Superstitious speech

The eerie belief behind saying "bless you" after a sneeze

We use phrases like "bless you" or "break a leg" every day, but have you ever stopped to wonder where they actually came from? Many of our favorite figures of speech are rooted in the old superstitions of our ancestors: fears, beliefs, and traditions that haven't quite faded away. Let’s uncover the fascinating, sometimes eerie, backstories behind 10 idioms we use all the time.

When someone sneezes, "bless you" is the automatic response. This tradition began in the 6th century, primarily thanks to Pope Gregory the Great, who ordered the saying of "God bless you" to protect people from the plague, as sneezing was considered an early symptom of sickness.

Some also trace it back to an ancient belief, shared across Europe and Asia, that a sneeze was the body's way of driving out evil spirits, or even the soul briefly trying to escape. According to the legend, saying "God bless you" was a quick, necessary prayer to protect the sneezer’s soul from being snatched by the devil before it settled back in.

"Cross your fingers" is a widely recognized way of wishing for a positive outcome. It originated in the 16th-century Christian practice of physically crossing one's fingers to signify the cross and invoke divine protection.

Over time, the hand gesture evolved from a silent, pious prayer into a casual expression. Now, we use it in everyday conversation to show support for a friend or to signal that we are banking on a specific, desired result during a stressful situation.

We use this expression when we wish someone good luck before they step on stage, or, more broadly, before any high-pressure moment.

The origins are surprisingly murky for such a well-known phrase. The most widely accepted theory traces it back to the competitive world of American vaudeville and Broadway in the early 20th century, where wishing someone good luck directly would actually invite bad luck. Saying the opposite was a way of outsmarting fate.

"Speak of the devil" is one of those phrases we use almost automatically. The moment someone walks into a room right after being mentioned in conversation, someone inevitably says it.

The expression is a shortening of a traditional English proverb, 'speak of the devil, and he shall appear,' which dates back to at least the 1500s-1600s. The original meaning was far less casual: it was a genuine warning rooted in the medieval Christian belief that speaking of evil, even in passing, was thought to invite it into your presence.

Imagine your boss is about to call on you to present a report you completely forgot to prepare, but just as he turns to you, an urgent call comes in, and the meeting gets cancelled. Being saved by the bell means to be rescued from a difficult situation at the very last second.

Due to a 19th-century custom, bells were attached to coffins to alert people in case someone woke up, reflecting the widespread fear at the time of being buried alive. It is a perfect example of a dark, historical anxiety morphing into a lighthearted, everyday piece of office humor.

There's no single definitive origin story or specific text where this expression first appeared. It likely evolved organically from the general cultural association between wind and chaos. Today, the expression means to act recklessly or boldly, ignoring risks.

The phrase draws from a long tradition of wind-related idioms in English that associate wind with unpredictability and lack of control ("gone with the wind," "which way the wind blows," etc.).

In seafaring culture, "throwing caution to the wind" may also connect to the idea of sailing recklessly by putting up too much sail despite dangerous conditions: essentially letting the wind take over rather than navigating carefully.

The phrase "it must be a Friday the 13th" has become an idiomatic way to complain about a day when everything goes wrong. It draws on the combined superstitions surrounding the number 13, often linked to the 13 guests at the Last Supper (1st century AD), and the perceived misfortune of Friday, the day of the Crucifixion. When we use this expression, we aren't necessarily expressing deep fear; we are simply using a culturally shared shorthand to describe a series of unfortunate, coincidental events.

We often use the idiom "like walking through a minefield" to describe a social situation that is incredibly tense and fraught with hidden dangers. While it sounds like a literal warning, it has become a common expression for navigating tricky interpersonal politics. The phrase originated in the early 20th century, specifically around World War I (circa 1915), when the use of landmines became a terrifying new reality of modern warfare. It quickly shifted from a military term to a popular metaphor.

"Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck" is an idiomatic rhyme that turns a mundane discovery into a superstitious event. The underlying belief likely traces back to ancient societies across Europe and Asia, who saw metal as a sacred gift from the gods, forged from the earth itself. Finding a piece of it was no accident; it was a sign of divine favor. By the early 20th century, it evolved to include the penny. Today, reciting this idiom acknowledges our enduring, playful hope for a little extra luck.

When we say "knock on wood," we express an idiom to express a desire for continued good fortune or to ward off bad luck after boasting. It’s just a reflexive, superstitious way to keep the bad luck at bay, even if we’re only knocking on a laminated desk.

One popular theory traces it to ancient pagan cultures, particularly those that regarded trees as sacred or inhabited by spirits — a belief found across pre-Christian Europe, from Norse to Celtic traditions. By knocking on the trunk, people hoped to awaken these benevolent spirits to request protection, or sometimes to distract malicious ones from spoiling their good fortune. However, folklorists note there is little concrete evidence for this, and the true origin remains uncertain.

10 weird historical events that no one has been able to explain (yet)

Image: Walters Art Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Who doesn't like a good mystery? And if the mystery isn’t a work of fiction but the result of a true story, even better! The great unsolved enigmas of history are absolutely fascinating. Some have been solved over time, but there are still many old secrets for which neither scientists nor historians have found an explanation—yet. Time-travel with us as we uncover 10 of the biggest historical mysteries that will probably never be cracked!

Image: Tanner, Henry S., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bermeja Island is mentioned in navigation texts written by European travelers and appears in cartography from the 16th to 19th centuries. Old maps place it off the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula; however, multiple searches over the years have yielded no concrete evidence of its existence.

