Four superstitions there's actually a good reason to obey
Even in the 21st century, many of us still unconsciously hold on to a few superstitions – such as feeling a bit uneasy when one sees a black cat.
But do superstitions actually serve a purpose?
The origins of these beliefs are often ancient: many of the ones people observe today are thought to hail from Rome and Ancient Egypt.
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But could some superstitions have survived simply because they make a certain amount of practical sense?
Putting up an umbrella indoors
Some historians claim that this superstition dates from Egyptian times – and relates to the parasols that Egyptian rulers used in the sun.
But others believe the origin is much more practical, dating from Victorian times.
In his book ‘Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things,’ scientist Charles Panati wrote, ‘In eighteenth-century London, when metal-spoked waterproof umbrellas began to become a common rainy day sight, their stiff, clumsy spring mechanism made them veritable hazards to open indoors.
‘Thus, the superstition arose as a deterrent to opening an umbrella indoors.’
Walking under ladders
The origin of the superstition about walking under ladders is disputed – but probably to do with religion.
A ladder against a wall forms a triangle – sacred to the Egyptians, who believed that walking through one was to desecrate it.
Christians also believe that a triangle represented the Holy trinity of God, Jesus and the Holy spirit – and hence, perhaps, the superstition persisted.
But psychology professor Stuart Vyse says that it may have slightly more prosaic origins – relating to the fact that walking under a ladder actually IS a bad idea.
Vyse says, ‘Obviously, people may have had bad experiences; maybe something had dropped on their head. So that’s not totally irrational.’
Putting shoes on a table
In the north of England, people believe that this superstition arose from the tradition of placing a miner’s boots on the table when he had died.
Others think that the tradition comes from the fact that new shoes were often put on dead people while they laid on a table.
But the continuing popularity of the tradition may well be to do with a simpler reason – hygiene.
The subject’s one that is frequently discussed on family forums such as Mumsnet – and while users struggle to agree on the origin of the superstition, most seem to agree that putting shoes on a table is revolting.
Friday the 13th
Let’s just be very clear here – there is no innate, magical property about Friday the 13th which makes the day ‘unlucky’.
But people’s anxiety about the date might be another matter – at least according to one study.
A 2002 Finnish study concluded that women were more likely to suffer car accidents on Friday 13th, due to anxiety about the date.
The study said, ‘Friday the 13th may be a dangerous day for women, largely because of anxiety from superstition.
‘In men, the adjusted risk ratio for dying on Friday the 13th, compared with other Fridays, was 1.02, but for women, it was 1.63. An estimated 38% of traffic deaths involving women on this day were attributable to Friday the 13th itself.’
