Author Archives: Micah Light

BMW Joke

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Residence: San Francisco/Bay Area, CA
Primary Language: English

Type: Joke

  1. “What is the difference between a BMW and a porcupine? Porcupines have pricks on the outside.”
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from my older brother, Noah. Noah is three years older than me, and he is incredibly passionate about cars. His collective knowledge of cars is immense, and he spends a significant amount of time devoted to his interest in cars. Noah told me he heard this joke from his friends, who also care deeply about cars, none of whom own BMWs (which is important to note). To him, the joke is accurate, honest, and quite funny.
  3. The joke’s humor lies in the fact that BMW owners are notoriously known for being rude, jerks, and wild drivers (at least where we are both from, being California). The joke is usually told to people who do not drive BMWs, and even more so people who have a distain for BMW drivers.
  4. I love this joke, I think it is accurate and it is honest. Unlike many of the other folklore I collected, this joke is modern; if it was told 200 years ago, it would not make any sense. It would not have meaning if it were told anytime other than in the present. I also don’t know how long the common belief that “BMW drivers are jerks” has been circulating through American culture (at least). I’m wondering if in other countries people would laugh at this joke, or if they would not understand it at all. I am not sure if this is a Californian joke only or if it can even be applied to other states.

Hawaiian Folklore: The Menehunes

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English

Type: Legendary Creature(s)

  1. “There are the Menehune’s of Hawaii. Their thing is mischief, but they were also said to have built the fish ponds for the king a really long time ago. They built the fish ponds to make fishing easier for the king, so he didn’t have to go all the way down to the ocean to fish. The King would fish in the ponds where the fish would be constantly reproducing and. The Menehunes are kinda like leprechauns but there were a lot of them, and they are known to just cause trouble. They’re short, just like leprechauns, they don’t fly or do anything special, they’re just there and no one sees them. If your fishing nets suddenly had holes in them, it’s the Menehunes causing trouble. They aren’t invisible, but no one ever sees them. They come out at night and do mischief, no one ever sees them.”
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Jeff and his friends spent most of their childhoods exploring the island. By doing so, Jeff and his friends came across the plentiful fish ponds throughout the island, and the folklore behind them passed around their friend group, as well as other children and parents on the island.
  3. All the islands are full of fish ponds, and across all islands the Menehune folklore exists. This is passed down from generation to generation, and it is also passed around friend groups and family members.
  4. I love the concept of the Menehunes and I want to believe in them. It is interesting how similar they are to leprechauns, yet the Hawaiian islands were quite isolated from the rest of the world for a long period of time. I wonder how the similarities exists and how possibly they might be connected.

For more on the Hawaiian Menehunes, go to http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/menhune-hawaii-ancient-race-or-fictional-fairytale-001741

Hawaiian Legend: The White Lady of the Pineapple Field

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English

Type: Ghost Story/Legend

  1. “In the pineapple fields of Hawaii, there was a ‘white lady’ in fields that scared us as children. She was a ghost or a spirit or something, and she wore only white. The pineapple fields were pretty big, you would just walk there, explore, have fun, and it was all good. But, if YOU EVER DROVE through, the spirit of the ‘white lady’ would attach herself to you as you drove by. The threat she posed was invisible, so no one ever knew exactly what would happen if she attached to you but if she did, we only knew that it was really bad. You almost didn’t even want to know that’s how bad her reputation was. It was just intended that doom was imminent. It still creeps me out today thinking about her actually (laughter). The legend was probably invented by the pineapple company to keep people out of the pineapple field, but we never found out the truth.
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Living on an island, Jeff had lots of freedom, as you could never really get lost on the island. Him and his friends explored the nearby pineapple fields, even though they really weren’t supposed to. They would run around, play games, and look for interesting “finds” in the pineapple fields. Although, him and his friends were always careful because of the legend.
  3. Hawaii grows many types of tropical fruits—a large source of capital for the Hawaiian economy. One of which is pineapple, and because of the economic gains, the fruit is grown in large fields. Therefore, it would be bad for the economy for these fields to be tainted with and or treated badly. This superstition is passed around friend groups and others who would go explore the pineapple fields.
  4. I think that my cousin was right, and the folklore was created by the people in charge of the pineapple field to prevent people from coming into the field, but more specifically driving through it or around it. Driving through it would hurt the crops and going around it might inspire people to come explore.

