What is the superstition about 3 lights off 1 match being bad luck?
There is a superstition in the Army about lighting 3 cigarettes from one match (or from one burning of a cigarette lighter). That started in WW1 where the theory was that enemy snipers were drawn, at night time, to the flash of light of striking a match and lighting of the first cigarette, lighting the second cigarette allowed the sniper to get set and if a third was lit it gave time for the sniper to aim and to shoot. Many people (myself included) will still not light 3 cigarettes from 1 match or 1 burn of a lighter, even though the risk of being sniped by a German marksman has reduced considerably since 1918. It is still considered “bad luck” to do so.
