WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Why Spilling Salt is Unlucky

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck and we're doing it by ourselves, doing it

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<v Speaker 1>in the park, doing it after dark. It's short stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. And you know what, this was a little treat

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<v Speaker 2>for me because this is one of the old House

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<v Speaker 2>Stuff Works articles written by Debbie Ronkham, my good friend.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yep, I saw that. When I picked that, I

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<v Speaker 1>was like, Chuck's gonna love this. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>That was a time when we were writing there where

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<v Speaker 2>I ended up getting quite a few of my friends

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<v Speaker 2>freelance jobs, and Debbie was one of them. And we

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<v Speaker 2>just saw deb at our show in Boston.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Hey, Debbie, so it's good to catch up with her. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>And she did a great job with this because it's

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<v Speaker 1>not easy to talk about superstitions and keep your wits

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<v Speaker 1>about you. You can get so scared, yeah, that you

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<v Speaker 1>are just going to get off track. You might stop

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<v Speaker 1>writing altogether. But she cloud through and came up with

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<v Speaker 1>a great article from How Stuff Works about why it's

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<v Speaker 1>bad luck to spill Because everybody knows it's bad luck

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<v Speaker 1>to spill salt, but why And then on top of that,

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<v Speaker 1>have you ever noticed some people throw salt over their

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<v Speaker 1>left shoulder when they spill it. I do. Why would

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<v Speaker 1>we do that too.

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<v Speaker 2>Here's the thing. I know that superstitions can be regional,

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm not seeing people in the South don't do this.

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<v Speaker 2>But I've never seen anyone do this. I know it's

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<v Speaker 2>a thing. I've heard of it, but I never did it.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't. Maybe I've never spilled salt. I don't know,

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<v Speaker 2>but I've never known people who did it, So it

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<v Speaker 2>just wasn't a popular thing for me as like growing.

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<v Speaker 1>Up or now, thrown it over your shoulder.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I've never seen anyone do this stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>So, yeah, I do it every time. But it's possible though.

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<v Speaker 1>That's I guess I want to establish. You've known forever

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<v Speaker 1>that spilling salt is bad luck at least, right No?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, okay, I mean I've heard about it and seen

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<v Speaker 2>it in movies, but it wasn't. It wasn't like a

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<v Speaker 2>superstition that was prominent for me for some reason.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, but you i'd heard of it, like, this isn't

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<v Speaker 1>like news to you?

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<v Speaker 2>No, no, no, it wasn't news. I was just like,

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<v Speaker 2>who does this? And why is everyone spilling salt?

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<v Speaker 1>So, yeah, the thing about spilling salt in it being

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<v Speaker 1>a superstition? Is it seems to be a really really

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<v Speaker 1>old superstition that's been passed down through millennia essentially, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's still around today, which is kind of funny because

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<v Speaker 1>I don't actually consider myself superstitious, but yet I still

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<v Speaker 1>throw salt over my left shoulder every time I spill it.

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<v Speaker 1>And I spill a lot of salt.

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<v Speaker 2>What does spilling salt mean? Like you reach for the

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<v Speaker 2>shaker and you tip it over by accident.

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<v Speaker 1>I do it anytime the salt touches the counter or

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<v Speaker 1>anything aside from the salt box that I use.

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<v Speaker 2>So like, if you're shaking a little salt on food

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<v Speaker 2>and some like jumps off onto the counter, that you

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<v Speaker 2>will that's considered spilling it.

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<v Speaker 1>No, I don't actually know that you mentioned that. This

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<v Speaker 1>is more I'll grab a pinch out of the salt

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<v Speaker 1>box and be salting stuff and if that gets messy

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<v Speaker 1>then yeah, okay. It's almost like if I see it

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<v Speaker 1>and notice it, then I will I will throw it

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<v Speaker 1>over my shoulder, all right.

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<v Speaker 2>I love it. I'm certainly not. I mean, I'm the

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<v Speaker 2>weirdo that steps on a crack with their left foot.

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<v Speaker 2>Then has to step on a crack with their right flet.

