Bizarre Old Superstitions: Umbrellas, Chimney Sweeps & Deadly Omens | The Strange History Podcast

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome back, my brave and possibly doomed listeners. Last week we spilled salt, knocked on wood, and nearly blinded the devil. This week, we're taking it further. Thirteen more superstitions from the past that prove humans will believe anything if it helps us feel like we're in control. From cursed umbrellas to lucky chimney sweeps. Let's open history's attic and see what falls on our heads. Let's start with that time honored piece of bad luck, opening an umbrella indoors. This belief dates back to the eighteenth century London, when umbrellas were made of metal spokes so sharp they could probably double as medieval weapons.

0:41 Speaker 1: Opening one inside could easily put someone's eye out or knock over your host's priceless porcelain dog. Naturally, this led to the superstition that it offended the sun god, who apparently didn't like shade where it didn't belong. So technically this isn't a superstition, it's just good manners with extra drama.

1:02 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by Safe Shade, the world's first umbrella guaranteed not to anger ancient deities. Open indoors at your own enlightenment.

1:12 Speaker 1: Next up, itchy palms. According to folklore, if your left palm itches, you'll lose money. If you're right, itches, you'll gain some. The superstition can be traced back to Saxon times, when people used silver to treat skin ailments. The itch meant money was near, or that you had a rash and poor hygiene. Either way, when my palm's itch, I check my venmo and my moisturizer.

1:38 Speaker 2: This financial forecast brought to you by handiluck, the only lotion that hydrates while manifesting abundance, moisturize your destiny.

1:46 Speaker 1: Now, let's raise a glass, because toasting has its own peculiar origin. The ancient Romans feared poisoning so much that they'd bump goblets together, splashing wine into one another's cups to prove trust. Later, people believed you had to make eye contact or risk bad luck, doomed love, or social ruin. In medieval times, folks even said failing to toast the dead might offend their spirits. So next time someone says cheers, remember you're not celebrating, you're performing an ancient anti poison ritual.

2:21 Speaker 2: Today's liquid luck is brought to you. By wine, not the only wine guaranteed not to be cursed, poisoned, or boxed.

2:30 Speaker 1: Stepping on a crack that childhood chant. Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Creepy little rhyme, isn't it. This superstition began in the sixteenth century, when people feared cracks were entrances to the underworld evil spirits could escape through them. Over time, mother's spines got dragged into the deal, because well, everything somehow comes back to your poor mother. Honestly, I avoid cracks, not for luck, just to keep my ankles intact.

3:00 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by Crack Free Living, the new line of orthotic insuls that protect your feet and your mother's back.

3:07 Speaker 1: Probably have you ever tossed coins into a fountain and made a wish, You're actually participating in a pagan water spirit bribe. Ancient Celts and Romans believed wells and springs were inhabited by gods. Offer them coins, jewelry, or if you were feeling dramatic, livestock and they might bless you with good fortune. Today we just use pennies inflation.

3:32 Speaker 2: I guess wishing made easy with fountain pay skip the coins, just tap your phone and watch Poseidon charge your card.

3:41 Speaker 1: Speaking of offerings, ever heard that you shouldn't cross knives on a table? In Norse and Celtic lore, crossed blades symbolized conflict. If you accidentally did it, you were supposed to uncross them immediately to cut the bad luck. Medieval households believed crossed knives meant a coming argument. In some places, it was even a bad omen for marriage. At my house, it just means I'm bad at setting the table onto the next bit of strange. If a bird flies into your house, someone's going to die, or at least that's what victorians believed.

4:16 Speaker 1: This grim superstition might have come from folklore associating birds with spirits. Robins and sparrows were said to carry souls to heaven, so if one came inside, it was delivering a message or collecting postage. I once had a sparrow fly into my kitchen. No deaths followed, but I did have to wash everything twice.

4:39 Speaker 2: This segment brought to you by window cling bird barriers keeping your home ghost free and your bird's concussion free since eighteen ninety nine.

4:49 Speaker 1: Now here's when I adore chimney sweeps bring good luck. In the eighteenth century in England, a soot covered sweep saved King George the Second's life by stopping a runaway carriage. Grateful, the king declared chimney sweeps lucky forever. Soon it became tradition for brides to kiss a sweep on their wedding day for lifelong happiness. Though personally, if a man in soot kissed me on my wedding day, my first wish would be soap.

5:18 Speaker 2: This bit of fortune brought to you by sweepright, the matchmaking app connecting lonely hearts with available chimney professionals. Love is in the air, and so is the soot.

5:29 Speaker 1: And then there's one we still use every day, saying bless you when someone sneezes. This dates back to the bubonic plague. Sneezing was often the first sign of infection, so people said God bless you to ward off death itself. Pope Gregory the Great even made it official in the sixth century. So technically every bless you is an ancient emergency prayer disguised as small.

5:55 Speaker 2: Talk, brought to you by gazoooned tight, the world's first sneeze activated hand sanitizer. Every bless you comes with SPF and purel.

6:07 Speaker 1: Whistling indoors another seemingly harmless habit with a cursed reputation. In many cultures, whistling inside was believed to summon spirits, demons, or bad weather. Sailors were especially wary. A whistle on a ship could whistle up a storm. Personally, the only storm I've ever summoned by whistling is my dog, who assumes I'm holding cheese. Breaking bread with others isn't just a meal, It's a ritual. Ancient superstition warned never to turn a loaf upside down or cut it before it cooled. Bread symbolized life itself, and mistreating it invited famine or sorrow.

6:46 Speaker 1: In France, Baker's even left one loaf unmarked l'pan de boureau, or the executioner's bread, out of fear that slicing it wrong would anger death himself. No pressure when you're just trying to make a sandand which seeing a single magpie bad luck. Two magpies good, three a wedding, four a birth. This British rhyme dates to the seventeen hundreds, when magpies were believed to be thieves, stealing shiny things and carrying messages between worlds. The rhyme gave people a sense of control over random chance.

7:21 Speaker 1: To this day, some Brits still salute a lone magpie and say hello, mister magpie, how's your wife, as if they're checking in with a feathery mafia down.

7:32 Speaker 2: This segment is sponsored by Magipie Bakery, where every slice comes with good fortune and optional curses. Try the lucky crust, it's to die for.

7:43 Speaker 1: And finally, let's talk about house spirits, the old belief that every home had invisible guardians. In Slavic folklore, it was the domovoi, a mischievous old man who lived by the stove. In Scotland, it was the brownie. You had to leave offerings a crust of bread a bowl of milk to keep them happy. Forget to feed them and they'd hide your tools, spoil your milk, or worse, curse your luck. Basically the original version of a grumpy room mate.

8:15 Speaker 2: Tonight's peace offering is brought to you by Brownie Bites, the only midnight snack guaranteed to keep your house spirit satisfied and your milk unsoured.

8:24 Speaker 1: And there you have it. From soot covered sweeps to whispering house spirits, our ancestors found omens in every sneeze, spoon, and seagull. Maybe superstition isn't about ignorance. Maybe it's about comfort, because deep down, we all want to believe we can influence fate, even if it means saluting birds or refusing to open umbrellas inside. Thank you for joining me on this two part journey through history's strangest beliefs. I'm Amy reminding you to stay curious, stay strange, and above all, stay lucky,