1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck. 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: Jerry's here again sitting in for Dave and this is 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: short stuff. Come in. 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,639 Speaker 2: Oh no, I was just wishing myself good luck. 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: Oh well that should sound like this. 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,479 Speaker 2: We're talking about knocking on wood, and it's actually not 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 2: for good luck. Knocking on wood is more to avoid 8 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 2: tempting fate. 9 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,559 Speaker 1: It depends on who you're talking to. Are you an 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: ancient celt or a modern day Chuck. 11 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 2: I'm a modern day Kilt. 12 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: Oh god, no, no, no, I'm an ancient Chuck. 13 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 2: That's what I am. 14 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,279 Speaker 1: My brain's busted. Now you're gonna have to take over 15 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: the rest of this episode, now, all right, So yeah, 16 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: you're right. These days we knock on wood to ward 17 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: off bad luck. Usually it's when we're saying something like 18 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: a boast, or we're saying something that we don't want 19 00:00:58,520 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: the opposite to happen. 20 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 2: Thanks, you're going so great for this podcast. Nothing will 21 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 2: ever stop it from being successful. 22 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: Knock on wood. That's another thing you have to do too. 23 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: You you're doing it too many times, by the way, 24 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: you might actually be undoing the charm. I also say 25 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: knock on wood when I knock on wood, I guess 26 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: just to double up. 27 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, Emily always says she's very a big wood knocker, 28 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 2: so she's always like, you better find some wood to knock. 29 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, you can't. You can't mess around with like plastic 30 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: or metal. 31 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 2: It has to be fake wood even. 32 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: Yeah. So the the there's been all like this is 33 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: just a whole episode on Weird Little Luck Rituals. We 34 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: talked about throwing salt over your shoulder before, and I 35 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,559 Speaker 1: think we've talked about knocking on wood at some point before, 36 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: because it seems familiar that it can be traced back 37 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: to the ancient Celts and essentially based on their belief 38 00:01:54,480 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: that trees, particularly oak trees, harbored spirits and that if 39 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: you came in contact with the tree, you were coming 40 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: in contact essentially with the spirits. 41 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, and trees were a big deal. And you know, 42 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 2: if you've built your house out of a tree, you 43 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 2: may knock on that wood is sort of saying like, hey, 44 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 2: I believe if you'd knocked once it was like hey, 45 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 2: thanks for the good luck, and a second knock was 46 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 2: saying like thank you, I guess for your wood. All 47 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: of these things are action based, though, and there's something 48 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 2: around that, like most of these good luck things, like 49 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 2: you can't and it's not like good luck is even 50 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 2: a real thing anyway, but in order to feel like 51 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 2: you're achieving that desired outcome of luck, you can't just 52 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,120 Speaker 2: think it with kind of any of these things that 53 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 2: we're going to be talking about. And they've even done 54 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 2: research that was a study not a great one, but 55 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 2: a study from the University of Chicago in twenty thirteen 56 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 2: where they would have someone say something that like tempted 57 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 2: fate like our podcast will never you know, go down 58 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 2: the tubes or whatever, and then you could either knock wood, 59 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 2: throw a ball of course, which is not part of 60 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,640 Speaker 2: any ritual that we that I know of, or just 61 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:10,959 Speaker 2: hold on to a ball. And they found that the 62 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 2: people who felt like, all right, I think this worked 63 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 2: is the ones who actually did something, whether even if 64 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 2: it was throwing the ball, because it was an action. 65 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, they went to some effort to secure their good 66 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: luck or stave off the bad luck. 67 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 2: Yeah exactly. 