I’ve been looking into feng shui lately, specifically the concepts about what makes a person feel more safe or at ease in a space, such as relaxing or sleeping facing the entrance / exit.

While reading, I came across the guidance that you should always shut your toilet seat to prevent your good fortune from being flushed. The real reason you should keep it shut is so it can’t mist shit-water all over your toothbrush every time you flush. Also so your pets don’t drink out of it.

What other things did humans throughout history accidentally get right?

    • HelloThere@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      26·
      4 months ago

      Same goes for shellfish - unrefridgeated it can go nasty quickly, and if you live in a hot environment that’s gonna be even faster.

      • neidu2@feddit.nl
        121·
        4 months ago

        I grew up on the coast, and my parents always had this rule to never eat/cook/serve shellfish that weren’t fished (shellfished?) same day or yesterday.

    • Cheradenine@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      64·
      4 months ago

      While true from a health standpoint, isn’t the idea of religious food prohibitons being based on health somewhat contentious?

      I thought that Jews didn’t eat them because they have cloven hooves and they don’t chew their cud.~~

      Edit: I read the question, then still went on my own tangent because I find the origin of religious taboos interesting. Apologies

      • frosty99c@midwest.socialEnglish
        8·
        4 months ago

        Right, isn’t that the point of the question? What old time things did we do for one reason (cloven hooves) that turned out to be right for completely different reasons (health and safety)

      • conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works
        6·
        4 months ago

        That was how the put them in buckets.

        But I think it’s at least as likely as not that whoever wrote that rule chose those buckets to be “unclean” because people got more sick more often. “I got sick once after eating it” is still one of the biggest reasons some people don’t like seafood. Your brain is very good at turning single bad events into “don’t touch this” if there isn’t a body of safe interactions to fall back to.