Charming artifacts

Do you believe in fortune? The origins of 10 good-luck charms

Image: Dayne Topkin

Ever felt the urge to hold onto a lucky charm? You’re not alone! Across the world, cultures have long relied on objects—from ancient talismans to modern tokens—to attract good fortune and ward off misfortune. Many of these items carry curious histories or age-old beliefs. Let’s explore some of the fascinating stories behind these enduring symbols of luck.

Image: Matt Benson

Horseshoes have symbolized luck for centuries, especially when hung above doorways with the open end facing upward to "catch" good fortune.

Historically, iron was considered a protective metal against evil spirits, and the shape resembled the crescent moon, associated with prosperity. Also, in medieval Europe, blacksmiths were often seen as having magical powers, making horseshoes doubly potent as charms.

Image: Sujay Paul

The very rare four-leaf clover is a well-known Celtic symbol of luck, with each leaf representing faith, hope, love, and luck.

Finding one was considered miraculous, giving rise to legends that only those pure of heart could stumble upon one. Druids were also believed to regard the four-leaf clover as a charm that warded off evil spirits and offered protection.

Image: Timofei Adrian

Carrying a rabbit’s foot is a superstition that originated in both African and European traditions, but this charm became especially popular in North America during the 19th century.

The myth’s origin likely stems from rabbits being associated with fertility and abundance, while the foot—especially from the left hind leg—was believed to carry protective and lucky qualities.

Image: Adam Nir

Finding a penny, especially with the head side facing up, has long been considered a sign of good luck.

This superstition traces back to ancient times when coins were sometimes associated with divination and fortune. The phrase "See a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck" dates back to 18th-century England, though the original version actually referred to a pin.

Image: Samuel Branch

The Japanese "beckoning cat" is believed to bring prosperity and good fortune to both homes and businesses.

Originating in the Edo period, legends tell of a cat saving a temple or attracting wealth to a shop. Typically, the raised paw signifies welcoming good luck, with golden versions being more linked to financial success.

Image: Caleb Lucas

Acorns have symbolized potential, growth, and prosperity since ancient Norse and Celtic times. The Vikings carried acorns for protection against both lightning and misfortune in general.

Their slow growth into mighty oaks made them enduring symbols of patience and eventual reward, giving acorns a lasting association with good fortune.

Image: engin akyurt

The Nazar is a blue eye-shaped charm from Turkey and the Mediterranean, meant to protect against envy and negative energy.

The belief dates back thousands of years, with fear of evil eye curses appearing across numerous cultures. The charm is said to absorb harmful intent, offering protection to households, travelers, and children.

Image: Nazym Jumadilova

Originating with the Ojibwe people of North America, dreamcatchers are believed to filter bad dreams, letting only good dreams pass.

Hanging a dreamcatcher over a bed or crib was thought to protect sleepers from nightmares. The woven web symbolizes the spider, a guardian figure associated with wisdom and protection in Ojibwe teachings.

Image: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Breaking a wishbone, usually from a turkey, is said to grant a wish to the person who ends up with the larger piece.

The tradition dates back to ancient Rome, where birds were symbols of divine prophecy. The custom spread across Europe and eventually to North America, becoming a holiday superstition associated with luck.

Image: Maria Ionova

In Kabbalah and other traditions, a red string tied around the wrist is believed to ward off evil spirits and misfortune. Its red color symbolizes life force, protection, and spiritual energy.

The practice of wearing a red string or bracelet is not limited to Jewish culture, however. Hindu, Buddhist, and Chinese traditions also use red threads or cords in similar ways, symbolizing luck, love, and protection.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Stranger Than Fiction: 10 Unbelievable Events That Actually Happened

Image: Diana van Ormondt

They say truth is stranger than fiction, and some of these historical events are living proof of this old adage.

Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride through history, where the strange and unexpected take center stage in the theater of reality. From absurd battles to mysterious weather phenomena, these 10 astonishing tales will leave you thinking long and hard about the complexities of human history.

Image: Sharon Co Images

Wars are typically waged between nations, but in 1932, Australia faced an unusual adversary: emus. After large numbers of these flightless birds invaded crucial farmland within Western Australia’s Wheatbelt, the government decided to intervene by sending soldiers armed with machine guns to reduce the emu population in the area. However, most attempts were ineffective at most, killing very few birds and costing thousands of dollars in supplies and ammunition.

As soon as the first shot was fired, the seemingly tame emu dispersed way beyond the range of the machine guns, and apparently switched to guerrilla tactics of sorts, avoiding all further military ambushes and frontal attacks while still feasting on the farmer’s crops. The government’s futile attempts were ridiculed and physical barrier methods to manage wildlife were preferred from then on. Sadly, they give no medals for having endured the Great Emu War.

Image: Hannah Skelly

In 1518, the town of Strasbourg, France, was gripped by a strange and inexplicable phenomenon - people suddenly began dancing uncontrollably in the streets. The dancing madness persisted for weeks, with some of the affected succumbing to exhaustion or even death. The authorities at the time did not know how to react, and some people even joined the dancers voluntarily, as they feared it was a punishment from Saint Vitus (and presumably wanted to stay on the safe side).