Hawaiian Superstition

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English

Type: Superstition/Folk Belief

  1. “In Hawaii, and everywhere else, you are never supposed to pick up rocks, shells (or anything ‘natural’) from the ground, and you are never supposed to bring them with you. You cannot bring these things with you. If you do, it was always said that ‘the spirits’ who occupied the ‘natural’ items would then follow you around forever, and bring you bad luck and misfortune. The only way to stop this from happening would be to return the item to its exact location where you picked it up…exactly where you found it basically. Then, the spirits would return to their item and place, and the bad luck would disappear.”
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Living on an island, Jeff had lots of freedom, as you could never really get lost. When he was living there, him and his friends would explore around the island, but it was superstition that no matter where you went, you could NEVER pick up rocks, shells, leaves, etc. from the ground. Even to this day, Jeff does not pick up “natural” things from the ground, since he still believes that it will bring him bad luck, and he does not want to go through the effort of returning the object.
  3. Hawaii is a very natural, forested, as well as beach-y place. Rocks, shells, leaves, bark, etc. are all abundant throughout all islands, and many of these items have a beauty to them; a natural, nice looking aesthetic, whether that be pattern, color, shape, or size. The appeal to take these items from the ground is probably high. Hawaii is also known to be a spiritual place, many of the religions of the native populations include spirits. This superstition is passed around friend groups and family members.
  4. I think this is an interesting folk superstition, unlike anything I have ever heard. Unlike other superstitions, this one has a connection between spirits and actual items, and for as long as I can remember I have been picking up shells and rocks at the beach, not knowing that there is a common belief that one should not do that. What also is fascinating is that my cousin Jeff still, to this day, will not pick anything up from the ground, because of this strong superstition.

Orthodox Jew Superstition

Nationality: American
Age: 85
Occupation: Retired Psychiatrist
Residence: San Francisco/Bay Area, CA
Primary Language: English

Type: Folk Belief/Superstition

  1. “My parents always told me about traditions and beliefs among the Orthodox (Jews) community in Europe and in America. One thing that I will always remember is how the Orthodox adults talk about children, but babies specifically. The tradition is very strange but this is it: Orthodox Jews never compliment babies—they will only say bad things about others’ babies. Things like ‘how ugly,’ or ‘he/she is not cute,’ ‘gross looking,’ etc. They do this because they believe that saying good things about another baby will bring evil. That saying good things will actually curse the child, and the opposite will come true. The compliment is somehow representative of the evil eye. And so, to avoid this, Orthodox adults will say bad things about other babies, but everyone knows that they are actually complementing. This was my mother’s generation, in both Europe and America. I still think this is common among Orthodox Jews today!”
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from my grandfather Don. Don was born in 1932, and his whole life has been very active in the Jewish community. Don has also been actively Jewish his whole life, and cares deeply about his faith. He heard this piece of folklore from both his parents, who lived in both Poland and New Jersey. Both places had and still have a prominent Jewish Orthodox community. Don’s parents were conservative Jews, but had friends and neighbors who were Orthodox, and is how they knew of this superstition.
  3. The evil eye and bad luck are common themes throughout the Jewish faith. Many Jews wear hamsas to ward off the evil eye, put them in their homes, and sometimes even on their bodies. Fearing the evil eye is common among Jewish people, and in both Europe and America this tradition exists, exemplifying this.
  4. I do not like this superstition, I think it is a little too much. I don’t think saying good things about a baby will bring bad luck or a curse, but that is what superstitions are all about!