• BigBenis@lemmy.world
      31·
      2 months ago

      To be fair, it’s one of the more reasonable superstitions considering the potential of being hit by a heavy falling object.

      • Ricky Rigatoni@lemm.ee
        22·
        2 months ago

        People won’t listen to “if you walk under a ladder you might get hit by a paint bucket” but they will listen to “if you walk under a ladder some nondescript aethereal force will give you bad luck”. What is wrong with our brains.

    • FryHyde@lemmy.zip
      16·
      2 months ago

      absolutely, yeah. there’s still a lot of construction folks/builders that refuse to do it. usually the same folks that have superstitions about tools (like never hand someone an unfolded pocket knife, no matter how safely you do it)

      • LowtierComputer@lemmy.world
        5·
        2 months ago

        There’s a really weird thing in the Southeastern US where people will hand you pocketknives with the blade out always and you can’t hand it back closed. I don’t understand it.

        • cyrano@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          4·
          2 months ago

          One explanation ties this to a belief that closing a knife someone else opened can bring bad luck, or is considered bad manners. There’s also the practical side: if someone hands you an open blade, they’re entrusting you with a dangerous tool, and closing it before handing it back could suggest you don’t trust them to handle it properly.

          • LowtierComputer@lemmy.world
            4·
            2 months ago

            I get the bad luck superstition, but handing someone a closed knife is just safer. The idea that handing someone an open knife shows more respect is stupid.
            I’ve had someone hand me an open knife and accidentally stab me with it. The whole point of it closing is to reduce the risk of getting cut.

            • cyrano@lemmy.dbzer0.com
              5·
              2 months ago

              Agreed with you. In Europe, there’s a superstition that gifting a knife can “cut” or sever a relationship. To avoid this, the person receiving the knife must give a coin—usually just a small one—back to the giver. This act symbolically “pays” for the knife, turning it into a purchase rather than a gift, and preventing any bad luck or harm to the friendship or relationship.

              It’s blend of practicality, tradition, and superstition.

              • Rubanski@lemm.ee
                3·
                2 months ago

                I also know about this superstition. It’s apparently pretty widespread

      • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
        1·
        2 months ago

        like never hand someone an unfolded pocket knife, no matter how safely you do it

        Yeah! Without a proper backspin toss, it’s not going to land in their palm correctly, or in time for their next throw.