{"id":726,"date":"2022-09-19T16:47:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-19T16:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/georgenowik.com\/?p=726"},"modified":"2022-09-19T16:47:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T16:47:46","slug":"why-do-we-knock-on-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/georgenowik.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/19\/why-do-we-knock-on-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do We Knock on Wood?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:104%;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-blend:overlay;--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:0px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-audio fusion-audio-1\" style=\"--awb-progress-color:#ffffff;--awb-border-color:var(--awb-color1);--awb-background-color:#1d242d;--awb-max-width:100%;--awb-border-size:0;--awb-border-top-left-radius:0px;--awb-border-top-right-radius:0px;--awb-border-bottom-right-radius:0px;--awb-border-bottom-left-radius:0px;\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-726-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/georgenowik.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Episode-044-Why-Do-We-Knock-On-Wood.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/georgenowik.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Episode-044-Why-Do-We-Knock-On-Wood.mp3\">https:\/\/georgenowik.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Episode-044-Why-Do-We-Knock-On-Wood.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><h2>~ Or: Superstitions are weird and so are we but we still like us anyway<\/h2>\n<p>There is no effective way to count the number of times I&#8217;ve said &#8220;knock on wood&#8221; while rapping on the top of my noggin.\u00a0 &#8220;YES HA HA THE BALD GUY IS FUNNY HE BONKS HIS HEAD AND SAYS KNOCK ON WOOD TO IMPLY THAT HIS HEAD IS MADE OF THE FIBROUS DENSITY AFFORDED BY THE GROWING TREES OF OUR EARTH PLANET.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes I think I&#8217;m funny.\u00a0 My oldest child even giggled when I read the above all-caps statement to her.\u00a0 But you get the idea.<\/p>\n<p>To knock on wood is a phrase that goes back a couple of moons.\u00a0 Less of an idiom and more of a superstition.\u00a0 Unless you&#8217;re searching Google.\u00a0 Then it&#8217;s either one or the other.\u00a0 But I have <em>opinions<\/em> about that and we&#8217;re going to call it a superstition here.\u00a0 Besides, my list of idioms to research is immense already.\u00a0 Adding another one could tip the scales and capsize the ship.\u00a0 And Leonardo DiCaprio isn&#8217;t anywhere to be found to help me get onto some floating debris and make it to safety.<\/p>\n<p>Where was I?<\/p>\n<p>Oh yeah.\u00a0 The the knock on wood superstition.\u00a0 And not the ivory keys Stevie Wonder plays when singing the song <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0CFuCYNx-1g\">Superstition.<\/a>\u00a0 And since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XKuJUxGntRI\">Amii Stewart<\/a> refers to it as a superstition in a song she vocalized, that&#8217;s where we&#8217;re gonna stay.<\/p>\n<p>So let&#8217;s look at the possible reasons that we today will knock on wood.\u00a0 In the superstitious context.\u00a0 Not the &#8220;please allow me to enter your domicile&#8221; sense.<\/p>\n<p><em>(how many times can one writer derail himself in a single section&#8230;)<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Modern usage of Knock on Wood<\/h2>\n<p>To knock on wood can be done in more than one context, surprisingly enough.\u00a0 I thought it a way to ward off bad luck after saying something in the hopes of a success of some kind.\u00a0 A means by which we prevent the sweet taste of specific continued good luck being sullied by the <span class=\"ILfuVd\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"hgKElc\">\u00e6<\/span><\/span>ffliction of ill tidings, rendering it inhospitable to our pie holes.<\/p>\n<p>I was surprised to find that some folks will &#8220;knock on wood&#8221; in an effort to bring forth good luck specifically, rather than solely to fend off the bad after being all braggy and stuff.\u00a0 The act being an effort to conjure a universal power to smile upon the fates and nudge things in their direction.\u00a0 Like taking the movie &#8220;Luck&#8221; but manipulating things directly and bypassing the whole system instead of letting the universe happen by chance, the way it is meant to be.<\/p>\n<p>Some knock on wood <em>immediately<\/em> after receiving good fortune. A hybrid of hoping for continued good luck, giving thanks for the present good luck, and &#8220;PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DON&#8217;T TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That is a short answer of why it is that we knock on wood.\u00a0 To invoke upcoming or continued goodness and fend away the bad stuff.\u00a0 Does it work?\u00a0 <em>THAT <\/em>sounds like <em>another <\/em>blog topic about the psychological effect of superstitions and their anticipated results.