Three on a match

Posted by Sid Glaser on February 03, 2000

In Reply to: Three on a match posted by ESC on January 30, 2000

My understanding is that this superstition arose during World War I. Most of the fighting took place in trenches, and when three people lit cigarettes from one match at night the illumination lasted long enough for the enemy to zero in on a target, hence it was bad luck.