Thread: I ain't superstitious, but a black cat crossed my trail ..... Poll

Superstitions are the tools of of the devil,god dictates what happens to me and mine on a daily basis.not some stupid azz cat.

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

Eerie observation!

13 steps on the gallows, 13 loops in a hangman's noose ..... 13 stars in the Confederate States Of America's flag, and the 13th letter of the alphabet is M .... need I say more ?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

13 steps on the gallows, 13 loops in a hangman's noose ..... 13 stars in the Confederate States Of America's flag, and the 13th letter of the alphabet is M .... need I say more ?

13 stars on the original American flag!

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Superstitions are the tools of of the devil,god dictates what happens to me and mine on a daily basis.not some stupid azz cat.

Technically, that is not entirely true. Some stuff is God, some stuff is Satan (or their proxies) but the bulk is just people doing things that affect you. It's not like God himself is sitting there, watching every single human being, carefully measuring out the droplets of rain that touch your head or guiding that car running through a puddle of water which will hit you as a result.

Besides, many superstitions were born not out of religious grounds but practical grounds. In particular, not walking under ladders was born in a time when large construction works (such as churches and palaces) were surrounded by hundreds of ladders. In those days, work safety counted for nothing, and tools, bricks, stones, buckets, and other crap fell down regularly because everything had to be carried up by hand, using those ladders.

Thus, it was considered bad luck to walk underneath ladders because if you did that regularly, you'd have a chisel sticking out of your skull sooner or later. I will not walk underneath ladders or scaffolds. Not because I am superstitious about bad luck, but because it is still dangerous. Even at work, our safety training tells us not to do it.

So many superstitions are not inherently bad to observe. Often they were born out of good practical sense. Just because we no longer remember the origins (such as the sotry about the ladders) doesn't mean it is wrong to observe.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Technically, that is not entirely true. Some stuff is God, some stuff is Satan (or their proxies) but the bulk is just people doing things that affect you. It's not like God himself is sitting there, watching every single human being, carefully measuring out the droplets of rain that touch your head or guiding that car running through a puddle of water which will hit you as a result.

Besides, many superstitions were born not out of religious grounds but practical grounds. In particular, not walking under ladders was born in a time when large construction works (such as churches and palaces) were surrounded by hundreds of ladders. In those days, work safety counted for nothing, and tools, bricks, stones, buckets, and other crap fell down regularly because everything had to be carried up by hand, using those ladders.

Thus, it was considered bad luck to walk underneath ladders because if you did that regularly, you'd have a chisel sticking out of your skull sooner or later. I will not walk underneath ladders or scaffolds. Not because I am superstitious about bad luck, but because it is still dangerous. Even at work, our safety training tells us not to do it.

So many superstitions are not inherently bad to observe. Often they were born out of good practical sense. Just because we no longer remember the origins (such as the sotry about the ladders) doesn't mean it is wrong to observe.

The ladder superstition has various sources. Some say it was religious in that since it forms a triangle, you would be breaking the Holy Trinity by walking under it. Other say it represented the gallows. The practical reason would result in either common sense or etiquette, not superstition; I've never heard of anyone superstitious about walking under scaffolding.

I've always enjoyed Neil deGrasse Tyson's thoughts on superstitions:

Neil deGrasse Tyson - Children Are Not The Problem - YouTube