After many efforts to fight the strange epidemic, the dancing eventually subsided and people in the town could resume their normal lives. While theories range from mass hysteria to hallucinogenic substances and neurological disorders like Sydenham's chorea, the event remains a historical enigma that challenges our understanding of the human mind and collective behavior.

Image: Nima Sarram

In 1908, a massive explosion flattened over 80 million trees in the remote Tunguska region of Siberia. The cause? A mysterious airburst, likely caused by the explosion of a meteoroid or comet in Earth's atmosphere. It is now estimated that the event had an explosive energy of 3 to 5 megatons, equivalent to over a thousand Hiroshima bombs. The resulting shockwave broke windows, and knocked people down hundreds of miles away, reaching an equivalent of an earthquake of 5.0 on the Richter scale in some areas.

A bright glow was observed in night skies in Asia and Europe for days after the event due to high-altitude ice particles that formed as a result of the explosion. For all its magnitude, the explosion left no visible crater and minimal debris beside the devastated forest. The Tunguska Event serves as a stark reminder of the potential cosmic threats that lurk in the darkness of space.

Image: British Library

Miscommunication can often lead to chaos, but rarely on the scale witnessed in the Battle of Karánsebes in 1788. The Austrian army, at the time facing the Ottoman Empire, descended into total anarchy when two different scouting parties mistook one another for the enemy, fired on each other, and raised the alarm.

Making matters worse, the Austrian army was made of men of different nationalities who more often than not could not understand each other. All attempts to end confusion and the ensuing friendly fire on the part of the Austrian emperor himself were in vain, and after a while - deeply demoralized - he was forced to give the order of retreat. When the Ottoman army arrived two days later, they found an empty battlefield and were able to take the city of Karánsebes without any resistance.

Image: Aswathy N

In 1807, eight years before Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte had a humiliating defeat at the hands of a strange opponent - a horde of rabbits. During the celebrations that followed the Treaties of Tilsit - which effectively ended the war between the French and Imperial Russia - Napoleon’s chief of staff Alexandre Berthier had the idea of organizing a rabbit hunt to entertain its guests.

So far, nothing out of the ordinary for the time, but when the rabbits were simultaneously freed along the edges of a grassy field, instead of scattering as expected, all these fluffy beasts began running toward their amused hunters. But the fits of laughter didn’t last long, as the now-hunted hunters realized that there was nothing they could do to stop the relentless animals as they swarmed their positions and had no other choice than to flee. Some accounts state that Berthier had gathered around 3000 rabbits, so not even mighty Napoleon was a match for this unexpected army.

Apparently, the chief of staff's mistake was buying tame rabbits from local farmers, accustomed to being fed by humans, instead of trapping wild hares for the hunt. If we learned anything from the Great Emu War, the lesson is clear: never underestimate animals!

Image: Mitsuo Komoriya

In the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia - the largest in at least 1,300 years - 1816 became known as the "Year Without a Summer." The volcanic ash floating in the atmosphere led to climate abnormalities worldwide, resulting in crop failures and widespread famine in the most affected areas.

In Europe and North America temperatures plummeted, and most crops suffered irreparable damage due to the persistent frost. In the United States, a "dry fog" was observed in the eastern regions, dimming sunlight so much that sunspots were visible to the naked eye. Also, the high level of volcanic particles present in the atmosphere caused strange optical effects in the following years, such as strong red hues during sunsets, which can be observed in many paintings produced at the time.

Image: Tiana Attride

It seems that wars against unusual adversaries are a fashionable trend in human history because the Roman Emperor Caligula declared war in the year 40 AD on no one other than the god Neptune himself, king of the raging seas.

Known for his eccentricity, Caligula allegedly ordered his legionnaires to "attack" the sea with swords and spears, after which he declared victory against the powerful god and told the men to gather seashells as trophies of war. One can only imagine that the soldiers had a fun -albeit puzzling- day.

Image: Tim Mossholder

In the late 1980s, Pepsi briefly possessed the sixth-largest navy in the world. In exchange for commercializing Pepsi products in the Soviet Union, the company received 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer.

However, the fleet was composed of obsolete and unseaworthy vessels that were destined to be turned into scrap almost immediately. The payment was made in the only resources the USSR could gather easily at the time, and it provided a way to establish profitable international relations - and open up to the world.

Image: Garry T

The American Civil War started and concluded with a curious connection to Wilmer McLean, an American wholesale grocer from Virginia. The conflict's first major battle, the First Battle of Bull Run, took place in McLean's farm in 1861. A cannonball fell directly through the kitchen fireplace of the McLean’s house, which was being used as headquarters for the Confederate Army, destroying the dinner that was being prepared by the stationed officers - something that was noted not without humor by the Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard.

The McLean family moved to Appomattox, Virginia trying to escape the war, but just four years later, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in McLean's parlor, marking the conclusion of the Civil War. Unintentionally, McLean was a prime witness of one of America’s most defining conflicts. Later, he said of this: "The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."

Image: Snowscat

Genghis Khan's vast empire and brutal military campaigns had an unexpected impact on the Earth's climate. A recent study suggests that the Mongol invasions in the 13th century led to a significant reduction in global carbon dioxide levels, as large areas of cultivated land returned to forests.

This had the unintentional effect of scrubbing as much as 700 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, roughly equivalent to the global annual consumption of gasoline today. This drastic ecological shift highlights the effect that land use, and particularly deforestation can have on our planet at a large scale.