Informant #1:

Title: Lucky Number 13

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: A.S., Female
• Date Collected: October 19, 2020

Informant Data:

A.S. is a senior at Dartmouth College, a member of the softball team, and is currently living at home in Louisville, Kentucky, due to the pandemic. Both of her parents are of American ethnicity and her family is not very superstitious.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This folklore was collected from a phone call between A.S. and me because of the pandemic. She told me that she started having the lucky number of 13 when she was 10 years old. This number was not due to any inspiration or introduction by anyone, but due to her randomly selecting it one year as her softball number. This number brought her so much success with softball, that having it turned into a superstition for her. Whenever she has a bad game, she begins to worry a bit that her number is not lucky anymore. However, she instead blames an accessory she is wearing (such as a wristband) or something in her routine for this failure, so as to keep her superstition. Her college number is not 13, but instead it is 18. This was initially off-putting for her, but has warmed up to it and tells herself that 18 is just 13 connected on the left side, so that her lucky number is still represented.
• Cultural Context: A.S. said that her family is not very superstitious, and her culture does not play a part in her having this lucky number. She gained this lucky number just as a simple personal preference, and thinks it is just a weird coincidence that has turned into a superstition for her.

Item: Her lucky number has been 13 since the age of 10, and has become a superstition for her in the sport of softball.

Transcript: “I chose 13 one year for a softball number and I liked it so much and I played well in it… I love #13, I think it’s so great.”

Collector’s Comments:

I found it very interesting that her lucky number was 13. I know the number 13 is considered “unlucky” in many cultures and by people (due to its association with Friday the 13th). I personally consider it to be unlucky for me, but this shows that not everyone has the same lucky or unlucky numbers.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #2:
Title: Lucky Number 5

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: R.L., Female
• Date Collected: October 19, 2020

Informant Data:

R.L. is from Pennsylvania, but has lived in both Austria and Paris for long periods of time for her dad’s work. She is a sophomore on the Dartmouth Women’s Soccer Team. Both of her parents are American, but she is fluent in German from her time in Austria.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This folklore was again collected over the phone due to the pandemic. R.L. said that five originally became her lucky number when she was five-years-old and had to pick a number for soccer. She remembers only picking this number because she thought that since she has five fingers and was five-years-old, her soccer number had to be the same. While this number originated from soccer, it has played a role in her daily life; she feels she is a bit OCD, and has to do things five times, which play into her superstition. Her dad tried to influence her to take his lucky number of seven, but she was not interested and wanted to have a number that felt lucky to only her.
• Cultural Context: R.L. picked this number solely due to a personal preference and five-year-old thinking. She does not believe that her culture plays a role in her selection of this lucky number.

Item: Her lucky number five has been her lucky number since she was five, and has become a superstition for her in soccer and in daily life through being somewhat OCD.

Transcript:

“When I was younger I always would be five for soccer…but I think my lucky number originally started because you have five fingers on a hand…[And] sometimes when I’m doing stuff, like these weird little habits I’ll have to do five times.”

Collector’s Comments:

I relate to this superstition; my lucky number has also led to me being superstitious in everyday life and feeling like I had to do things a certain number of times.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #3:
Title: Lucky Number Seven and Unlucky Six and Thirteen

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: M.B., Female
• Date Collected: October 26, 2020

Informant Data:

M.B. is from Southern California and is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She was born to an American mother and an Armenian father. Her mother’s side of the family does not consider themselves to be superstitious, but her father’s side is very superstitious.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: M.B.’s lucky number superstition of seven began when she was six years old. She remembers idolizing her father when she was younger and that he told her that his lucky number was seven. From hearing that, she decided that since his lucky number was seven, hers would be the same. While her dad’s number was lucky for him playing sports, the number was lucky for her in an everyday context. If she saw the number seven anywhere, she would think something good would happen to her later in the day. It also turned into a bit of an OCD superstition where she repeats various activities (such as exercise) seven times or in multiples of seven. Her unlucky number would either be number six or 13, as she associates those numbers with unlucky events, such as Friday the 13th or the number 666 relating to the devil.
• Cultural Context: M.B.’s lucky number arose out of personal preference for having the same number as her dad, but her culture could have played an effect in it becoming a superstition. Her Armenian grandparents are very superstitious (they are firm believers in the evil eye and got everyone in the family necklaces with the evil eye for protection), so she was introduced to superstitions at a young age. She also attended religious school when she was younger, so she thinks this has come into play with her dislike of the number 6, due to 666 being associated with evil in the Bible.

Item: M.B.’s lucky number has been seven since she was six years old. This number affects her everyday actions through some OCD repetitions and beliefs. She also has two unlucky numbers: six and 13.

