Barmy Beliefs

1 ANSWERS

1. Saba
   

   Tickling was outlawed in some ancient middle eastern countries because it was thought to be an aphrodisiac.
   
   The ancient Egyptians thought that the world was created when it hatched from the egg of an ibis.
   
   In 18 th century England it was widely believed that if a wealthy woman married a man with debts, the creditors would be unable to reclaim their money from her as long as she was married naked.
   
   John Lennon believed that the number 9 affected everything in his life. He and son Sean shared a birthday of 9 October. Future manager Brian Epstein first attended a Beatles concert at the Cavern in Liverpool on 9 November 1961 and clinched a record deal with Emi on 9 May 1962 . the group’s first record, “Love Me Do” was on Parlophone 4949. Lennon met Yoko Ono on 9 November 1966 and thought that it significant that their New York apartment was on West 72 nd street and their Dakota home was no.72 (7+2 = 9). Similarly, he placed great store by the fact that, as a student, he had taken the no.72 bus from his home to Liverpool Art College . The fixation sometimes manifested itself in his songs which included such titles as “Number 9 Dream”, Revolution 9” and “One After 909”, written at his mother’s house – 9 Newcastle Road , Wavertree. Lennon was shot dead by Mark Chapman late on the evening of 8 December 1980 in New York but the five-hour time difference meant that it was 9 December in Liverpool . His body was taken to the Roosevelt Hospital on Ninth Avenue .
   
   Composer Aronold Schoenberg was superstitious about the number 13. He died on Friday the 13 th at 13 minutes to midnight .
   
   Italian motor racing driver Alberto Ascari was another who was fearful of the number 13. he also used to become hysterical at the sight of a black cat and would refuse to drive past one. Instead he would turn his car around and seek an alternative route. Luckily for him, he didn’t come across any on grand Prix circuits.
   
   When Princess Margaret was born in 1930, the registration of her birth was delayed so that her number on the register would not be 13.
   
   The Persians thought that human tears could cure a variety of ailments. So they used to bottle them for future use.
   
   Elizabethan women used to think that drinking a puppy’s urine would do wonders for their complexion.
   
   The number 4 is reckoned to be unlucky in Japan because it’s pronounced the same as “death”.
   
   The Romans thought it was bad luck to enter a house left foot first.
   
   In Iceland it is believed that an unmarried woman who sits at the corner of a table won’t marry for seven years.
   
   It used to be considered unlucky to cut your nails in a Sunday.
   
   When conducting, Tchaikovsky used to hold his chin with his left hand because he was afraid his head would roll off his shoulders.
   
   Benito Mussolini used to touch his testicles in order to ward off the evil eye. At least that was his story.
   
   The Japanese believe that picking up a comb with its teeth facing your body brings bad luck.
   
   In parts of Romania , they used to think it was dangerous for someone to sleep with his or her mouth open. They believed that the person’s soul, in the shape of a mouse, would run out of the open mouth and escape. If the mouse didn’t return, the sleeper could never wake up.
   
   In the Middle Ages, people believed that a vegetable could scream. It was thought that if a person dug up a mandrake – a poisonous relative of the potato – it would scream, and that the person responsible would die shortly afterwards.
   
   In Indonesia , it is considered good luck if a gecko – a small lizard - barks while a child is being born.
   
   Everyone in the Middle Ages thought that the heart – not the brain – was the seat of intelligence.
   
   In the wake of the deaths of her husband and daughter, California rifle heiress Sara Winchester was told by a medium that their lives had been taken by spirits and that unless house built a mansion to house the spirits, she too would die. Another stipulation was that the building work must never be completed and so for the next 38 years, right up until her death Mrs Winchester feverishly added rooms to her house. by the time she died in 1922, it had 160 rooms, 2000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 fireplaces and miles of secret passages and corridors, many of which led nowhere. She was also obsessed by the number 13. So she had her house built with 13 bathrooms, there were 13 hooks in every cupboard and 13 candles in every chandelier. In the sewing-room, she insisted on there being 13 windows and 13 doors. There were even 13 parts to her will, which she signed 13 times.
   
   You could tell the time by George II. At one minute to nine e every night, he would stand outside his mistress’s bedroom, fob watch in hand. At precisely nine o’clock , he would enter, pull down his breeches and have s*x - often without removing his hat.
   
   The ancient Greek believed that the womb had two compartments – one for girls, the other for boys.
   
   Nigerians believe that if a couple had s*x while the wind was blowing from the north, they would have a boy. A southerly wind was supposed to produce a girl.
   
   Edward VII had been told by a palmist that the number 6 and 9 would guide his life. His Names – Albert and Edward – each had six letter and he had been born on the ninth day of the month. He married in 1863 (when spilt this make 9 + 9) to a bride, Alexandra, whose name had nine letter, as did that of her father, Christian IX. Edward’s coronation took place on 9 August and he reigned for nine years before dying at the age of 69.
   
   In some regions of France the locals, still believe that if a bachelor steps on a cat’s tail, he won’t find a wife for at least a year.
   
   The Dutch believe that people with red hair bring bad luck.
   
   In Ibiza it is thought o be bad luck to allow a priest on to a fishing boat.
   
   Charles Dickens always touches things three time for luck.
   
   Greek philosopher Arsitotle thought that animals were created from a mixture of mud and rotting flesh.
   
   George V deliberately kept the hundreds of clocks at Sandringham 30 minutes fast so that he’d never be late for an appointment.

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