h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was shopping with the family on Monday in Scotland. As in most towns there was plenty of birds flying around, looking for food and shall we say “relieving” themselves in the air!

Having spent much of the day dodging these dropping the inevitable happened and I was shat upon!

My family tried to ease my suffering by trying to convince me that this was luckily through a stream of tears of laughter. Now I am not the smartest man in the world but I do believe that I was in fact VERY UNLUCKY! Although I will be putting the lottery on tonight just incase.

But this did get me thinking where did this come from? Can anyone shed any light on this?

No idea where it comes from in terms of the logic involved, but I've always thought it was a French superstition.

Sounds to me like a strategy for loved ones trying to console the victim.

I heard a similar thing on British TV: "muck for luck" when you step in some dogshit.

You were very lucky that elephants have (almost) never learnt to fly.