Transcript: “My lucky number is seven…if my dad loves this number, I’ll love it too and have it be lucky for me. Any time I see the number seven, I think whatever happens later in the day will be good.”

Collector’s Comments:
N/A (interview of myself)

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #4:
Title: Lucky Number Three and Multiples of Three

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: D.A., Male
• Date Collected: October 26, 2020

Informant Data:

D.A. is from North Carolina and is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He is a member of the Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Team. Both of his parents are of Nigerian ethnicity.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was over the phone due to the pandemic. D.A. first started liking the number three when he was eight or nine years old. He remembers someone telling him about their belief that people should add together multiples of three for luck. To his young brain, he felt this method was so cool and tried to look for numbers in life that fit this method; it resulted in the number three become lucky and superstitious for him. Three does not play a huge role in his basketball career. While he would like to have it as a jersey number as he feel it could bring luck, he does not really focus on this. Instead, if he ever sees the number three in a gym before a game, he will feel more confident. This also applies to life in general, as he considers seeing the number three a good omen.
• Cultural Context: D.A. said that his culture does not play a part in him having this lucky number. Instead, he feels this is his own personal preference and what has resonated with him since he was young.

Item: D.A.’s lucky number has been three since he was eight or nine. He does not feel this number plays a huge role in his sports career, but serves as a good omen and is lucky in general.

Transcript:

“My lucky number is three…when I was a little kid someone told me [about] multiples of three…so I’d always try to look for numbers like that.”

Collector’s Comments:

I personally get where he is coming from with believing that seeing the number three anywhere is a good omen. This is the same for me with my lucky number seven; whenever I see seven, I think it is a sign that something good will happen.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #5

Title: Lucky Number Sixteen

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: A.J., Female
• Date Collected: October 26, 2020

Informant Data:

A.J. is from Minnesota, but has lived in Canada, Seattle, and Wisconsin, and is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She is extremely involved with the Native Americans Program at school. Both her parents are Native-American.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was, yet again, over the phone due to the pandemic. A.J. first began to like the number 16 from a very young age. She recalls that she start liking this number due to the fact that it was the number of her birthdate. She does not necessarily consider this to have contributed to luck in her life (aside from passing it each year on her birthday), but it is still very special to her. She said that a habit that originated out of her birthdate number is that she loves being able to count exactly how old she is, with regards to years and months. She does not have any unlucky numbers.
• Cultural Context: This is a personal preference for liking the number, as it relates to her birthday. She is unsure if her Native-American culture has any lucky numbers or superstitions related with those numbers, but believes there must be some.

Item: A.J.’s lucky number has been 16 since she was very young and liked it due to being the number of her day of birth.

Transcript:

“[16] is the number of my birthday…when I was little I would get excited because then you could count the ‘I am one year and three months’ kind of thing.”

Collector’s Comments:

I found this to be really interesting. From personal experience and my other interviews, I had not considered people choosing their lucky numbers from their days of birth. I also thought it was interesting that she specifically liked having a lucky number because she could always count how old she was, at any time of year, from it.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #6

Title: Lucky Number Eight

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: N.S., Male
• Date Collected: October 26, 2020

Informant Data:

N.S. is from California and is a freshman at Dartmouth College. He is a member of the Dartmouth Football Team. Both his parents are American.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. N.S. first began to like the number eight when he was 12. He liked this number because he felt that it looked cool, as it was in the shape of infinity, and because Kobe Bryant had this as his jersey number. This used to be his football number when he was younger and he felt that by wearing it, he was given confidence when playing. At Dartmouth, he does not have this as his number and feels different when he plays, seemingly without confidence. He does not have any unlucky numbers.
• Cultural Context: This arose out of a personal preference and from the inspiration of Kobe Bryant. His culture does not play a role in his liking of this number.

Item: N.S.’s lucky number has been eight since he was 12 and gives him confidence when playing football.

Transcript:

“I always though eight was cool because like it looks like infinity and Kobe [Bryant] wore it…it gives me confidence.”

Collector’s Comments:

A lot of people in my area in Southern California love the numbers eight and twenty-four because of Kobe Bryant, too, so I can see how this is a lucky number for him. I found it interesting that he likes eight because it represents the shape of infinity.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #7

Title: Lucky Number Twenty-Two

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: S.L., Male
• Date Collected: October 28, 2020

Informant Data:

S.L. is from Southern California and is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. His father is Italian and his mother is American, but Italian culture plays a large role in his life.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was over the phone due to the pandemic. S.L.’s lucky number is 22, and this began when he was younger as it represents his birthdate, so it was special to him. This is a personal preference for liking this number but he also has a cultural preference of a lucky number. He does not believe that he has any unlucky numbers.
• Cultural Context: S.L. is Italian, and he told me that a lucky number for Italians is 13. He said that he likes this number just due to it being a lucky number for his culture, but feels it is not very specific to him, while his personal lucky number is.

