 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: is more I'll grab a pinch out of the salt 60 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: box and be salting stuff and if that gets messy 61 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: then yeah, okay. It's almost like if I see it 62 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: and notice it, then I will I will throw it 63 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: over my shoulder, all right. 64 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 2: I love it. I'm certainly not. I mean, I'm the 65 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,359 Speaker 2: weirdo that steps on a crack with their left foot. 66 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 2: Then has to step on a crack with their right flet. 67 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: So there's one thing we need to dispense with right 68 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,799 Speaker 1: out of the gate, because there's it's a well known 69 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: fact that the word salary is derived from salt sal dare, 70 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: which means give salt in I think Latin, and that 71 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: that is how Roman soldiers used to be paid. That 72 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: is not entirely correct, but it doesn't seem to be 73 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: fully a myth either. Roman soldiers were partially paid in salt, 74 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: like they got a salt ration every day, or part 75 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: of their money their pay, the actual coinage they were 76 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: given was given to them to buy salt in part 77 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: to buy salt. 78 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 2: Now, we did a great episode on salt. I'm sure 79 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 2: we talked about that. Do you remember what we said then. 80 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: I think we said it was maybe even a myth altogether. 81 00:03:59,280 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: I'm not sure. 82 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 2: I don't know. 83 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: It's just it's it's ambiguous enough that you can't say 84 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: it's fully a myth or it's fully true. 85 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 2: Right. But the idea then, in terms of this episode, 86 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 2: is because salt was valuable, that could be one of 87 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 2: the reasons or one of the origins of it being 88 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 2: bad luck. Because you've just essentially spilled some money. 89 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: It's yeah, exactly. That's that's the likeliest and widest held 90 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: explanation for why spilling salt would be considered bad luck. 91 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: All right, what else you can kind of fast forward 92 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: a few years to Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the 93 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: Last Supper. I think that was in the sixteenth century 94 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,679 Speaker 1: that he did that. And if you look very closely, 95 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: when Judas is scary out has spilled the salt. 96 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 2: I didn't ever notice that. 97 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: I didn't either, but I haven't seen it that many times. 98 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 2: I haven't either, now that I think about it. But 99 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 2: it was you know, I grew up in the church, 100 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 2: so it was a prominent painting. 101 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: But if you if you mentioned Judas and salt in 102 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: the same same breath, he probably would have been like, yeah, 103 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: Judas is terrible with salt, and that's why he was 104 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: such a terrible person. 105 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 2: All right, fair enough, that could be another you know, 106 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 2: religious connotation for the bad luck. 107 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: Well also, though I thought this is pretty interesting. In Christianity, 108 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: it's also seen as a symbol of holiness and purity, 109 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: which is not just symbolic. It actually does keep food pure. 110 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: It's one of the things that salt has always been 111 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: used for is preservation, so I thought that was a 112 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,280 Speaker 1: pretty interesting extension or expansion or extrapolation. 113 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, agreed. Shall we take a break, Yeah, all right, 114 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 2: let's take a break. We'll talk about maybe some more 115 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 2: background and why we throw it over our left shoulder 116 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 2: right after this. 117 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: Okay, chuck. So there's been a lot of different myths 118 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: about salt that has spread out, which kind of makes 119 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: sense because salt's been traded all over the world for 120 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: a while, and it's been valuable, or it was valuable 121 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: for a very long time. For example, in Slavic mythology, 122 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: there's a well trod story about a father who has 123 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: three daughters and he asks them how much they love him, 124 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: and the first one says, I love you as much 125 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: as diamonds, the second one says I love you as 126 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 1: much as gold, and the third one says I love 127 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 1: you as much as salt. And he says, begone, yeah, 128 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: get out, and she's like, why, just stop and think 129 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: about what I said, dad, And he said, I said 130 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: be gone, and she's begone. 131 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, she goned herself. And it was only till later, 132 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 2: when he's eating something that's not salted that he puts 133 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 2: down his fork. The music cue the needle drop happens, 134 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 2: and lone tear trickles down his face and he goes, 135 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 2: oh my god, she's the one who loved me the most, 136 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:08,359 Speaker 2: because this food is garbage. 