Ever since I could remember, I've been "knocking on wood." I learned it from my mother actually - she is an avid wood knocker. It's something we do to prevent something bad from happening. I'll say something like, "I've never gotten pregnant while on the Pill [0], knock on wood." Or "It looks like it'll be sunny for our BBQ this weekend, knock on wood." And I don't just say "knock on wood," I also find wood and literally knock my knuckles on it. It's definitely one of my superstitions [0], and in some way, I feel like if I don't do it, I'll have bad luck.

So where did this weird little phenomenon of "knocking on wood" or "touching wood" start anyway? The origin isn't really known, but in the early 1800s, kids used to play a game called "Tiggy-touch-wood," [1] where they had to touch wood in order to be "safe." It could be that the phrase stuck all these years.

I've also heard that people used to "knock on wood" to awaken the kind tree fairies that lived in the woods in addition to preventing the Devil from hearing your bad comments.

I came across a children's book called "Knock on Wood, " [2] so I know I'm not the only one who believes in this, but now I'm curious to know - do you "knock on wood?"

Source [3]