68 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: Yeah. So apparently that again people trace this back to 69 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: the ancient Celts and their love of oak trees and 70 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: their belief that the spirits are in the oak trees, 71 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: so I think Also one of the things I saw 72 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: is that when you knock, you're essentially waking them up, like, 73 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: wake up, spirits, I need your help to secure this 74 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: good luck. Pretty interesting. And then other people are like, no, 75 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: you're knocking to basically to make a sound over your talking, 76 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: so the bad spirits can't hear you. That makes a 77 00:03:58,200 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: lot of sense too, But also, isn't it a little 78 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: too neat? Isn't it a little too tidy? Doesn't it 79 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: seem like there would be a much more recent, much 80 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: less Celtic pagany explanation than that. 81 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 2: Well there may be in the Brits, say touchwood instead 82 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 2: of knockwood, and apparently that was a game when was 83 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 2: this like the night in the nineteenth century, so much 84 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 2: more recent called tig touch wood. I've also seen tiggy 85 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 2: touch wood where it's basically tag where different trees are 86 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 2: assigned as bases, and if you were touching wood then 87 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 2: you were safe from being tagged it. 88 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: Yeah. A folklorist named Steve Rowd traced it back to 89 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: an eighteen ninety one book called The Boy's Modern Playmate. 90 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,359 Speaker 1: That's fun sure, So yeah, he thinks that this is 91 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: actually where this idea of touching wood and being safe 92 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,239 Speaker 1: and then eventually evolving into knocking wood for good luck 93 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: came from that. It's as recent as one hundred or 94 00:04:58,960 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: so years ago. 95 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think if you're in their variations, if you're 96 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 2: in Turkey, you do the knock wood twice, but you 97 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 2: also pull on your ear lobe one time. 98 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:10,919 Speaker 1: I like that one. I'm going to start doing that. 99 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 2: And I thing in Italy they say touch iron, and 100 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 2: people say why, I have no comeback for that, trying 101 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 2: to think of something Italian. 102 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: There's nothing to say other than because there's no good answer. 103 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: They're supposed to be touching what they just have it wrong. Essentially, 104 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 1: Sorry Italy, I say we take a break and come 105 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: back and talk about some other lucky practices around the world. 106 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: How about that? 107 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 2: Sure? No, sevision, No. 108 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: Okay, Chuck. Let's say that we're in Greece and I've 109 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 1: seen you across the street and I'm like, that guy 110 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: looks really good in those pants, so I'm jealous of them. 111 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: You might look over and see me go and like 112 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,279 Speaker 1: kind of wave my hand at you, And what I've 113 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: just done is basically given you the evil eye of envy, 114 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: and so to erase that I've spat three times and 115 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: waved off my envy. 116 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 2: Okay, what culture is at grease? 117 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: Grease? But spitting it's also big in Jewish culture too, too, 118 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: is I think three times usually is the way you 119 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: do it for good luck or to ward off bad 120 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:34,679 Speaker 1: luck more more usually. 121 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've also seen spitting over your shoulder, which that's hard. 122 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 2: That is hard. I mean you can sort of spit, just. 123 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: Spit right on your shoulders. I do. 124 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 2: I got one Denmark. This is very interesting. They save 125 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 2: their broken dishes. I like sort of elaborate ones like these. 126 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 2: So if you break a dish in Denmark, you just 127 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 2: save it all year long and you collect it, I guess, 128 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 2: and your little broken dish bin, and you save it 129 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 2: till New Year's Eve. And they will they will chuck 130 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 2: their broken plates toward people that they want to have 131 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 2: good luck, toward their houses, like a friend or a 132 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 2: family or whatever, to wish them good luck. And I 133 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 2: think the children can even just leave a little pile 134 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 2: on their friend's doorstep if they want them to, like, 135 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 2: instead of throwing it, they can just say, like, I 136 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 2: don't even know how to do a Danish accent, but 137 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 2: here's a little pile of broken dishes. 138 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: Do it like bew York even though she's Icelandic. I 139 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: think it'll. 140 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 2: Cover Oh man, I wish I could do be York. 141 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: So yeah, I like that. I also like leaving it 142 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: as a pile, whether than throwing your broken dishes at 143 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: someone's house because somebody's got to clean that up. Yeah. 144 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: One of my favorites is crossing fingers. Like, not only 145 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: do I like to cross fingers myself, I like using 146 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: the emoji crossing fingers is huge with me. 147 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 2: Yeah. 148 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: You would think that it probably dates back quite a ways, 149 00:07:55,960 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: and there's a story that it actually was originated by 150 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: the early Christians who were persecuted by the Romans at 151 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: the time, so they would cross fingers to basically signify 152 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: it at one another, to make a symbol of the cross, 153 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: almost like hey, I'm with you, buddy, I'm a Christian. 