\u00a0 A double-blind controlled study on wood knockers compared to the hands off, documenting how many more good luck tokens are distributed to the wood knockers vs the &#8220;we stay away from disturbing the fibers&#8221; contingent.<\/p>\n<p>It also sounds like work.\u00a0 Allergies.\u00a0 Also expensive and not particularly fiscally responsible.\u00a0 I know.\u00a0 Nobody ever accused me of being fun.\u00a0 Ask my kids.<\/p>\n<h2>To Knock on Wood a Bit Further Back in History<\/h2>\n<p>Let&#8217;s go on a journey!\u00a0 From the comfort and confines of my own home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, we have to cross the eastern pond to the United Kingdom to get a closer look at some of the theories on the origin of this superstition.\u00a0 The British version of this superstition is worded differently.\u00a0 As are many things compared to here.<\/p>\n<p>Over there, our cookies are their biscuits.\u00a0 Our fries are their chips.\u00a0 Chips here are crisps there.\u00a0 Our flavor is their flavour.\u00a0 Over here, we knock on wood.\u00a0 Over there, they &#8220;touch wood.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It certainly seems more proper than our more barbaric version, right?\u00a0 Over here we rap our knuckles on top of the wooden surface and make a bunch of noise.\u00a0 Potentially damage the finish of the furniture.\u00a0 Over there?\u00a0 They are content to gently place one appendage or another upon the woody plane.\u00a0 No need for noise or violence.\u00a0 It just seems more <em>polite<\/em> a way to ward off bad spirits and harvest the good.<\/p>\n<p>Having established current practice, let&#8217;s jump back a bit to one possible theory.<\/p>\n<h3>It&#8217;s like tag.\u00a0 Sorta.<\/h3>\n<p>Steve Roud, an individual of British influence who identifies as a folklorist*, penned a book by the name of &#8220;The Lore of the Playground.&#8221;\u00a0 Within the confines of this book, he attempts to trace the origin of wood touching to that of a children&#8217;s game.\u00a0 &#8220;Tiggy Touchwood&#8221; was the name of the 19th century game and involved the touching of a tree or fence or door or signpost or produce stand to be &#8220;safe.&#8221;\u00a0 The equivalent of what we call &#8220;base.&#8221;\u00a0 Except base is anywhere and everywhere because wood is moderately prevalent as both a natural resource and a building product.<\/p>\n<p>Can you imagine being in a game of Tiggy Touchwood and needing to find someone who is not &#8220;safe&#8221; under those circumstances?\u00a0 Unless you&#8217;re in some kind of open rugby field without <em>growing things<\/em> the chances are high that it&#8217;s going to be frustrating for the entity who happens to be &#8220;it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Roud goes on to say:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cGiven that the game was concerned with \u2018protection,\u2019 and was well known to adults as well as children, it is almost certainly the origin of our modern superstitious practice of saying, \u2018Touch wood,\u2019\u201d he argues. \u201cThe claim that the latter goes back to when we believed in tree spirits is complete nonsense.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It seems that he is trying to indicate that the origin of the phrase starts with this game.\u00a0 It also kinda buries the lede of the next section where we go into possible ancient theories.\u00a0 My apologies, Mr. Roud.\u00a0 I&#8217;m going to fly in the face of your claims for just a bit here.<\/p>\n<p>But really.\u00a0 Most children&#8217;s games like that are based on <em>something<\/em>, right?\u00a0 The idea that the game invented &#8220;safety via means of wood&#8221; doesn&#8217;t quite ring as an end-all be-all explanation for the origin of the idea.\u00a0 So on we go to ancient history.<\/p>\n<p><em>*side note: seriously, can you imagine having a career where you can tell people that you are a &#8220;folklorist?&#8221;\u00a0 That&#8217;s like &#8230; the best sounding career of all time.\u00a0 When I grow shorter, I want to spend time being a folklorist so that I can say I did it.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>The Ancient Art of Knock on Wood<\/h2>\n<p>So here we are going much deeper into the wayback machine.\u00a0 Let&#8217;s take a look at the life of the pagan.<\/p>\n<p><em>(no, not Richard Garriott&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ultima_VIII:_Pagan\">&#8220;Ultima VIII: Pagan&#8221;<\/a> pagan, but actual pagans.\u00a0 End nerd alert.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Once upon a time, pagans had a habit &#8211; figuratively, not literally &#8211; of worshiping spirits expected to be living within the confines of trees.\u00a0 This is a tradition that we are not <em>entirely<\/em> unfamiliar with in our year to year, really.\u00a0 In those somewhat forgotten days, pagan worshipers believed that evergreen trees would keep away ailments, witches, spooks, and other evil spirits.\u00a0 Which is ironic given what we know about All Hallows Eve.<\/p>\n<p>But anyway.<\/p>\n<p>The trees that decorate homes of Christians celebrating Christmas are directly tied to that pagan custom.\u00a0 Somewhere in the mid 1700s there was a little bit of custom thievery involved and the next thing we knew, we now have Christmas Trees.