Luck wasn’t exactly on our side as a couple of us attempted to correctly answer questions about superstitions in a virtual game on Friday the Thirteenth. At least they didn’t ask about subtitles of Friday the Thirteenth films (I kind of joked that they might try to do that before the game)! It was a good learning experience if nothing else!

As I’ve mentioned before, my trivia team doesn’t have too many superstitions. Except touching other players with rubber tentacles before games for good luck (if you do this to players on opposing teams they may mistakenly think you’re cursing them, LOL)! We also don’t tend to like talking about how we’re doing during the game because it’s bad luck. And you have to wait UNTIL THE ENTIRE GAME IS FINISHED – even after score discrepancies have been sorted out and prizes are REALLY ready to be handed out – to get celebratory…AT ALL. Even if the team you’re playing with is not your own – and you’re super excited that you got an Academy Awards final question correct that would put the team you sat with in the top 10 (fourth place, as it were which was still a pretty damn good feather in the caps of all of those other players whom had never been to a trivia finals before). Am I speaking a bit from experience here? Uh, mmmmaybe!

Though I’m not too keen on superstitions, magicks? Well, that’s ANOTHER story! But a gentleman never asks a lady about her magicks, and a lady never tells (wink-wink)! Now where did I put those eyes of Newt Gingrich? 🙂

On a much lighter note, who knew that keys and sex workers had a common bond in superstition? We didn’t! Read on to learn more about this “sexy” superstition and more!

1. Good Luck – What symbol, a 1-in-5,000 variation of its more common form, is part of the logo on every SpaceX mission patch, due to the belief it provides good luck? Miss, though we thought about the right symbol (just not very hard, LOL)!

2. Friday – The first known reference to Friday being an unlucky day of the week is in what 14th century collection of stories by Geoffrey Chaucer? What other stories would there have been by this author? If presented in the original “Middle English,” these tales were a bit challenging to read (though make total sense if someone fluent in Middle English reads them out loud). Trust me – even though it’s English, it’s worlds apart from the bastardized version of the language us ‘Muricans speak!

3. The 13th – Due to its association with war, what day of the week is considered unlucky if it falls on the 13th in both Spanish-speaking countries and Greece? Miss.

4. Symbols – What symbol is believed to bring good luck due to the belief that the creature for which it was designed was terrifying to witches? Mike came up with right guess here.

5. Meat – In Rwanda, local folklore advises that women should avoiding eating the meat of what animal, since it is believed to cause both stubbornness and facial hair growth? All teams strangely got this…apparently this was a huge hoax – the male Rwandans just wanted more of this meat for themselves while their respective women were pregnant (curse the patriarchy)!

6. Sports – Former Argentinian soccer goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea attributed his success at saving penalty kicks to his performing what action on field, which one normally does in private? I’m not sure any teams got this one…talk about “fertilizing” the pitch? Gross…

7. Disputed Origins – Although it was previously believed that doing so was an affront to a sun god, what action more likely gained its bad luck reputation in 18th century London, due to the danger presented to others and personal belongings that it could cause? We were on the right track with our thinking here, but the wrong train…

8. Sailors – In Europe, it has been believed that using a candle to perform what action would cause a sailor to die?

9. Sweden – Because prostitutes used to do it attract customers, a belief developed that leaving what item(s) on a table is bad luck in Sweden? Swedes are weird (but I love ’em and their quirks)!

10. Bad Luck – Getting bad luck by walking under what household item is tied to the idea that doing so is representative of desecrating a trinity of gods? Softball to end the regulation round.

MYSTERY CATEGORY: Add ‘Em Up

MYSTERY QUESTIONS: Each answer will be a number. Those four numbers are in increasing order and will add up to 694.

M1. In Chinese, what number floor is often skipped in buildings, due to the belief that it is an unlucky number? The pronunciation of the number is similar to that of the Chinese word for “death.”

M2. In a 2004 poll conducted by British author Alex Bellos, what number was named as the most popular lucky number?

M3. What number is sometimes believed to be bad luck in Italy, because the Latin word “vixi,” meaning “my life is over,” can be rearranged into this number in Roman numerals? Mike came up with this one correctly.

M4. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of what number, referred to as “the number of the beast” in the Book of Revelation in the Bible? Now say this phobia name three times fast (do it NOW)!Mike was the hero of this mystery round (woot eight points)!

FINAL QUESTION: What personal grooming activity is believed to be bad luck if done at night in Eastern Asia and bad luck if done to a child under six months old if done in 19th-century Wales?

Close in our guess, but not quite right (it does involve cutting). We’ll be doing another virtual game tonight with as many ‘Pods and associates as I can muster! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, that Argentinian goalkeeper who pissed on the field for good luck!