154 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: And I read I think in an Oxford explanatory article 155 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: on that that basically this is how they put it. 156 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 1: So they found that they can only date it back 157 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: to nineteen twelve and said given its late appearance, restricted 158 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: distribution most of the UK and colonies, and the fact 159 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: that crossed fingers bear no relation to the shape of 160 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: a cross. This explanation is completely unfounded. 161 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 2: My buddy Brett and I have always done we go 162 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 2: double hope hope, and we each cross both of our fingers. 163 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 2: I go and kiss each one, not each other's. Wow, 164 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 2: though we probably should. 165 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: That's got to work really well. 166 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not. I mean, I think we got that 167 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 2: from Why do I want to say we got that 168 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 2: from a movie like True Romance or something. I have 169 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 2: no idea. 170 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,479 Speaker 1: I don't. It doesn't really always. 171 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 2: Done it, so I have no idea where it came from. 172 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 2: I know. In China, what they do is they believe 173 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,959 Speaker 2: that your good luck comes through the front of the house. Yes, 174 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 2: and so before Chinese New Year, which is not the 175 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 2: same as our New Year, they clean their houses. But 176 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 2: they don't sweep out the dirt or the quote unquote 177 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 2: bad They sweep it all in in a little pile 178 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 2: and they collect it because they have to put it 179 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 2: out the back door. You never want to if you 180 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 2: want to bring in good luck, you don't want to 181 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 2: sweep that stuff out of the front door. 182 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, and then you don't do any cleaning at all. 183 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: The first couple of days after Chinese New Year because 184 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: you're letting that good luck accumulate, you know. Yeah, I 185 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: actually adopted that one for our New Year Western New Year. 186 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, nice out. 187 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: The bront door. I just don't clean for a couple 188 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: of days. I cleaned first, and I don't think I 189 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: was ticking out the back door, but the side door, 190 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:54,199 Speaker 1: I guess counts. It's not the front door, all right. 191 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: But then after, like so New Year's Eve you can 192 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: do that, but on New Year's Day there's no cleaning 193 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: or anything like that. 194 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 2: Well, what about Thailand? This is interesting? 195 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:05,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, why don't you take it? All right? 196 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 2: Little boys and men in Thailand think that if you 197 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 2: wear I'm not sure what's to pronounced palade kiek is 198 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:17,319 Speaker 2: how I would say it, p l A p A 199 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,680 Speaker 2: l A d k h i k, which is a 200 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 2: penis amulet. If you wear that in your pants, then 201 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 2: that's going to bring you luck. And this is just 202 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 2: a you know, it's a little If you look them up, 203 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 2: they look like very ornate of different design, but they're 204 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 2: all different versions of little car penises. They're usually pretty 205 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 2: small couple of inches, and they think that that will 206 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 2: bring you good luck and lessen like the severity of 207 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 2: an injury maybe, and I think just overall good luck. 208 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty great? 209 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 2: Huh sure, why not? 210 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 1: I don't have anything else? Do you have anything else? 211 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 2: Yeah? 212 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: Well, Chuck, I wish you the best of luck in 213 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: all of your endeavors. 214 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 2: Right back at you, I hold my penis amulet up 215 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 2: in your honor. 216 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 1: Thank you same to you. That means, of course, short 217 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 1: stuff is that. 218 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 2: Stuff you should know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 219 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:16,319 Speaker 2: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 220 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.