What people say
A lucky pen, unwashed clothes, the same route, no congratulations before the result.Performance · 6,780 searches a month
Exam superstitions
A lucky pen, unwashed clothes, the same route, no congratulations before the result.
When it actually starts
How old is this one
First recorded
20th century, alongside mass schooling
That makes it
about 76 years old
Rank by age
38 oldest of 40 dated here
Category
Performance
Searched
6,780 a month
Formal examinations only became universal in the last hundred years, so these rituals are genuinely modern — lucky pens, the same seat, the same breakfast. They follow the pattern of sports rituals rather than folklore.
What is going on
This is the one category with a documented psychological effect: rituals reduce performance anxiety measurably, which can improve results through calm rather than luck.Where it applies. Strongest in high-stakes exam cultures — Korea, Japan, China, India.
Other performance superstitions
Recorded around the same time
Exam superstitions is the 38th oldest of the 40 dated superstitions here. Of those, 6 are younger than a century and 5 predate the common era.
First-recorded dates are the earliest documented appearance in written sources, not the earliest possible origin — an unrecorded practice can be older. How the dating works and where it is uncertain →