“Absurdity, which refers to the illogical, unreasonable or nonsensical has been widely studied and written about. In fiction and humor, the absurd is usually used to make a nuanced point about human behavior. Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland is considered to be one of the most well-known works of absurdist literature.” – https://www.timeanddate.com/
Born after the Second World War, National Absurdity Day encourages people to acknowledge that absurdity is part of life. For example, did you know that in the early days of the parcel post, some parents took advantage of the mail in unexpected ways (by shipping their children through the mail)?
“Just a few weeks after Parcel Post began, an Ohio couple named Jesse and Mathilda Beagle “mailed” their 8-month-old son James to his grandmother, who lived just a few miles away in Batavia. According to Lynch, Baby James was just shy of the 11-pound weight limit for packages sent via Parcel Post, and his “delivery” cost his parents only 15 cents in postage (although they did insure him for $50). The quirky story soon made newspapers, and for the next several years, similar stories would occasionally surface as other parents followed suit.” – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/
So to celebrate National Absurdity Day here are some of the most fun and absurd boating myths and superstitions. Let us know which one you think is the funniest in the comment section!
1. No Women On Board – Absurdity Day
One of the oldest and most well-known superstitions was that bringing women aboard a boat was bad luck. Women were said to distract sailors from their duties by arousing their passions or causing jealousy among crew members. When the crew was distracted, this would anger the ocean and cause bad weather or other revenge from the sea gods. Luckily, this nautical superstitions has been put to rest, and women can now serve in the Navy and on fishing vessels without any concern of bad luck.
Early sailors also attributed strange sounds they heard at sea to sirens, which are mythical creatures that are half-woman and half-bird. Sirens were fabled to lure sailors to their deaths by singing sweet songs that drew them into treacherous waters. Other mariners blamed strange sea noises on mermaids that are half-woman and half-fish performing the same deceptive songs as sirens.
Ironically, naked women were believed to calm the sea rather than agitate it. This is the reason that many ship figureheads depict women with bare breasts. The watchful eyes of the female figureheads were also believed to guide the ship to safety. The ship itself was also referred to as “she,” because it acted as a protective mother that sheltered the sailors from an angry sea.
Source: https://www.formulaboats.com/
2. Don’t Travel With A Jonah
Based on the story of the biblical prophet Jonah, any person or object that brought bad luck to a ship was sometimes called a “Jonah.” In the biblical tale, the prophet Jonah receives orders from God to sail to the city of Nineveh, but instead, he sails the opposite direction out of fear. God punished Jonah by bringing violent storms to his ship and the rest of the crew threw him overboard to appease the seas. Any person perceived to be a “Jonah” would be thrown off the ship as soon as possible.
Source: https://www.formulaboats.com/
3. Flat-footed People Are Bad Luck
People with flat feet were avoided before a voyage and were not welcome aboard ships.
Source: https://www.formulaboats.com/
4. Flowers Are Bad Omens
Because flowers were associated with funerals and wreaths on graves, they were never brought onto ships. If a sailor’s wife tried to bid him farewell with a gift of flowers, the bouquet was quickly thrown overboard.
Source: https://www.formulaboats.com/
5. Clergy Are Not Welcome On Board
Because of the same connection to funerals, clergymen and priests were not welcome aboard ships.
Source: https://www.formulaboats.com/
6. No Personal Grooming While Sailing
Mariners often looked shaggy while at sea because trimming your nails, shaving your beard and cutting your hair were also believed to bring bad luck to the ship. So no personal grooming while sailing.
Source: https://www.formulaboats.com/
7. Absurd Boat Names
If you need help naming your boat, don’t ask these folks!
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IDEAS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL ABSURDITY DAY
- Walk, Talk, And Dress Absurdly!
The National Absurdity Day is a perfect excuse to confuse people with your absurdity! enjoy the day by being absurd with your walk, talk, and costume all day!
- Confuse people with some harmless absurd pranks!
If you had been thinking of fun and absurd pranks to throw, use them today! If you need more absurd ideas you can always look up the internet!
- Read works of absurdist playwrights and authors
If you love reading, read absurdist works such as Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carol, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
- Watch absurdist movies!
Watch some fun absurdist movies with family and friends. you could watch El Topo by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Zelig by Woody Allen, Life of Brian by Terry Jones and The Exterminating Angel by Luis Bunuel among others
- Create some absurd memes!
Show you pun side by creating hilarious memes on various situations! use hashtags #NationalAbsurdityDay and #Absurdity Day to post on social media and remind everyone its the time to be absurd!
