Quiz: Superstitions & Beliefs

This quiz is based on the superstitions and beliefs I grew up with and heard as a child. There are also questions taken from legends, folklore, old wives tales and mythology. In some cases, I've changed these sayings and substituted words and ideas, thereby changing the beliefs. See if you can tell which are authentic (true) and which are not (false).

Because these are superstitions, these beliefs are not based on fact. My aim is to show one answer. However, I realize that some answers can be true and false at the same time. This is particularly true when comparing the superstitions, beliefs, legends, folklore, and old wives tales of different countries. Do your best in picking the most popular answer and know you will get points either way.

Note: In the true or false sections of this quiz, I just want to know if the superstition or belief is true and not whether the statement itself is true. For example, there is a modern belief that "The more often you cut your hair, the faster it grows." The fact that this has been scientifically proven wrong* is not of interest to us. On this quiz the answer would be "true" because that is how the superstition goes.

*Hair grows at the same rate, no mater if it is cut more often or not.

The following information is from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia:

"Superstition is a belief in a non-physical (i.e. supernatural) causality: that one event causes another without any physical process linking the two events. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to practices (e.g. Voodoo) other than the one prevailing in a given society (e.g. Christianity in western culture), although the prevailing religion may contain just as many supernatural beliefs. It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events."

Hold onto your seat!

Superstitions Quiz

According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, troll dolls were originally called Gonks, Wishniks, Treasure Trolls, Norfins, Dam dolls and even Leprechauns. These became one of America's biggest toy fads from the autumn of 1963 through 1965.

Tennis champion Serena Williams said she failed to win the 2009 French Open because "I didn't tie my laces right and I didn't bounce the ball five times and I didn't bring my shower sandals to the court with me. I didn't have my extra dress. I just knew fate, it wasn't going to happen." Ever since then, she has done all these things before every championship game.

Not Everyone was Thrilled

Michael Jackson was a practicing Jehovah's Witness in 1983 when he made the music video "Thriller." The church elders and congregation were horrified at his portrayal of zombies, occult imagery and superstition, which prompted Michael Jackson to make a public apology. He told the world the video did not represent his beliefs in the occult and issued a statement that was printed in the "Awake! Magazine" basically saying that he was sorry for his actions and would never do it again. After that, however, Michael's actions which included his fascination with magic and sleeping in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber caused his fellow Witnesses to shun him. Shortly afterward, Michael Jackson left the congregation. ~ The "Thriller" music video was nominated for six awards at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, winning three out of six of the nominations.

According to Wikipedia, "Thriller" proved to have a profound effect on popular culture, and was named "a watershed moment for the [music] industry" for its unprecedented merging of film making and music. Guinness World Records listed it in 2006 as the "most successful music video", selling over 9 million units. In 2009, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive this honor, for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant.

The "Thriller" album is the best selling album in the world. The music video is the most influential and successful music video of all time.

Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jackson.