Everything Rob Banks Did To Rack Up Back Luck For Friday the 13th
All week long, we tried to see how much bad luck we could rack up before Friday the 13th so, we tried each of the most popular superstitions of bad luck.
- Walked under 13 ladders on Elmwood
- Opened up an umbrella 13 times inside the 13th floor of the Rand Building downtown
- Broke 13 mirrors in Lafayette Square
- Then....this happened.
(Thankfully, all of the animal shelters in the area have no black cats available for adoption because they're in people's homes!)
- 1
Opening Umbrellas Indoors
According to superstition, bad luck will "rain" on you if you open an umbrella indoors. One explanation comes from the days when umbrellas were used as protection from the sun; opening one inside was an insult to the sun god
- 2
Black Cats Walking In Front Of You
The black cat in folklore has been able to change into human shape to act as a spy or courier for witches or demons.
- 3
Breaking Mirrors
Breaking a mirror is bad luck because the belief is that centuries-old lore holds fast to the idea that a mirror is a projection of one's appearance and soul.
- 4
Walking Under Ladders
A ladder leaning up against a wall forms the shape of a triangle, and walking through it would be seen as "breaking" the Trinity, a crime seen as blasphemous as well as potentially attracting the devil.