Children hoping for a snow day might want to consider following a very specific ritual to make it happen. First, flush an ice cube down the toilet. Some say it’s best to flush as many cubes as snow days desired. Then, turn your pajamas inside out and tuck a spoon under the pillow.
These three steps make up a snow day superstition that many children and adults still cling to in the hopes of a day home from school (or work). These hacks are considered a surefire way of causing a school closure during winter months.
“My kid wore her PJs inside-out and snuck a spoon under her pillow in the hopes of summoning a snow day. And it worked,” Twitter user Navah Wolfe shared.
Though Shelby Griffin found the ritual didn’t work for her (she could be using her spoons incorrectly).
“I flushed ice cubes down the toilet, put spoons in all the closets, and wore my pajamas inside out all for nothing. I really would just like one snow day,” she wrote.
The origins of snow day superstitions remain murky. It seems popular on the East Coast and Canada.
“Snow day! No school!” Tweeted Brea Corbet, of Mississauga, Canada, which is outside of Toronto. She credited the day off to her children following the familiar spoon, ice cube and PJs combo.
But people even as far south as Tennessee practice similar rituals. Though they add an extra step to their snow day customs.
“White crayon in the freezer, spoon under a pillow, ice cubes down the toilet and pajamas inside out. Doing all the things with a kindergartner when you might have a snow day,” Andrea Oakley, an assistant principal in Tennessee tweeted at the end of January.
Some adults who grew up with the traditions still practice them when they wish that work came with snow days.
“Every single snow day superstition you used as a kid comes back as soon as you have a job and the weather turns to shit,” Micha BB. tweeted, while adding she tried mismatched socks as an extra good luck charm.
Another Twitter user shared a different trick: Taping a quarter to the window.
"I want snow. I am wearing my pj's inside out, flushing ice cubes and taping a quarter to the window," she wrote.
Here's to all of you wishing for a snow day. (PS: Check the forecast!)