Item: S.L.’s personal lucky number is 22, because of his birth date, while his cultural lucky number is 13. He feels that his personal lucky number is specific and special to him.

Transcript:

“[22] is my birthdate number…13 is actually lucky in Italian culture, where it’s like unlucky in American culture, so I guess I like 13 in that way but also it’s not like specific to me in any way.”

Collector’s Comments:

I found his lucky numbers to be interesting. I really liked that he has his own lucky number that feels special to only him, but also adopts his culture’s lucky number just due to being Italian. I was surprised to hear that 13 is considered a lucky number to Italians because I know a lot of Americans that do not like that number.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #8

Title: Lucky Number Five

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: T.C., Male
• Date Collected: October 29, 2020

Informant Data:

T.C. is from Arkansas and is a senior at Dartmouth College. He is a member of the Dartmouth Football Team. He is American.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was over the phone because of the pandemic. T.C.’s lucky number of five began when he was six or seven. He says that he initially chose this as his lucky number because it was his older sisters’ in their sports. It is his football number and he thinks it definitely contributes to him playing well. He does not have any unlucky numbers.
• Cultural Context: T.C.’s lucky number is a personal preference; he does not know if they play a role in his culture, but they do not for him personally through his culture.

Item: T.C.’s lucky number has been five, ever since he was young and his sisters’ liking of the number inspired him and now leads to him playing well in football.

Transcript:

“Number five [is my lucky number]…[it was] my sisters’.”

Collector’s Comments:

I relate to his reasoning on why he chose his lucky number. I picked my lucky number because it was my dad’s, just like how he picked his because it was his sisters’.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #9

Title: Lucky Number Five (Again)

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: A.M., Male
• Date Collected: October 29, 2020

Informant Data:

A.M. is from Southern California and is a sophomore at Dartmouth. Both of his parents are Persian.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was over the phone because of the pandemic. A.M.’s lucky number is the number five. He feels that this number brings luck to him in general, but is not very superstitious, so it does not affect any actions or beliefs other than luck. He likes it in a geometric sense; he really likes that it consists of all kinds of shapes, with its sharp edges and curves. An unlucky number for him is the number 13. He believes that number represents something bad and just associates it with the Friday the 13th belief in America.
• Cultural Context: A.M. is not sure if lucky numbers play a role in his culture. His lucky number arose out of a personal preference.

Item: A.M.’s lucky number is five because he feels it brings him luck in life and because he likes its geometric shape.

Transcript:

“My lucky number is five…I’ve just really always liked it…it covers like all different types of shapes…and it’s been lucky to me.”

Collector’s Comments:

I never really considered the shape of numbers before, like he pointed out, so his reasoning as to why he likes five, aside from feeling like it is lucky, was very interesting. I relate to his unlucky number 13, as that is also one of my unlucky numbers, too.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian

 

Informant #10

Title: Lucky Odd and Prime Numbers

General Information about Item:
• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: B.M., Female
• Date Collected: October 30, 2020

Informant Data:

B.M. is from Maryland and is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. Both of her parents are Ethiopian.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This final interview was held over the phone like the last ones, again because of the pandemic. B.M. does not have one lucky number essentially, but she considers odd or prime numbers to be lucky numbers if she had to choose. She feels that in general, people’s lucky numbers are often these odd or prime numbers. She likes to categorize numbers and feels that if she ever needs to select a number, she has many to choose from. If one does not work for her, she feels that she can easily select a different one in that same category to take its place. She also thinks that in situations where people ask her to choose a number, intervals of numbers that can be selected can change, so she feels that odd or prime numbers are the best and most consistent. If she had to pick an unlucky number, it would be seven because she feels it has never brought luck to her.
• Cultural Context: B.M. told me that Ethiopian culture is based around the Orthodox Religion. In her culture, numbers associated with the Bible are considered lucky, while the unholy numbers are considered unlucky. She told me that Ethiopians tend to focus more on unholy numbers and bad numbers.
•
Item: B.M.’s lucky numbers are any odd or prime numbers as she feels this are the most reliable and consistent in any kind of situation.

Transcript:

“I typically choose odd or prime numbers…I guess I categorize them and…if one doesn’t work…and the interval changed…something consistent I can hold is an odd number or prime number.”

Collector’s Comments:

It was really interesting to hear about Ethiopian culture and how lucky and unlucky numbers arose out of knowledge of the Bible. I can relate to this from my experience at a Lutheran high school where 666 was considered to be very unlucky. Her concept of odd and prime numbers was also unique and very intriguing.

Collector’s Name: Mia Bagatourian