Buzz
If leaving your umbrella open in the corner of your office feels unsettling, you’re probably not the only one: Open umbrellas indoors are as ominous as broken mirrors and black cats when it comes to superstitions about bad luck. While the exact origins of this belief aren’t definitively known, several theories offer explanations for how and why it began.
One theory suggests that the superstition dates back to around 1200 BCE, when ancient Egyptian priests and royalty used umbrellas made of peacock feathers and papyrus to shield themselves from the sun. According to Reader’s Digest, the belief may have emerged from the idea that opening an umbrella indoors—far from the sun’s rays—would upset the sun god, Ra, and cause negative consequences.
Another theory centers on a different ancient Egyptian deity: Nut, the goddess of the sky. As HowStuffWorks reports, the early umbrellas were designed to mimic (and honor) the way she protected the Earth, making their shade considered sacred. If anyone of non-noble status used one, they were thought to become a symbol of bad luck.
The reason we avoid opening umbrellas indoors today is likely more about preventing injury than facing divine punishment. Modern umbrellas became widely popular in the Victorian era, thanks to Samuel Fox’s invention of the steel-ribbed Paragon frame, which featured a spring mechanism that allowed them to open quickly—and dangerously.
“A rigidly spoked umbrella, opening suddenly in a small room, could seriously injure an adult or child, or break a delicate object,” Charles Panati writes in his book Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. “Thus, the superstition emerged as a way to discourage opening umbrellas indoors.”
All things considered, even though opening an umbrella indoors might not necessarily bring bad luck, getting poked in the eye by one could certainly ruin your day.
