It’s Friday the 13th, and This Is an Open Thread About Superstition

Opinion It’s Friday the 13th, and This Is an Open Thread About Superstition As we do every Friday, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers. By Keith Harris 9:51 AM CST on November 13, 2026 Add Racket to Google It's Friday the 13th. Does that bother you at all? Me, I'm about as unsuperstitious as they come. I'll break a mirror, walk where a black cat just passed, IDGAF. (I won't walk under a ladder because that's just not safe. Be real.) As a wise man once said, when you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer. And yet, my mild OCD tendencies lead me to structure tasks in little patterns that I don't like to break. The motivations might be different, but to an outside observer the results would probably be indistinguishable from superstition. Subscribe to skip ads Advertisement How about you? Any superstitious practices you follow, even you "don't really believe in them"? You know, just to be on the safe side? Did you grow up believing in (or hearing about) niche superstitions that other people don't seem to know about? As always, feel free to ignore this prompt and write about whatever you want. This is your Open Thread after all. Share on Bluesky Share on Reddit Share on Facebook Share on X (formerly Twitter) Keith Harris Oldest living Racket co-owner and editor. Tagged: open thread Stay in touch Sign up for our free newsletter Email Sign Up More Stories Events Freeloader Friday: 114 Free Things To Do This Weekend Fall Open Studios, holiday markets, Insight's beer b-day, and more! Jessica Armbruster November 13, 2026 News Meet Mallie, Mall of America’s Bland AI Concierge Plus Pretti witness speaks out, RIP Dave Cossetta, and Science Museum's money woes in today's Flyover news roundup. 7 Comments Jessica Armbruster November 12, 2026 Today's stories are presented by Racket's first-ever book: Buy the Racket Book The first-ever Racket book is SHIPPING NOW for the FIRST TIME! Only 67 copies remain. Enjoy eight longform stories, PLUS tactile extras like intros, tables of contents, thank you pages, and front AND rear covers. Also available IRL at Moon Palace Books. Advertisement opens in a new tab. Food & Drink Next Year a Twin Cities Brewery is Going Full ‘Simpsons’ Mode Embiggened with a perfectly cromulent concept, St. Louis Park's Ullsperger Brewing will feel a lot like Springfield come January. 8 Comments Jay Boller November 12, 2026 News On the Big Screen This Week: Seemingly Skippable Scrooge and Historic Black Excellence Pretty much all the movies you can catch in the Twin Cities this week. 1 Comments Keith Harris November 12, 2026 Essays Lions, Tigers, and Wolves, Goodbye! After Hard Farewells, What’s Next for the Como Zoo? As the city of St. Paul’s free zoo evolves, so should the way Minnesotans engage with it. 16 Comments Abraham Teuber November 12, 2026 News Enormous Dog Sighted Near MN Concentration Camp Plus more election analysis, getting wasted off candy, and more nasty DOJ tactics in Omar investigation in today's Flyover news roundup. 15 Comments Keith Harris November 11, 2026