Pirates believed that piercing the ears with such precious metals as silver and gold improved one's eyesight.
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Collect seven or nine different flowers on midsummer eve and place them under your pillow and it is said that you will dream of your future spouse. (Sweden)
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Opening an umbrella indoors is said to result in 21 days of bad luck. Some traditions hold that it is only bad luck if the umbrella is placed over the head of someone while indoors.
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In some parts of England, rum is used to wash a baby's head for good luck.
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A single magpie is considered a sign of bad luck. A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar recites an old proverb concerning the incidence of bad weather when magpies forage alone and a possible scientific explanation for this.
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According to an age old custom, carrying a dead shrew in your pocket wards off rheumatism!
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An acorn at the window will keep lightning out
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There are numerous sailors' superstitions, such as: it is considered bad luck for a ship to set sail on a Friday, to bring anything blue aboard, to stick a knife into the deck, to leave a hatch cover upside-down, to say "pig", or to eat walnuts aboard.
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