137 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: There's an alternate ending too, where the tear strikes the 138 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: bite of food he has mid air salts it and 139 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: he forgets what he was even upset about. 140 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 2: Oh look, I just actually looked up the Judas thing 141 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 2: and there there it is. There's a little thing of 142 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 2: salt spilled over right there It is a wrist. 143 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: Did you think Debbie Ranka made that up? 144 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 2: No? But I just never noticed that had been so funny. 145 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 2: I text Debbie and she's like, age, you like that? 146 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 2: It totally made that up. There are African folk tales apparently, 147 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 2: where salt is a metaphor for wisdom or life trials, 148 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 2: things like that. So if you would spill it then 149 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 2: it could be viewed as a misfortune or ignorance for 150 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 2: the protagonist. 151 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: Also in Japan, I can tell you firsthand. In Japanese culture, 152 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: salt is considered protect okay, especially against from you know, 153 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: bad luck or evil spirits or whatever. And I was 154 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: first introduced to this when one day you me had 155 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: visited her family and later on she opened up her 156 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: glove compartment and found that there was a prescription bottle 157 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: filled with salt that her mom had put in her 158 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: glove compartment to drive around with without telling. 159 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 2: Her, for just good luck. 160 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, to keep her protected while she's out thriving, and 161 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 1: that's Sweet's. 162 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 2: Great, yeah, Or she happened to have some French fries 163 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 2: that were a little bland, that's right. So now we're 164 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 2: at the point where we can talk a little bit 165 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 2: about how to ward it off. Because usually when there's 166 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,679 Speaker 2: any sort of a bad luck omen there's also an 167 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 2: antidote of sorts where you can combat that bad luck, 168 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 2: and in this case, it is usually a toss over 169 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 2: the left shoulder. And the reasons behind that seemed to 170 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:56,560 Speaker 2: be linked to the fact that supposedly, in many many cultures, 171 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 2: the devil sits over there on behind behind your left shoulder, 172 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:06,439 Speaker 2: waiting for sort of an invitation, and this salt spilling 173 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,319 Speaker 2: the salt could be that invitation and then quickly throwing 174 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 2: it over your left shoulder. The devil's like. 175 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: That stings, yeah, or if he's small enough, it really 176 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: desiccates him. 177 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 2: Right, yeah, right, like a slug right. 178 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: So yeah, that's why you use your left because sinister 179 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: is Latin for left originally, but it came to mean sinister, 180 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: and so that's that's why you're left. In particular, why 181 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: the devil's on your left shoulder, not just in other cultures, 182 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: but in cartoons throughout the world. 183 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I never noticed left or right, but I mean 184 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:43,959 Speaker 2: every cartoon have like the Little Angel and the Little Devil, 185 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 2: and I'm sure that they probably put him on the left. 186 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,959 Speaker 1: Yes, And the brilliance of the Flintstones was that they 187 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: combined both into one great kazoo. Oh God, I love kazoo. 188 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: You dumb, dumb. 189 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 2: He was so good. It was good stuff. 190 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: So I guess that. Huh. Oh wait. There's one more 191 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: thing about about throwing salt over your shoulder, especially if 192 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 1: you're a superstitious type. What it does is it relieves 193 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: you of a little bit of the anxiety that you 194 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,960 Speaker 1: might otherwise have walking around that day knowing that you 195 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:19,439 Speaker 1: spill the salt and wondering what bad thing's going to happen. 196 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,439 Speaker 1: That just small act of throwing salt over your left 197 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 1: shoulder allows you to just get over it and move 198 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: on with your day and that over time, that seeing 199 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: that that actually helps, that there is some benefit to 200 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: doing that just kind of created a positive feedback loop 201 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: where more and more people started throwing salt over their shoulder. 202 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: This is all conjecture, but it makes a lot of sense. 203 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:45,079 Speaker 1: Totally love it. 204 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 2: I'm going to start doing it. I'm going to spill 205 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 2: some salt and throw it over my shoulder. 206 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: Do not purposefully spill salt. That is really right, We'll 207 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,679 Speaker 1: just notice it then, O good. All right, Well that 208 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: means everybody short. Stuff is out. 209 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 2: Stuff you should know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 210 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,319 Speaker 2: more podcasts myheart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 211 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.