Brett's Two Cents

A horseshoe’s charm comes from the legend of St. Dunstan, a Medieval blacksmith who was (it’s said) one day asked by the devil to shoe his cloven hoof. St. Dunstan agreed, but in carrying out the task, he caused the devil such pain that he was able to make him promise never to enter a house that has a horseshoe hanging above the doorway.

The number 13 represents Judas Iscariot, the 13th to arrive at the Last Supper. Friday itself is unlucky because it was the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. Years ago, the British set out to disprove these superstitions. They named a new vessel HMS Friday, laid her keel on a Friday, and set sail on a Friday the 13th. Neither ship nor crew was heard from again…

The great Shawnee chief Tecumseh, who died fighting with Canada against the U.S. in the War of 1812, placed a curse on the American presidency: that every president elected in a year that ends in a zero would die during his term. Until the year 2000, every president elected in such a year did indeed die in office, with the exception of Reagan, who was shot but survived. Here’s how they died:

The ancient Greeks believed a blessing might prevent evil from entering your body during its unguarded state while you sneeze. Our tradition comes from the Black Plague of 1665, when sneezing was believed to be one of its first symptoms. Infection meant certain death, and so the  symptom was greeted with the prayer, “God bless you!”