So, what happened to Isla Bermeja? Was it a cartographic error? Did it sink due to a tidal wave? Because of its geopolitical significance, some have even suggested that it was blown up by the CIA! A 2009 study by the Autonomous University of Mexico concluded that Isla Bermeja does not exist today, nor were any traces found at its supposed coordinates. Yet, it will forever remain a mystery that will surely keep many entertained.

Image: Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, detected a signal now known as the Wow! signal. While reviewing the data, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman noticed a sequence represented as "6EQUJ5." Baffled by the anomaly, he circled it and wrote "Wow!" in the margins.

The signal lasted 72 seconds and, unfortunately, has never been repeated. To this day, no one can fully explain the phenomenon, although some suggest it may have come from a man-made source. Still, the Wow! signal remains one of the strongest candidates for potential extraterrestrial contact ever detected.

Image: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How is it possible for an entire village to vanish without a trace? Believe it or not, this is said to have happened nearly a century ago. According to lore, a small Inuit village in Canada was well known among fur trappers who visited regularly to trade. But in 1930, something very strange supposedly occurred.

A hunter named Joe Labelle claimed he visited the village one day and couldn’t find a single person. Reports said there were guns and food left behind, and even claims that the graves in the cemetery were empty. A thorough investigation, however, found no conclusive evidence of what happened to the villagers. Some witnesses from nearby towns even reported seeing a huge green light. Theories ranged from mass migration to extraterrestrial abductions. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has since dismissed the case as an urban legend. Some still believe the story to be true.

Image: bbb

We know thousands of shipwreck stories, but this one is quite unique. The MV Joyita, designed to be nearly unsinkable, was found adrift in the South Pacific, practically unharmed, but the crew had disappeared completely.

In October 1955, the American merchant vessel left the port of Apia in Samoa with 16 crew members and 9 passengers bound for the Tokelau Islands. After days without news, a rescue mission was launched. Five weeks later, the Joyita was spotted more than 600 miles west of its intended route. The vessel was partially submerged, and there was no sign of the passengers or crew. Four tons of cargo and all three life rafts were missing. They were never seen again.

Image: Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you know where one of the best-preserved mummies was found? Hint: not in Egypt. Xin Zhui, the Marquise of Dai during the Western Han Dynasty in China, was discovered in her tomb at Mawangdui 2,000 years after her death, along with hundreds of valuable documents and artifacts.

What makes this mummy so extraordinary is how well-preserved her body is. Her organs and veins remain intact, and she still has hair and even eyelashes. Scientists analyzed the fluid present in the coffin and discovered it was acidic and contained salt and magnesium. They believe this mysterious liquid may have been responsible for preserving Xin Zhui so well. What they don’t know is whether it was intentionally poured into the coffin or came from the body itself.

Image: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The United States has its fair share of presidents who died while in office, but none of our 45 presidents have ever disappeared without a trace. Did you know that this actually happened in The Land Down Under?

Harold Edward Holt was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He loved the ocean and spearfishing. During a weekend trip with friends, Holt visited the remote Cheviot Beach to take a swim. Rough sea conditions that day caused him to be swept away by the waves, and he never reappeared. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found, which has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. Ironically, Australians built the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre in Melbourne in his honor.

Image: FBI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Many famous criminals have managed to remain unidentified for decades, but the D.B. Cooper case is something else entirely. In 1971, Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle. Shortly after takeoff, he showed a flight attendant a device he claimed was a bomb and demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in cash.

The crew landed to meet Cooper’s demands in exchange for the passengers and then took off again. As the plane flew over southwestern Washington, Cooper jumped into the cold, rainy night carrying his haul. His whereabouts and true identity were never discovered, although it is likely he didn’t survive the jump. In 1980, some of the ransom money was found near the Columbia River. Although the FBI officially closed the case in 2016, amateur sleuths continue to try to crack it.

Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you imagine an epidemic where the main symptom is uncontrollable dancing? Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? Yet this really happened during the Middle Ages. In 1518, a dancing plague struck Strasbourg, Alsace, in what is now France. This strange condition affected up to 400 people, making them dance frantically for weeks. It is said that some even died of heart attacks, exhaustion, or strokes.

Doctors and authorities tried all kinds of measures to stop the spread. They even banned music for a while! To this day, scientists are not certain what caused this bizarre condition: it may have been food poisoning from toxins in the ergot fungus, or perhaps a case of stress-induced mass hysteria.

Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Voynich manuscript is a codex written roughly 500 years ago in an unknown language and writing system by an anonymous author. Known as Voynichese, the manuscript was named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish bibliophile and antiquarian who purchased it in 1912.

Radiocarbon testing has shown that it dates to the early 15th century. Many cryptographers and codebreakers have attempted to decipher its roughly 240 pages without success. The manuscript contains diagrams and illustrations of unknown plants and astrological symbols. Some believe it may be a made-up language, a secret code, a work of fiction, or even a hoax. If you think you can solve this mystery, the Voynich manuscript is available for viewing at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Image: Bernhard

Similar to the Voynich manuscript, the Phaistos Disc is a fired clay disc believed to have been created during the Bronze Age. It was discovered by an Italian archaeologist in the basement of a palace in Crete, Greece, in 1908.

What makes this disc fascinating is that it contains a mysterious message. Stamped into the clay is a set of signs, forming a text that many scientists have tried to decipher—without success. It is considered an early attempt at printing, a technological innovation that would not become widespread for several centuries. While enthusiasts still hope the enigma can be solved, this is unlikely unless other documents are discovered to provide context.