The superstition: “If you step on a book or piece of paper, then you have to touch it to your forehead because otherwise it’s disrespectful. It’s because books are like instruments of learning which is next to God and practically sacred so to put it to your feet shows disrespect so you put it to… Continue Reading »
Item: “Hahah in retrospect it sounds ridiculous — yelling ‘Whammy whammy whammy’ while wiggling our fingers. But man we took it so seriously, you didn’t just do that shit light-heartedly, that was a big deal.” When the informant was in 2nd grade, there was a gesture children at school could perform to curse another person…. Continue Reading »
Item: “I always feel obligated to pet Tirebiter when I walk by. Depending on my mood, I’ll even go a bit out of my way to do it.” Members of the Trojan Knights at USC (a fraternity dedicated to the spirit of USC and its history) are required to pet the statue of Tirebiter, a… Continue Reading »
For this joke, you make a peace sign with your fingers (V) and high-five someone with your fingers in said position while saying: “Roman five!” The joke here is an erudite one since you have to have an understanding of Roman numerals to know that the roman five was written as ‘V’. This joke was… Continue Reading »
Form of Folklore: Gesture Informant Bio: The informant was born and raised in Glendale, California. Most of the folklore he has been exposed to comes primarily from his father, who is of Arabic decent. Other folklore has been attained either through media sources (i.e. Reddit) or through personal life experiences in America. Context: The… Continue Reading »