Page 25 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - August/September 2017

13 Common (But Silly) Superstitions 25

13 Common (But Silly)

Superstitions

If you are spooked by Friday the 13th, you're in
for a whammy of a year. This week's unlucky
day is the first of three for 2012. And it would
come as no surprise if many among us hold at
least some fear of freaky Friday, as we humans
are a superstitious lot.
Many superstitions stem from the same
human trait that causes us to believe in monsters
and ghosts: When our brains can't explain
something, we make stuff up. In fact, a 2010
study found that superstitions can sometimes
work, because believing in something can
improve performance on a task.
Here, then, are 13 of the most common
superstitions. mythological roles. In ancient Egypt, cats were interpreted as the mark of Satan and a sign of
revered; today, Americans collectively keep the end times.
Beginner's luck more than 81 million cats as pets. According to State University of New
So why keep a black cat out of your York at Buffalo anthropologist Philips Stevens,
Usually grumbled by an expert who just lost a path? Most likely, this superstition arises from the writer of Revelation was writing to
game to a novice, "beginner's luck" is the idea old beliefs in witches and their animal familiars, persecuted Christians in code, so the numbers
that newbies are unusually likely to win when which were often said to take the form of and names in the book are contemporary
they try out a sport, game or activity for the first domestic animals like cats. references. Three sixes in a row is probably the
time. numeric equivalent of the Hebrew letters for the
Beginners might come out ahead in A rabbit's foot will bring you luck first-century Roman Emperor Nero.
some cases because the novice is less stressed
out about winning. Too much anxiety, after all, Talismans and amulets are a time-honored way Knock on wood
can hamper performance. Or it could just be a of fending off evil; consider the crosses and
statistical fluke, especially in chance-based garlic that are supposed to keep vampires at bay. This phrase is almost like a verbal
gambling games. Rabbit feet as talismans may hark back to early talisman, designed to ward off bad luck after
Or, like many superstitions, a belief in Celtic tribes in Britain. They may also arise tempting fate: "Breaking that mirror didn't bring
beginner's luck might arise because of from hoodoo, a form of African-American folk me any trouble, knock on wood."
confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is a magic and superstition that blends Native The fixation on wood may come from
psychological phenomenon in which people are American, European and African tradition. old myths about good spirits in trees or from an
more likely to remember events that fit their association with the Christian cross. Similar
worldview. If you believe you're going to win Bad luck comes in threes phrases abound in multiple languages,
because you're a beginner, you're more likely to suggesting that the desire not to upset a spiteful
remember all the times you were right — and Remember confirmation bias? The belief that universe is very common.
forget the times you ended up in last place. bad luck comes in threes is a classic example. A

couple things go wrong, and believers may start (Continued on Page 26)
Find a penny, pick it up ... to look for the next bit of bad luck. A lost shoe
might be forgotten one day, but seen as the third From the pages of “Did You Know?” by
And all day long, you'll have good luck. This in a series of bad breaks the next. Rob McConnell:
little ditty may arise because finding money is
lucky in and of itself. But it might also be a Don't break a mirror DYK...One of the most popular soups in
spin-off of another old rhyme, "See a pin, pick 1929: peanut butter soup.
it up/ and all day long you'll have good luck/ According to folklore, breaking a mirror is a DYK...Baby pigs can be housebroken in as
See a pin, let it lay/ and your luck will pass surefire way to doom yourself to seven years of little as three days.
away." bad luck. The superstition seems to arise from DYK...In Yukon, Oklahoma, it’s illegal for

the belief that mirrors don't just reflect your patients to pull their dentist’s teeth.
Don't walk under that ladder! image; they hold bits of your soul. That belief DYK...Pearls are made of calcium carbonate,
led people in the old days of the American the active ingredient in antacids.
Frankly, this superstition is pretty practical. South to cover mirrors in a house when DYK...The Dick Van Dyke Show was bank
Who wants to be responsible for stumbling and someone died, lest their soul be trapped inside. rolled by Joseph Kennedy JFK’s father.
knocking a carpenter off his perch? But one Like the number three, the number DYK...The word longshoreman is derived
theory holds that this superstition arises from a seven is often associated with luck. Seven years from “along-the-shore-man.”
Christian belief in the Holy Trinity: Since a is a long time to be unlucky, which may be why DYK...233 Dalmatians were used in the
ladder leaning against a wall forms a triangle, people have come up with counter-measures to filming of the movie 101 Dalmatians.
"breaking" that triangle was blasphemous. free themselves after breaking a mirror. These DYK...New York’s Time Square was
Then again, another popular theory is include touching a piece of the broken mirror to originally known as “Ace Square.”
that a fear of walking under a ladder has to do a tombstone or grinding the mirror shards into DYK...The first American car theft took place
with its resemblance to a medieval gallows. powder. in St. Louis in 1905.
We're sticking with the safety-first explanation DYK...British anatomist Richard Owen
for this one. 666 = the mark of Satan invented the word dinosaur in 1841.
DYK...“Whale harassment” is a federal
Black cats crossing your path Three sixes in a row give some people offense and is punishable by up to $10,000
fine.
the chills. It's a superstition that harks back to
As companion animals for humans for the Bible. In the Book of Revelation, 666 is
thousands of years, cats play all sorts of given as the number of the "beast," and is often Available at www.robmcconnell.ca