Tunnel Superstitions

Some guy fainted while holding his breath driving through a tunnel in Oregon and caused a 3 car accident. If he made a wish related to getting through the tunnel safely, then he obviously didn’t get his wish by holding his breath. At the end of the article it was mentioned that the driver was either playing a game or observing a superstition. That piqued my curiosity so I decided to look into tunnel superstitions. Some of these superstitions have their roots in early railroad tunnels. One of the earliest recorded instances of tunnel superstition is that of railway tunnel builders who would touch metal before heading down into the tunnels and wish for a safe return. I think the touch metal (kind of like knock on wood) might be a safer thing to do than holding one’s breath, especially if the tunnel is a long one. These next two superstitions were recorded in 1954: If you walk under a tunnel while a train is going over it, it’s bad luck and you should cross your fingers. And if you speak under a tunnel or a bridge, you must touch a green object or you’ll have bad luck. My kids used to hold their feet up off the floor of the car whenever we drove over railroad tracks and to this day I don’t know why. When my husband and I took the Chunnel, the tunnel that runs under the English Channel and connects France and England, I touched (and held on to) a baguette, French style with no bag just a paper napkin wrapped around the middle for transporting. It was good enough luck for me.