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<v Speaker 1>So there's one thing we need to dispense with right

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<v Speaker 1>out of the gate, because there's it's a well known

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<v Speaker 1>fact that the word salary is derived from salt sal dare,

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<v Speaker 1>which means give salt in I think Latin, and that

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<v Speaker 1>that is how Roman soldiers used to be paid. That

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<v Speaker 1>is not entirely correct, but it doesn't seem to be

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<v Speaker 1>fully a myth either. Roman soldiers were partially paid in salt,

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<v Speaker 1>like they got a salt ration every day, or part

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<v Speaker 1>of their money their pay, the actual coinage they were

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<v Speaker 1>given was given to them to buy salt in part

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<v Speaker 1>to buy salt.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, we did a great episode on salt. I'm sure

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<v Speaker 2>we talked about that. Do you remember what we said then.

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<v Speaker 1>I think we said it was maybe even a myth altogether.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just it's it's ambiguous enough that you can't say

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<v Speaker 1>it's fully a myth or it's fully true.

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<v Speaker 2>Right. But the idea then, in terms of this episode,

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<v Speaker 2>is because salt was valuable, that could be one of

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<v Speaker 2>the reasons or one of the origins of it being

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<v Speaker 2>bad luck. Because you've just essentially spilled some money.

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<v Speaker 1>It's yeah, exactly. That's that's the likeliest and widest held

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<v Speaker 1>explanation for why spilling salt would be considered bad luck.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, what else you can kind of fast forward

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<v Speaker 1>a few years to Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the

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<v Speaker 1>Last Supper. I think that was in the sixteenth century

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<v Speaker 1>that he did that. And if you look very closely,

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<v Speaker 1>when Judas is scary out has spilled the salt.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't ever notice that.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't either, but I haven't seen it that many times.

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't either, now that I think about it. But

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<v Speaker 2>it was you know, I grew up in the church,

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<v Speaker 2>so it was a prominent painting.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you if you mentioned Judas and salt in

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<v Speaker 1>the same same breath, he probably would have been like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>Judas is terrible with salt, and that's why he was

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<v Speaker 1>such a terrible person.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, fair enough, that could be another you know,

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<v Speaker 2>religious connotation for the bad luck.

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<v Speaker 1>Well also, though I thought this is pretty interesting. In Christianity,

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<v Speaker 1>it's also seen as a symbol of holiness and purity,

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<v Speaker 1>which is not just symbolic. It actually does keep food pure.

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<v Speaker 1>It's one of the things that salt has always been

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<v Speaker 1>used for is preservation, so I thought that was a

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<v Speaker 1>pretty interesting extension or expansion or extrapolation.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, agreed. Shall we take a break, Yeah, all right,

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<v Speaker 2>let's take a break. We'll talk about maybe some more

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<v Speaker 2>background and why we throw it over our left shoulder

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<v Speaker 2>right after this.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, chuck. So there's been a lot of different myths

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<v Speaker 1>about salt that has spread out, which kind of makes

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<v Speaker 1>sense because salt's been traded all over the world for

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<v Speaker 1>a while, and it's been valuable, or it was valuable

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<v Speaker 1>for a very long time. For example, in Slavic mythology,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a well trod story about a father who has

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<v Speaker 1>three daughters and he asks them how much they love him,

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<v Speaker 1>and the first one says, I love you as much

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<v Speaker 1>as diamonds, the second one says I love you as

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<v Speaker 1>much as gold, and the third one says I love

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<v Speaker 1>you as much as salt. And he says, begone, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>get out, and she's like, why, just stop and think

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<v Speaker 1>about what I said, dad, And he said, I said

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<v Speaker 1>be gone, and she's begone.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, she goned herself. And it was only till later,

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<v Speaker 2>when he's eating something that's not salted that he puts

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<v Speaker 2>down his fork. The music cue the needle drop happens,

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<v Speaker 2>and lone tear trickles down his face and he goes,

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<v Speaker 2>oh my god, she's the one who loved me the most,

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<v Speaker 2>because this food is garbage.

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<v Speaker 1>There's an alternate ending too, where the tear strikes the

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<v Speaker 1>bite of food he has mid air salts it and

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<v Speaker 1>he forgets what he was even upset about.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh look, I just actually looked up the Judas thing

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<v Speaker 2>and there there it is. There's a little thing of

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<v Speaker 2>salt spilled over right there It is a wrist.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you think Debbie Ranka made that up?

