“Plop!”

That’s all I heard this morning as I entered the Broad Street underpass en route to work this morning just after 4:00. A bird dropped a large creamy, white pile of digested excrement on my windshield as I drove through and I made that critical error of using the windshield wipers to try and clear it away. Now I’ve got smelly smears all over my windshield thanks to what I believe was a pigeon that definitely does not need Metamucil!

I told a co-worker about my “bird bombing” and he said in some cultures, that may mean good luck! Well, if that’s true, I’m not as upset now…just a little disgusted by it all. There are other good luck charms I’d sooner have bestowed upon me rather than bird droppings.

What are some other unusual lucky superstitions? We all know about the “knock on wood” superstition, which is believed to have stemmed from a 19th century kids game called Tiggy Touchwood. There’s also a salt throwing superstition. It’s said that if you throw salt over your shoulder you’ll ward off evil spirits. Finding a penny on the sidewalk is also good luck…except we don’t have pennies in circulation in Canada now, so hopefully a nickel will do. Keep a horseshoe in your home because it, too, supposedly brings good luck with most having seven nail holes in them. Seven is a lucky number after all.

In Japan, there is a superstition of tucking your thumbs inside when walking into a cemetery. By tucking your thumbs in, it is said to protect your parents from death. In Denmark some people throw plates at friends and neighbours homes on New Year’s Day for good luck. In China, it’s good luck to sweep dirt away from the front door and carry it out the back door. Serbian folklore says spilling water behind someone is also good luck. In Ireland, brides are encouraged to wear bells on their dresses, jewelry, or in a bouquet to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck.

Other good luck superstitions include crossing your fingers and lifting your feet over a railroad crossing? Apparently passengers in cars are supposed to lift their feet off the car floor when crossing a railway crossing to avoid bad luck, although I think that is a just a thinks kids do to make the car ride less boring. A rabbit’s foot is also said to bring good luck, unless you’re the rabbit, in which case, you’re probably sore and angry!

All of these superstitions sound more preferable than getting pooped on by a bird under a bridge!