Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff. Lauren vog Obam here Stevie Wonder once saying that superstition is when you believe in things that you don't understand. And maybe he's right. Step on a crack, break your mother's back, break a mirror, get seven years of bad luck. We've all heard the sayings and rhymes, but how many of us really know what they mean, or,
more importantly, where they come from. As of twenty nineteen, a survey by Research for Good found that just over half of Americans strongly or somewhat believe in superstitions like finding and picking up a penny, being good luck. Superstitions rise to our minds when we want more control or
certainty about something. We want an explanation for why things go wrong or right, and for whatever reason, we're quick to attribute success or failure to something seemingly innocuous, like a rabbit's foot or a clover with an unusual number of leaves. Psychologists believe that when we carry items like these, they actually do have a placebo effect, fueling positive thinking. Conversely, if we lose that lucky object, we think negative thoughts, and today we wanted to talk about a few of
the superstitions that come from sailing and fishing. A lot of these beliefs date back several centuries and are still held in varying levels of seriousness today. For example, it's bad luck to sail on a Friday. If you whistle or sing into the wind on a boat, a storm is short of follow Sailors who wear earrings or have tattoos won't drown, And it's bad luck to have women on board because they make the see angry or jealous. But two of the most enduring superstitions have to do with,
of all things, bananas and suitcases. In both cases, these items are strictly forbidden on board. Many charter fishing boat crews have steadfast restrictions about bringing bananas on the boat because it's believed that they'll cause bad luck. If found a board, the boat may return to the dock to purge the offending fruit. Some charters go so far as to prohibit brands like Banana Boats, sunscreen, or Banana Republic clothing on board. Mariners have even been known to object
to fruit of the loom underwear. One sport fisher claimed had treated wearers to wedgies and then cut the labels out. This is particularly odd because the fruit of the loom graphic doesn't even have a banana on it, though some say the banana was left off because of this very superstition. There are a few different ways people say bad luck may come to you if you bring bananas on a fishing boat. One is that boats carrying bananas don't catch fish. The origin of this belief made date back to the
seventeen hundreds and trade through the Caribbean. The wooden sailing boats of that time had to move quickly to deliver bananas before they spoiled, and fishermen had a hard time catching fish on such fast moving boats, which maybe how the superstition came about. Another that originated during this time is that bananas will cause a boat to sink, perhaps after many boats never made it to their destinations, of
which were coincidentally carrying bananas. Another banana related superstition says the cargo could be more directly deadly to the ship's crew working near them, and to be fair in actuality, fermenting bananas do give off methane gas, which could conceivably get trapped below deck and kill any crew members unlucky enough to stay in the hold too long. Another popular theory goes that venomous spiders may have hitched rides in bananas, and once those bananas were on board, the boat would
be host to any number of lethal credits. And then, of course there's the theory that banana appeals just caused crew members to slip and fall on deck. But I mentioned suitcases being a no go to. They're considered harbingers of death or illness. Even when camera crew boarded the crab boats to film Discovery Channel's reality series Deadliest Catch, they were asked to leave their equipment suitcases on the dock.
This superstition has variations too. Some sailors are wary of all luggage, Some only band black suitcases and bags, which are considered bad luck because black is the color of death and a metaphor for the depths of the dark, cold sea. And some say that travel bags resemble body bags. So why do cruise hang on to these superstitions? And probably for the same reason that the superstitions began. Even with modern understanding of science and weather patterns, we still
perceive the sea as a mysterious and treacherous place. And many fishing operations are indeed dangerous work. Beliefs and superstitions are passed down from generation to generation, and it's a brave sailor who turns their back on tradition. Would you be willing to see what happens when you reject a centuries old superstition? Today's episode is based on the article why are Fisherman Superstitious of Bananas? On how stuffworks dot
Com written by Deborah Ronka. Brain Stuff is production of our Heart Radio and partnership with how stuffworks dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts from my Heart Radio visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows