General Information about Item:
- Poly-modal Folklore – Ritual
- Magic Superstition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: Paul Cane (pictured below)
- Date Collected: 11-13-2019
Informant Data:
- Paul Cane was born in Los Angeles, California on May 31, 1997. Paul lived there for a few years, then moved to Orinda, California when he was four years old. Paul attended Georgetown University for one year, and then he went to Dartmouth for the next three. After graduating from Dartmouth in June, Paul moved to Boston. Paul started to swim when she was four years old. When he swam for Dartmouth, he specialized in Breaststroke.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Many swimmers get very nervous to compete, so many have small rituals that they believe help them perform to the best of their ability.
- Social Context: The ritual was documented during a Skype interview. Paul described a small ritual he always did before his races. Paul started this ritual when he was in high school because his goggles would always fall off when he dove into the pool.
Item:
- Paul licks his goggles before he gets on the block before his races.
Transcript:
- “When I was in high school, my goggles would always fall off my head when I dove into the pool. I never swam well in races because I couldn’t see the bottom of the pool. One time, I saw an Olympian lick his goggles before his race. I’m not sure why he did it, but I tried it, and my goggles didn’t fall off. Since then, I’ve licked my goggles before every single race.”
Informant’s Comments:
- The informant made no other relevant comments about licking his goggles.
Collector’s Comments:
- This reminds me of Summer Martin’s ritual of swimming in the lane she is competing in, and Melanya Zaraska’s ritual to drink a powdered mix before her races. Because so much is out of the swimmer’s control in a race, these pre-race rituals give Paul, Summer, and Melanya a sense of control and power.
- This is a magic superstition because the swimmer feels that if he licks his goggles, he will perform better than if he didn’t.
Collector’s Name: Katherine Cane