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<v Speaker 2>No? But I just never noticed that had been so funny.

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<v Speaker 2>I text Debbie and she's like, age, you like that?

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<v Speaker 2>It totally made that up. There are African folk tales apparently,

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<v Speaker 2>where salt is a metaphor for wisdom or life trials,

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<v Speaker 2>things like that. So if you would spill it then

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<v Speaker 2>it could be viewed as a misfortune or ignorance for

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<v Speaker 2>the protagonist.

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<v Speaker 1>Also in Japan, I can tell you firsthand. In Japanese culture,

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<v Speaker 1>salt is considered protect okay, especially against from you know,

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<v Speaker 1>bad luck or evil spirits or whatever. And I was

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<v Speaker 1>first introduced to this when one day you me had

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<v Speaker 1>visited her family and later on she opened up her

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<v Speaker 1>glove compartment and found that there was a prescription bottle

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<v Speaker 1>filled with salt that her mom had put in her

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<v Speaker 1>glove compartment to drive around with without telling.

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<v Speaker 2>Her, for just good luck.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, to keep her protected while she's out thriving, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's Sweet's.

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<v Speaker 2>Great, yeah, Or she happened to have some French fries

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<v Speaker 2>that were a little bland, that's right. So now we're

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<v Speaker 2>at the point where we can talk a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>about how to ward it off. Because usually when there's

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<v Speaker 2>any sort of a bad luck omen there's also an

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<v Speaker 2>antidote of sorts where you can combat that bad luck,

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<v Speaker 2>and in this case, it is usually a toss over

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<v Speaker 2>the left shoulder. And the reasons behind that seemed to

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<v Speaker 2>be linked to the fact that supposedly, in many many cultures,

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<v Speaker 2>the devil sits over there on behind behind your left shoulder,

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<v Speaker 2>waiting for sort of an invitation, and this salt spilling

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<v Speaker 2>the salt could be that invitation and then quickly throwing

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<v Speaker 2>it over your left shoulder. The devil's like.

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<v Speaker 1>That stings, yeah, or if he's small enough, it really

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<v Speaker 1>desiccates him.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, yeah, right, like a slug right.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, that's why you use your left because sinister

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<v Speaker 1>is Latin for left originally, but it came to mean sinister,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that's that's why you're left. In particular, why

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<v Speaker 1>the devil's on your left shoulder, not just in other cultures,

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<v Speaker 1>but in cartoons throughout the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I never noticed left or right, but I mean

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<v Speaker 2>every cartoon have like the Little Angel and the Little Devil,

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm sure that they probably put him on the left.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, And the brilliance of the Flintstones was that they

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<v Speaker 1>combined both into one great kazoo. Oh God, I love kazoo.

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<v Speaker 1>You dumb, dumb.

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<v Speaker 2>He was so good. It was good stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>So I guess that. Huh. Oh wait. There's one more

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<v Speaker 1>thing about about throwing salt over your shoulder, especially if

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<v Speaker 1>you're a superstitious type. What it does is it relieves

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<v Speaker 1>you of a little bit of the anxiety that you

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<v Speaker 1>might otherwise have walking around that day knowing that you

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<v Speaker 1>spill the salt and wondering what bad thing's going to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>That just small act of throwing salt over your left

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<v Speaker 1>shoulder allows you to just get over it and move

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<v Speaker 1>on with your day and that over time, that seeing

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<v Speaker 1>that that actually helps, that there is some benefit to

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<v Speaker 1>doing that just kind of created a positive feedback loop

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<v Speaker 1>where more and more people started throwing salt over their shoulder.

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<v Speaker 1>This is all conjecture, but it makes a lot of sense.

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<v Speaker 1>Totally love it.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm going to start doing it. I'm going to spill

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<v Speaker 2>some salt and throw it over my shoulder.

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<v Speaker 1>Do not purposefully spill salt. That is really right, We'll

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<v Speaker 1>just notice it then, O good. All right, Well that

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<v Speaker 1>means everybody short. Stuff is out.

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