Five Odd Food Superstitions

HOLLOW BREAD — It was once (and perhaps still is) a superstition that if you found a hole in a loaf of bread you cut, it symbolized a coffin and meant that someone was soon to die. If a person found a loaf in this state, there would be days of discussion to guess who it might be that would be stricken down.

EGG SHELLS — It was once a superstition that if you did not crush the ends of the egg shell after eating it, a witch would gather the shells and use them to craft a boat that she could use to sail out to sea to raise storms. This is a very ancient superstition which seems to originate in the 1580s. If you shattered the end of the shell, it would create enough holes to make it useless as a boat.

SALT — We all know of the superstition surrounding the spilling of salt, but here’s a slightly more unusual one. It used to be considered bad if you helped another person to the salt. There was even a little phrase that evolved from the superstition: “Help to salt, help to sorry.”

TEA RITUALS — It used to be considered bad luck for two people to pour tea from the same pot. In addition, if you left the lid off the teapot while brewing tea it was meant to mean that a stranger would visit soon.

EGGY LUCK — In many parts of Europe, farmers would take a fresh egg into the fields in the hopes that it would bring a good healthy crop.