\u00a0 <em>(ALSO another possible blog topic for another day)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We also have tinsel.\u00a0 Cheerio strings.\u00a0 Star Wars ornaments.\u00a0 You get the idea.\u00a0 We won&#8217;t stop to note that there were no Christmas Trees at the birthplace in question.<\/p>\n<h2>Global Phenomenon<\/h2>\n<p><em>(doot doooooooo doo-doo dooo)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Using the spirits in trees to fend off evil things is not a concept exclusive to the life of pagan everyday living.\u00a0 Many indigenous peoples from all over the world throughout history have some form of spirit worship where trees are involved.\u00a0 These cultures all seem to have their own version of using a form of wood and an action in order to keep nefarious spirits at bay.\u00a0 Many are still in use today.\u00a0 Here are some examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Russians and Ukranians have Postuchats po derevy \/ \u041f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0443\u0447\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043f\u043e \u0434\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0432\u0443 which means &#8220;To knock on wood&#8221; and holds the same luck-preserving properties as we know.<\/li>\n<li>The old Yugoslavian region has a similar version of da kucnem u drvo \/ \u0434\u0430 \u043a\u0443\u0446\u043d\u0435\u043c \u0443 \u0434\u0440\u0432\u043e &#8220;I will knock on wood&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>In Egypt, emsek el-khashab (&#8220;hold the wood&#8221;) means either good luck from the past or hopes of good luck in the future.<\/li>\n<li>Medieval England had knights who would stop by the wooden effigy of the Southwark Cathedral knight and literally touch its nose for luck.\u00a0 That effigy is still there.\u00a0 Go on, go touch its nose.\u00a0 I dare you.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll wait.<\/li>\n<li>Modern Greece has \u03c7\u03c4\u03cd\u03c0\u03b1 \u03be\u03cd\u03bb\u03bf \/ cht\u00fdpa x\u00fdlo (&#8220;knock on wood&#8221;) which is said upon hearing something negative said in order to stop it from taking place.<\/li>\n<li>Sweden gets an award for effort with their peppar, peppar, ta i tr\u00e4 \/ pepper, pepper, touch wood for throwing pepper over the shoulder and touching something wooden.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The list is extensive and definitely lends to the idea that the notion of wood knocking is a migratory term.\u00a0 The ways in which it has evolved over the years based on culture is a fascinating look at how region and language influence concepts.<\/p>\n<h2>This is the end (knock on wood)<\/h2>\n<p>So here we are!\u00a0 What have we learned today?<\/p>\n<p>First of all, there isn&#8217;t any one answer.<\/p>\n<p>Enough cultures have some form of it or another from all over the globe that there&#8217;s no way any one explanation can fit the bill.\u00a0 Our &#8220;knock on wood&#8221; on this side of the pond is similar to &#8220;touch wood&#8221; over there, but the origins are different.\u00a0 Take this knowledge and couple it with similarities the world over.\u00a0 The idea that it is based on a child&#8217;s play game starts to fall apart.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, it&#8217;s kinda fun to do.\u00a0 Because everybody likes to belong.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s almost an individualized group activity.\u00a0 You can&#8217;t cross the street without walking into at least three people who participate in this practice.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, it&#8217;s harmless.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not likely to influence the universe one way or another.\u00a0 It doesn&#8217;t hurt, either.\u00a0 Unless you REALLY LAY INTO that plank with your knuckles.\u00a0 But it&#8217;s ok.\u00a0 Not even first aid is necessary.\u00a0 Maybe not even second or third aid.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the origins, it&#8217;s a part of our current culture right now.\u00a0 Like Christmas trees.\u00a0 And delicious beach burgers.<\/p>\n<p>But to this day I&#8217;ve yet to ever play a proper game of Tiggy Touchwood.\u00a0 Need to add that to the bucket list.\u00a0 Because seriously.\u00a0 Whether the game is fun or not doesn&#8217;t even matter.\u00a0 The <em>name<\/em> is 90% of the fun.\u00a0 Who wants to join me in a rousing game of Tiggy Touchwood?\u00a0 COME ON!\u00a0 WHO&#8217;S WITH ME!?!?\u00a0 IT&#8217;S EXTREME TIGGY TOUCHWOOD TIME!!!!<\/p>\n<p>&lt;ahem&gt;<\/p>\n<p>Until next week.<\/p>\n<p>-= george =-<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[225,224,148,222,223,226],"class_list":["post-726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-idioms","tag-culture","tag-customs","tag-history","tag-knock-on-wood","tag-superstition","tag-ward-off-evil"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Do We Knock on Wood? - George Nowik - Voice Actor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Knocking on wood to ward off bad luck is just part of what we do all the time er&#039;ywhere. 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