ANSWERS: 2
  • Origins: Green is a hue of many powerful and ancient associations, not all of them positive. While it is the color of hope and immortality, it is also deemed an unlucky shade in both Britain and the U.S. It is said various malicious wood spirits have selected the color as their very own and will lay claim to any mortal being fool enough to parade about in any of its tints, either permanently spiriting the offender away or evilly influencing him into dangerous or foolhardy acts. In the world of the theater, actors and actresses are averse to the color, with some balking at its use on stage for either costuming or props. Away from the boards, we find the beliefs that national disaster invariably follows close on the heels of any issue of green-hued postage stamps, and that those who wear clothing of a verdant shade will soon afterwards have to don black (attend a funeral). And of all the possible colors a bride could choose for her wedding dress, green is considered one of the unluckiest. This centuries-old disquiet about the color green has in modern times expanded and affixed itself to the automobile. Just as ill luck was supposed to attach to green clothing, a similar presumption of lurking calamity has come to fasten upon green vehicles, thereby dooming those who wear or ride about in emerald glory to mischance. To those of a superstitious bent, green cars seem far more prone than those of other hue to develop mysterious ailments and proclivities: strange rattles, odd knocks, and abrupt pulls towards the road's edge (especially when there are concrete bridge abutments such vehicles might be drawn into). Chariots of this shade are said to take sudden unexpected lunges at garage walls, making the act of parking them fraught with adventure. While a great many such mishaps can easily be chalked up to driver error, to the superstitious it all too often seems such acts of inattention occur only with green cars. (For example, the one and only time my mother mistook the gas for the brake, resulting in her parking the back end of her jalopy over a retaining wall, she was at the wheel of a green Plymouth Fury II.) A woman in Salt Lake City reported that while she owned a green Honda Del Sol, it was rear-ended, experienced various odd mechanical problems, had a flat tire every four months, and was stolen. After recovering it, she unloaded the beastie upon ex-husband and said this of his experience: Funny thing, though? He was backing it out of his garage and he hit the side of the garage door. Doesn't sound like much, but my ex is a hobby rally racer. He *never* does stuff like that. Ever. His car is basically an extension of himself, so he hasn't had a dumb accident like that in years — at least since I've known him, which is about 7 years now. Now he's totally convinced the car is a bad-luck magnet.
  • not that i know of

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