Most of us have an irrational fear or habit. Famous folks often seem to go one step further.
1.Benjamin Franklin
AN ODD MORNING RITUAL
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) swore by air baths. Before he started his workday, Franklin would sit without any clothes on for up to an hour in front of an open window on the first floor of his building. He wrote that the shock of cold water was too violent for him and it was more agreeable for him to bathe in cold air. Franklin would either read or write during his “bath.”
2. John Wayne
A TEN-GALLON PHOBIA
Although John Wayne (1907–1979) often wore a hat on his head in his films, his temper would flare if anyone left a hat on top of a bed. According to his daughter, Wayne was deeply superstitious and subscribed to the not-uncommon fear that a hat on a bed was a harbinger of bad luck.
3. John Steinbeck
THE RIGHT WAY TO WRITE
John Steinbeck (1902–1968) wrote the first drafts of 'The Grapes of Wrath', 'East of Eden', 'Of Mice and Men', and most every other one of his books the same way—by hand and in pencil. And he was very particular about his pencils, requiring perfectly sharpened Blackwing 602s
4. Diane von Furstenberg
TREASURE FROM DAD
Fashion designer and icon Diane von Furstenberg (1946– ) tapes a gold 20-franc coin in her shoe for good luck before every runway show. Her father hid the coin in his shoe during World War II and gave it to her when she was a girl.
5. Gustav Mahler
BEWARE NUMBER NINE
Composer Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) thought he could cheat death by not naming his ninth symphony by number. This was because several composers, including Beethoven and Schubert, had died after completing their ninth symphonies. So Mahler called his ninth 'The Song of the Earth'—and it worked, in a sense. He lived long enough to write most of his tenth symphony, though he died before it was performed.
6. Michael Jordan
UNIFORM REDESIGNER
Michael Jordan (1963– ) reportedly began the trendsetting change from mid-thigh basketball shorts to longer ones as a way of covering up a pair of University of North Carolina shorts, which he wore for good luck under his Chicago Bulls uniform.
7. Lucille Ball
FEATHERED FOE
On the day that three-year-old Lucille Ball’s father died, a bird flew into her home and became trapped. Traumatized by the events, she developed a lifelong avian aversion. The actor (1911–1989) even refused to stay in hotels that had pictures of birds on the walls.
8. Charles Dickens
DREAM CATCHER
Author Charles Dickens (1812–1870) carried a navigational compass with him at all times and always faced north when he slept. He believed it improved his creativity and writing.
Written by Ellen Weinstein in "Reader's Digest", USA, October 2018, volume192, issue 1144, excerpts pp.102-108. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.