Thread: Step on a crack and other irrational phobias

Somewhere around 1953, when I was 5 years old, a 'friend' told me,"step on a crack, and break your mother's back." Referring to the cracks in the sidewalk. This made a big impression on me and 56 years later I still avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk. No exaggeration. I know it is irrational but that is the way it is. I am not particularly superstitious although I avoid walking under ladders. I don't get upset when a black cat crosses my trail or someone puts a hat on a bed or opens an umbrella in the house. Breaking mirrors is a hassle but I don't hold with the 7 years bad luck attributed to that happening. Anyone else have any irrational phobias or superstitions ?

Yeah Jimmy, I got a few of my own. I always eat pork on New Years Day. Never Kill a Spider in the House. Never break table bread with a knife. And always buy a new NY Yankee ball cap on the All Star Break in July. Weird I know, but aren't we all?

i never light a cigarette or pipe with the candlelight, as it is a sure way to kill a seaman. Probably i have some other subconscious manners as well.

Once i noticed that my wife keeps all the windows closed at full moon time. It must be subconscious, as she haven't noticed it by herself. She comes from a family where people are superstitious all the way to ridicule levels.
Many years ago i put a horseshoe above our door, but unfortunately wrong way, open end down, and her grandmother didn't want to come in until i fixed it

Every now and then i keep thinking are they just childish superstitions or are there real stories behind all these.

Hmm...I don't let anyone take my picture with a camera. I don't want my soul sucked into that contraption and held hostage.

Irrational phobias or superstitions? Yeah, sort of.

Nothing in life is free. So when the social networking Web sites like Facebook, Myspace and the rest offer their services to you for "free," I get kinda paranoid wondering what personal information they collect about their users and what do they do with it in order to make a profit? The server farms they operate to maintain bandwidth and uptime costs more money than I'll ever see in my lifetime. It just creeps me out. I'll never use one of those services, though I don't mind killing spiders in the house or letting black cats cross my path or whatever.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

I don't really have a superstition. My irrational phobia is having my back to a crowd. I can't sit in a restaurant if the chair I'm in faces me away from most of the people there.
I generally sit at a corner table with my back to the wall.

I try not to tempt fate, quite often at work if some one said 'it's quite today' the response would be a long the lines of 'not for much longer now!'

Originally Posted by Morty

I get kinda paranoid wondering what personal information they collect about their users and what do they do with it in order to make a profit?

It's not irrational to have worries such as this. Time will show that.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I don't really have a superstition. My irrational phobia is having my back to a crowd. I can't sit in a restaurant if the chair I'm in faces me away from most of the people there.
I generally sit at a corner table with my back to the wall.

+1, thats mine as well. I really dont like it at all..!